Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, Donald Trump will travel to Pennsylvania and try to convince the American people that he is lowering their costs, but the American people, seeing their costs go up left and right, aren't going to buy it. Tonight, Donald Trump will throw a barrel of hay into the audience and tell them it is spun gold, but the American people know he is lying because everywhere they look, prices are going up and up and up. We have all read how the White House very soon will start getting ``serious'' about messaging more on affordability. They don't get it. The problem is that affordability is not a messaging issue; it is real. It is real when people go to the supermarket or buy a car or try to buy a house or see their electric bill, their healthcare bills. The American people know it is real, and Donald Trump tries to wish it away. He believes that people will believe his words when he says it is a hoax. They won't. They won't. There aren't enough speeches in the world to paper over the fact that Donald Trump has sent costs up and up, not down. His tariffs raised the price of groceries, raised the price of clothing, raised the price of energy. And it is not just his tariffs. It is his policies that cut out the cheapest form of energy we have: clean energy. It is his policies that allow food producers to get away with monopoly pricing. It is his strategy to impose tariffs on the American people and say: It is good for you. The fact is that Donald Trump can do nothing to erase this, that life is more expensive under Donald Trump than it was before he took office. He will hate to admit it, but life is more expensive under Donald Trump than it was under Joe Biden. Just 36 percent of Americans approve of his job and the job he is doing on the economy. Thirty-six percent of Americans--that is it-- approve of the job Trump is doing on the economy, according to a poll by Marquette University, which is widely respected. Even a significant portion of Trump voters--37 percent--say the cost of living is the worst they can ever remember, according to POLITICO. So when Trump voters say it was better under Biden than it is now, whoa, something is wrong. So, no, Donald Trump, affordability is not a hoax; it is not a Democratic scam. You try to make everything, even the most commonsense things, partisan. The affordability crisis is very real. It is being felt by everyone, and the American people know it is Donald Trump's fault. No speech in Pennsylvania or anywhere else can undo that.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 284, S. 3385, the 3-year extension of our ACA premiums.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, Donald Trump is announcing a $12 billion bailout for farmers who have been punished by his trade war and his tariffs. Let's be very clear. The reason farmers need relief at all is largely because Donald Trump betrayed them and decimated their businesses with his disastrous tariffs. Now, Donald Trump is patting himself on the back, acting like a hero to farmers, while using taxpayer dollars to clean up the mess he created. It is textbook Donald Trump incompetence. I want to make three very important points about this announcement. First, as is so often the case with Donald Trump, we have no idea whether the farmers who actually need help will ever see this $12 billion. He always makes promises that don't deliver. He regularly announces that relief is coming with all due haste, and, somehow, time and time again, the money never reaches the people who need it most. So if I were a farmer, I wouldn't count on this money. It is probably more of Donald Trump's big talk without really delivering. That is what has happened over and over again. Second, a one-time payment for farmers is cold comfort for all the headache and anxiety and losses they have endured because of Donald Trump's trade war. Farmers do not want a handout. Ask them. They want markets. But Donald Trump's policies have killed the markets our farmers rely on to make a living. This is especially true for soybean farmers. China went from buying more than $12 billion in American soybeans last year to virtually nothing by the middle of this year. That Chinese need for soybeans didn't disappear. Contracts went to other countries, like Argentina, which Trump then bailed out at U.S. farmers' expense. And producers in those countries--Argentina, Brazil--have now locked in new long-term deals that will shut American farmers out for years and which a one- time check can't alleviate. A one-time check isn't a solution; it is a bandaid over gunshot wounds. Again, ask our farmers. They want long-term contracts. Unfortunately, they are not going to get them because, when we cut off China, China went to Brazil and Argentina, and those soybean growers said: Yes, we will give you soybeans, but not for a year--3 years, 4 years, 5 years. Finally, the American people are being punished twice for Donald Trump's costly tariffs. Families have seen the cost of beef, produce, and other groceries skyrocket over this year because of the tariffs. And now they are told their taxpayer dollars must be used to clean up the mess that Donald Trump and his tariffs created. So, on the first, he tells consumers: You have to pay more for the tariffs. Then the taxpayers have to pay more because the farmers are in such trouble because of what Donald Trump did. Donald Trump's announcement today is hardly a triumph. It is an admission of failure--failure to help farmers, failure to rein in China, and failure to lower costs. (The remarks of Mr. Schumer pertaining to the introduction of S. Res. 533 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'') The Economy Mr. President, on Donald Trump and the costs that Americans pay for his policies, tomorrow, Donald Trump will travel to Pennsylvania to give a speech on what he calls his economic accomplishments. We all know how this is going to turn out. Donald Trump will spend the first few minutes of his speech trying to stick to his talking points. Then he will spend the next 2 hours rambling about how affordability is a Democratic scam, a fake narrative. He will blame Joe Biden for his own failures while offering zero solutions to bring down costs. Americans who are paying more for daily essentials want to see the President act, not ramble from a podium. Affordability isn't some kind of messaging issue, and it is certainly not a scam, as Donald Trump claims from inside his little bubble. He doesn't even realize what Americans are going through as they worry and struggle to pay the bills that come in each week and each month. It is a crisis Donald Trump himself exacerbated with his own policies. There aren't enough speeches in the world to reverse the damage Donald Trump has done to rising costs. After all, those tariffs have raised prices across the board on groceries, on clothing, on energy. Whose tariffs are they? Donald Trump's. Who promised to bring costs down on day one and then turned around and cut healthcare, cut SNAP benefits, closed rural hospitals, and axed good-paying energy jobs in red and blue States alike? Donald Trump. Who has been completely silent and invisible as Americans speed toward a healthcare cliff unlike any we have seen in a long time, and who has done nothing as families are on the brink of paying thousands of dollars more on healthcare premiums? Donald Trump. So, look, the matter here is simple: Donald Trump can blame the previous administration all he wants for his own failures. He can keep calling affordability a con job or a fake narrative or a Democratic scam. He can keep pretending everything is going great. But, Trump, it can't change the reality that you have created. People are hurting, and people need help paying for the things they need every day. Donald Trump has failed to deliver on the No. 1 thing the American people care about: costs--how much it costs them to buy the things they need. And it is going to come back to haunt Republicans very, very soon. Healthcare Mr. President, on healthcare, well, we are at the start of an extremely important week for Donald Trump and for Republicans when it comes to our Nation's healthcare crisis. On Thursday, the Senate will vote on the Democrats' bill for a clean, 3-year extension of the ACA premium tax credits. The question Republicans face this week is very simple: Will they support our bill and lower people's premiums or will they block our bill and send premiums through the roof? That is what is at stake on the vote this Thursday. Leader Thune just gave a speech blasting the ACA. But, Leader Thune, you blast the ACA; well, where is the Republican plan? The Republicans have no plan. They are so divided between themselves that they can't even put a plan together. We Democrats do have a plan, and it is this bill for a clean, 3-year extension. This is the only way to solve this problem now before premiums go way up and, in January, people are faced with such high bills. Our bill prevents costs from going up right now. Here is the reality: Most Americans want to see these credits extended. Leader Thune blasts the ACA, but he has no plan. Amazingly, he has no plan when 55 percent of Trump voters--of MAGA voters--want to see the credits extended. So I urge my Republican colleagues not to follow Leader Thune. You have one chance, Republican colleagues, to get this right. Left to their own devices, Republicans don't have a snowball's chance in hell of fixing the healthcare crisis--not a snowball's chance in hell of fixing this crisis--because they are so divided. Even the plans they claim are reasonable can't move forward because one-half of the Republicans want one thing, a third of the Republicans want another thing, a sixth of the Republicans want a third thing, and they can't agree. The contrast is stark: Republicans are divided, and Democrats are united. We want to extend these credits. It is the right thing to do for the American people as they stand on the edge of the cliff. Meanwhile, one of the biggest failures in leadership on healthcare has been Donald Trump. As our country faces a crisis that will touch the lives of millions of people, he is sitting on the sidelines. For months, we have urged him to meet with us, to talk with us, and to come to an agreement on fixing ACA premiums. Instead, he has isolated himself in the White House and blasted the ACA on Truth Social while doing nothing--nothing--to prevent this from happening, while doing nothing to present a real plan. Republicans are nowhere on healthcare, and the clock is ticking. Americans' livelihoods are at stake. Our healthcare system is at stake. The future of our hospitals, many of which will be overrun when people lose insurance, is also at stake. Republicans who claim to worry about healthcare costs have one last chance to act, and that is to join Democrats in supporting our bill for a clean, 3-year extension. Executive Nominations Finally, Mr. President, on these noms packages that are coming forward, today, Senate Republicans are moving forward on a new nominee package that is chock-full of horribly unqualified and shockingly radical nominees. All year long, Republicans have bent the knee to Donald Trump--bent the knee to Trump--and turned the Senate's duty of advice and consent into obey and confirm, and this package of nominees is no different. By moving these nominees in one package, Republicans in the Senate are trying to hide how bad these nominees are from the American people. They would be embarrassed to have a debate even of 2 hours. They would be embarrassed to have a vote because these nominees are so bad. We all know that Donald Trump and the way he nominates people often are perverse. If someone has broken the law or if someone has done a bad thing, he almost wants to nominate them, and the folks around here are going along. Let me give you a few quick examples. Thomas Bell to be inspector general of HHS. He is supposed to be looking at fraud, waste, and abuse. This guy is supposed to be inspector general of HHS. Well, Bell is a well-documented Trump loyalist and anti-abortion extremist who has a history of committing repeated fraud, manufacturing fake documents, and misusing unauthorized funds. This is who the Republicans want to confirm as an HHS watchdog? Give us a break. Give America a break. By the way, these nominees are going to come back and embarrass Trump, just as we warned about Hegseth. If you pick a FOX News commentator to run the most complicated life-and-death Department in our country, he will embarrass you, we said, or worse, and that is just what is happening. It is worse. What about James Percival to be general counsel at DHS? He is another Trump loyalist who has been a key figure in pushing the administration to defy court orders in regard to deportation actions. Then there is Jeffrey Hall to be Assistant Administrator at the EPA. How much experience does Mr. Hall have for this position? Zero. And in his time acting in the role, the EPA dismissed a complaint, against a Trump donor group, that alleged that pesticides were sprayed by guards on detainees at an ICE facility. I could go on and on and on as so many of these nominees are awful-- this is chock-full of unqualified, horrible nominees--but the bottom line is this: Democrats want individual votes on these nominees. We want time to debate them on the floor, and we want the American people to see for themselves who Donald Trump and the Republicans are trying to appoint to serious positions of power. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on anti-Semitism, today, in America, we are witnessing a disturbing and alarming trend. Anti-Semitism and White supremacy and, indeed, neo-Nazism--just saying the word sends shudders down one's spine--are increasingly running rampant in our society. These deeply pernicious forms of hate, spewed by rightwing radicals like Nick Fuentes and platformed by people like Tucker Carlson, who almost seem proud to platform them, have pushed America closer to a tipping point. Jewish Americans and all those targeted by White nationalist hate are all too often looking over their shoulders, fearing for their safety. And too many--too many--in this country are silent against this threat. On this issue, silence is dangerous. Because silence is dangerous, today, I am introducing a resolution cosponsored by every single Senate Democrat--all 47. This resolution rejects Nick Fuentes and his anti- Semitic and White supremacist views. This resolution condemns Tucker Carlson for giving Fuentes a platform, and it condemns anti-Semitism, White supremacy, and Nazism wherever and whenever they strike. As I introduce this resolution today, I invite my Senate Republican colleagues to join us in taking a stand against hate by cosponsoring this resolution. The country wants to see both parties united against anti-Semitism, so it is not too late for my Republican colleagues to join my resolution. This is not a theoretical exercise. Senators speaking out against White supremacist hatred is vital in today's day and age because there have been far too many instances lately of anti-Semitism, White supremacy, and other forms of hatred being welcomed, normalized, and even endorsed in our society. Who would have thought? When we stay silent, when we fail to reject anti-Semitism and White supremacy, that is when they spread through society like wildfire. So my resolution gives Senators from both parties a chance to stand up against anti-Semitism and White supremacy and to send a clear, unmistakable message that here in America, we reject all and any forms of hatred and bigotry.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, I am announcing that Senate Democrats will introduce legislation for a clean, 3-year extension of the current ACA tax credits. This is the bill--a clean, 3-year extension of ACA tax credits--that Democrats will bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Thursday, and every single Democrat will support it. Republicans have 1 week to decide where they stand: Vote for this bill and bring healthcare costs down, or block this bill and send premiums skyrocketing. That is what is at stake when we vote next week. It is going to be one of the most important votes we take because it is showing who is on the side of the American people and lowering their healthcare costs and who is on the side of the big special interests and is going to allow them to raise healthcare costs for America. People back home will be watching what Republicans do, and the American people are running out of time before January 1. Make no mistake, our bill is the last chance Republicans will get before January 1 to prevent premiums from skyrocketing. Republicans have no hope of solving this healthcare crisis on their own. They have no healthcare plan of their own whatsoever. They are far too divided. Americans can't help but notice that when Leader Thune came to the podium a few minutes ago, he didn't even talk about healthcare because he has nothing to say. They can't even come up with their own bill. The only path next week is supporting our bill. While Democrats are united in fighting for the American people, Republicans are too busy fighting amongst themselves. They can't even come up with their own plan. Republicans have spent more time kicking low-income people off health insurance and raising costs for those who stay covered than on doing anything to lower premiums. They have riddled their plan with poison pills that would ban abortion nationwide. For those Republicans talking about sending checks, how is a one-time check supposed to last the whole year? People are paying more every day for the things they need, and a single check in the mail is cold comfort if you are paying $1,000 or $5,000 more a month just for health insurance. So the reality is this. The reality is simply this: The easiest, most direct way, the simplest way to solve this premium crisis is for Republicans to vote for our bill. Any Republican who claims to care about premium increases on January 1 has only one realistic path, and that is to support our bill for a simple, clean, 3-year extension. If Republicans block our bill, there is no going back. We won't get another chance to halt these premium spikes before they kick in at the start of the new year. Those insurance premiums in January will land like a hammer blow on the American people. The pain will fall on all Americans but heaviest in the Republicans' own backyards. They don't even care about their own constituents. As election results have shown in November, this past week, and in many other instances, the American people are beginning to learn Republicans don't care that costs are going through the roof for the average American family. Americans with chronic illnesses will suffer if we don't extend the credits. Rural communities will be devastated. People who get insurance through their jobs will see their costs go up too. This isn't just affecting ACA people. We can avoid all of this needless pain if just a handful of Republicans join us in passing our bill--join us in passing our bill. Or are they going to continue the Republican war on healthcare, on reducing healthcare costs, and block getting better healthcare for the American people. For the last 30 years, Republicans have been fighting, but now this fight is coming to a head because the failure to extend these premiums will hit so hard--harder than anything that has hit the American people in the last while. Democrats have made clear where we stand. Now that our proposal is out, Republicans have 1 week to pick a side: Join us and prevent premiums from skyrocketing, or block our bill and condemn people, the American people, to financial disaster. The choice is up to the Republicans here in the Senate.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Signalgate, today, a Pentagon watchdog will release a new report on Signalgate finding that Secretary Hegseth put the lives of American troops at risk by sharing sensitive operational information on a group chat in flagrant disregard of security proposals. Secretary Hegseth has put the lives of American troops at risk. The conclusion that this report points to is damning. The Secretary of Defense's lack of judgment put the lives of our troops in danger. Instead of accepting responsibility for his mistakes as any real leader would do, the Secretary has remained defiant, has mocked this incident, and has tried to label this as a witch hunt--as a witch hunt. Pete Hegseth has a clear MO: He puts himself first at the expense of our men and women in uniform, and when he screws up, he tries to hide the truth. That is his MO--putting himself first and then hiding the truth. This new report, just like the boat strikes in the Caribbean, points to a growing pattern: When Hegseth has the chance to make himself look good, look tough, he will talk a big game--try to seem tough. He will go on TV and make big speeches. But when he makes mistakes or faces any adversity, he throws others under the bus without a second thought. This guy does not belong as Secretary of Defense. In the 10 months on the job, Pete Hegseth has demonstrated clear defects of character that we cannot afford in a Secretary of Defense. I ask my Republican colleagues: How can we trust this man to keep our troops safe when it is clear that he isn't able to even keep sensitive information safe? How can we trust the word of a man who will change his story or shift blame or hide the truth at the drop of a hat? The answer is, we cannot trust him. Pete Hegseth is not qualified to serve as Secretary of Defense. Our brave troops need much better than Pete Hegseth.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, on nominations, Republicans will move forward with a Trojan horse of a nominee package, confirming in one fell swoop a slew of horribly unqualified, shockingly radical nominees. All year long, Senate Republicans have bent the knee to Donald Trump, giving him every nominee he has asked for, no matter how unqualified, no matter how unfit they are, no matter how bad this nominee package is. It is much different than any nominee package we have seen. Democrats oppose these people, as you will see in a minute, because they are just totally unqualified to be in the important positions he is trying to place them in. No wonder the Republicans didn't want to have votes on these people, didn't want to have discussion, because when the American people learn who they are, they are aghast that these types of people would be appointed. So, yes, Democrats want votes. We want least an hour or two of discussion to fill these important positions. Leader Thune said, oh, we are just doing this for partisan political reasons. Here is what he said exactly. He said: Democrats must be doing one of two things. Thune said: Either the President has been nominating historically bad nominees, or Democrats are simply being partisan. Well, Speaker Thune, Leader Thune, that is obvious, Leader Thune: It is that Donald Trump is nominating historically bad nominees. That is why we are doing this. I mean, there are so many. I could spend hours on the floor talking about them. But let me mention a few, just a few, and when you hear what is going on, America, you will be aghast. Look at the nomination of Sara Bailey to serve as Director of National Drug Control Policy. They are trying to sneak this one through. Of course they would be afraid of a discussion or a vote or who she is coming to light. Bailey has no background in medicine, no background in public health, no background in law enforcement. She is so radical--Bailey is--that even FOX News's news shows banned her. But do you know what she has going for her? why she was nominated for an important position with no experience? She said the January 6 rioters were ``good Americans.'' That was her ticket to getting this job. All you have to do is tell Donald Trump he was right about January 6, even though he was so obviously wrong and dangerous in what he did then. But all you have to do is tell him ``Oh, they were good Americans,'' and that is good enough for Donald Trump. And now Senate Republicans have gone down to his level, and it is good enough for them. Republicans are also trying to sneak through people like Anthony D'Esposito to be the inspector general--the watchdog--of the Department of Labor. This is a former Member of the House who put his mistress on his congressional payroll and has faced a slew of misconduct allegations as a police officer. That is not anyone's definition of a good watchdog--unless you are Senate Republicans. Someone who faced misconduct allegations and put his mistress on the payroll is now the watchdog at the Department of Labor? Give me a break. Of course they want to hide these nominees. They are embarrassed about them. They know that Donald Trump has the lowest standard of any President we have ever seen for qualifications to important positions. There is John Bartrum, who Republicans want to appoint as Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs. What is his claim to fame? He was instrumental in firing VA staff, tearing up VA contracts, and politicizing VA research. That is just three. There are so many more that are just appalling. Yeah, we Democrats of course want to see votes on these nominees. We don't want to allow them to just be all voted yes in a big package so their lack of qualification, their lack of honor, their lack of honesty, their past records can be hidden. But Republicans are ashamed--ashamed--of who they have to vote for. They should vote against these nominees, but they are afraid of Donald Trump. It is very clear what Republicans are doing. They are trying to pull a fast one on the American people and sneak through an entire henhouse of bad nominees without giving them the scrutiny that the American people demand. You know, when you choose bad nominees, you pay a price. Trump picked Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, whom I talked about a few minutes ago. He had no qualifications to be Secretary of Defense. The only way he got through was arm-twisting from some Republicans who knew he shouldn't be in that position, and now Trump and the administration and Senate Republicans who voted for him are paying a price because it is so obvious he is screwing up left and right. When you put in these bad nominees, you sneak them through or bludgeon them through, the administration and, unfortunately, the American people pay a very significant price. This nominee package is a perfect symbol of what this majority has been about from day one: bowing to Donald Trump, rubberstamping his unqualified loyalists, and chipping away at the Senate's role as a check on a highly abusive Executive. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, Americans once again went to the polls in an election where affordability--how much people have to pay for the things they really need--was the driving issue. A deep-red Tennessee district that Trump won by 22 points swung by double digits in Democrats' direction. Last night was the latest flashing red light indicating Americans are fed up with Republican policies--particularly how much they have to pay for the things they really need. Donald Trump doesn't get it. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, Donald Trump once again doubled down on the bizarre claim that the affordability issue is somehow a hoax. Yeah, maybe it is a hoax for a billionaire like him and all of his cronies, who never have to worry about how much they have to pay for the things they need, but American people have to worry and worry about it every week when the bills come in, and they say: My income isn't equal to what I need to buy. The costs are going up and up and up, in large part--in good part-- because of Donald Trump and his administration's policies. So when Donald Trump says that affordability is somehow a hoax, he is on a different planet than the average American. At his Cabinet meeting, he called affordability ``a fake narrative'' and ``a con job.'' He said affordability ``doesn't mean anything to anybody.'' What a bubble he is in. He doesn't understand how the average person struggles each week, each month, to pay the bills. Of all the ways Donald Trump could respond to people's worry about the high cost of living, he has chosen the worst strategy. He is telling Americans they are imagining things. Donald Trump--a man who has lived his entire life in the kind of luxury most people could never wrap their heads around--is pretending that high costs somehow don't exist. The man is a multibillionaire. The President of the United States, who is supposed to know what is on people's minds, is telling people that high costs that they pay each week don't exist. Well, their pocketbooks feel it. Their wallets feel it. Their bank accounts feel it. Maybe things are going great if you are rich like Donald Trump, but for everyone else, things are getting worse, not better, when it comes to paying for stuff. In a recent Axios-CBS poll, half of Americans said that food is harder to purchase this year than it was a year ago. That doesn't sound like a hoax--not to people who go to the supermarket every week and have trouble and look at those bills and say: How the hell did they get so high? It sounds, rather, not like a hoax, which Donald Trump seems to think it is, but a big problem every week for American families--the high cost of groceries and what they buy at the supermarket. Seventy-four percent of Americans now say that the economy is either poor or just fair. Consumer confidence--one of the watch words of how good our economy is going to do in the future--is sinking. This holiday season, the price of an 8-pound, bone-in spiral ham is up nearly 50 percent compared to last year--50 percent for a traditional Christmas dish. Beef prices are up 15 percent compared to last year. Canned vegetables are more expensive because tariffs made the packaging more costly even when those vegetables are grown here. Even something as simple as aluminum foil is up 40 percent compared to last year. So, Donald Trump, hear the American people: Affordability--the high cost of paying for things--is not a hoax. People are struggling to pay for the things they need. It is because of Donald Trump and his disastrous policies. His tariffs have effectively taxed each household around $2,000 a year. Tariffs sent retail coffee prices up 40 percent in September alone. And those tariffs were placed on places like Brazil. We don't grow coffee here in America, so what the hell is there a tariff doing there? Except it is a tax. That is the way Trump taxes people. Tariffs have poisoned American manufacturing. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that manufacturing has contracted for 9 months in a row. Manufacturing, one of the lifebloods of America, has been declining every month for the last 9 months. And what is the reason? Ask manufacturers. Tariffs are the No. 1 cost. Producers say it is getting more expensive to source the material they need to make their products. It is very simple.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I want to begin with a truly disgusting and alarming piece of news the American people got this morning. This morning, the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was released from prison after Donald Trump gave him a pardon. We all know Donald Trump does a lot of hypocritical things. Almost every day there is hypocrisy oozing from the White House. But pardoning one of the world's biggest drug traffickers is egregious, shameful, and dangerous, even for Donald Trump. It would be bad enough on its own for Donald Trump to pardon this horrible drug trafficker, but for him to pardon this drug lord while putting a quarter of our military in the Caribbean, right nearby Honduras, to fight drug trafficking makes an utter mockery of Donald Trump's supposed desire to root out all drug trafficking. Let's be clear of the facts: The person Donald Trump just pardoned was convicted of helping move 400 tons of cocaine to the United States, all the while Trump blows up alleged drug boats to prevent drugs from getting to America and risks leapfrogging the United States into war with Venezuela. You can't have it both ways, Mr. President. You talk a big game about hunting down drug traffickers and getting drugs off our streets and then turn around and free a dangerous, convicted drug lord. That sends a message to other criminals: Suck up to Trump, and you will get a pardon, no matter how many boatloads of drugs you pump into our streets. Even one Trump adviser admitted that ``how we justify this is really hard.'' Trump's pardon reeks of hypocrisy; it reeks of corruption, which is the MO of the Trump administration. The failure of the leadership at the Department of Defense is also a national embarrassment. The mess Secretary Hegseth creates regularly shows the consequences of picking an inexperienced FOX News host to lead a massively complex life-or-death Federal Agency. Donald Trump is learning it the hard way: If you pick a FOX News cable host to lead the largest, most complicated Federal Agency of all, you get burnt, and Hegseth is just way beyond what anyone would imagine in how bad he is at that Department. In the past few days, more questions have arisen about Hegseth's order to attack alleged drug trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela. It is possible those strikes--which may have included verbal orders from the Secretary of Defense to ``kill everybody'' on those boats--violated the law. But this is the problem: The American people still don't know exactly what happened because Pete Hegseth refuses to tell the truth. Months ago, right after the strikes, Hegseth went on FOX News and bragged that he was present at every moment of the operation. He said on FOX News that he ``watched it live.'' He said the same to us in person. But then, last night, he tweeted that his admiral was actually the one who made all the combat decisions. This is so spineless. Pete Hegseth won't hesitate for a moment to talk a big game and take credit if he thinks it makes him look good, but the minute trouble arises, suddenly Hegseth says someone else was making the decision. Now, let's be very clear about something: There is a very easy way for the American people to get the truth. Pete Hegseth should release the full tapes of the September 2 attack--both the first and second strike; not a clip, not some edited or redacted snippet. The full, unedited tapes of each strike must be released so the American people can see what happened with their own eyes. Now, Pete Hegseth says he did nothing wrong. So prove it. If it is true, he should have nothing to fear from the truth. But if he refuses to release the tapes, if he stonewalls, if he keeps hiding the facts, then the question becomes unavoidable: What is Pete Hegseth hiding? What does Pete Hegseth not want the American people to see? Is it that his story doesn't add up? We don't know because Pete Hegseth is right now hiding the truth. And, sadly, that has become the theme with this administration. When facts are inconvenient, they cover up. So, Secretary Hegseth, release the tapes. I also want to commend my Senate colleagues, including the chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, Senators Wicker and Reed, for working together in good faith in a bipartisan way to conduct oversight of these boat strikes. I support those efforts wholeheartedly. One of the first things we need is a classified briefing from the DOD--Department of Defense--about exactly what happened during these operations. Let me be clear: Secretary Hegseth must be part of those briefings. We need documentation. We need the tapes. But we should go one step further: Secretary Hegseth should testify publicly before the committee, under oath, so that the American people hear the facts. The truth should not be kept behind closed doors. The fresh air of public scrutiny should be let in. The public has a right to know. That is why Pete Hegseth must testify publicly and, most importantly, why he must release the full tape of the attacks.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on healthcare, let me start with a shockingly candid quote from a senior House Republican on their plan to fix healthcare. This senior House Republican, when it came to healthcare, said about the Republicans in the House: We're nowhere on healthcare. That is what a senior House Republican said. It is a grim thing to say, but it is the truth. There has never been a clearer divide on what Democrats want on healthcare and what Republicans want on healthcare. Democrats want to lower healthcare costs for families. We want to make healthcare cheaper, more effective, more accessible. We are united on that issue from one end of the party to the other. Republicans, meanwhile, are a total mess when it comes to healthcare. Republicans don't know what to do. One day Trump floats a so-called healthcare plan. The next day, Speaker Johnson forces him to shoot it down. Some Republicans say they want to dismantle the ACA--probably a majority of them in the House and a large number in the Senate--just dismantle it altogether. Other Republicans seem more focused on eradicating reproductive care in every State than helping people afford healthcare. The bottom line is, Republicans are in total disarray on healthcare. And while Republicans continue the infighting, who is paying the price? The American people, the people whose premiums are going up by $500 to $1,000 a month. These people know that Trump and the Republicans are to blame. America, we all know, is in a healthcare crisis, and Republicans are only adding fuel to the fire. Democrats have been clear from the start: The first step--the first step--to solve this crisis is extending the ACA tax credits. Democrats are ready to do so. We are united, and we are committed to lowering the cost of healthcare. Republicans, however, by their own admission, are nowhere on healthcare, and that is a disastrous message to send to the American people who are suffering from skyrocketing healthcare costs. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning, I was informed by New York law enforcement of multiple bomb threats made against my offices in Rochester, Binghamton, and Long Island. The bomb threats against my offices came with the email subject line ``MAGA'' and from an email address alleging the ``2020 election was rigged.'' Local and Federal law enforcement responded immediately and are conducting full security sweeps, and investigations are ongoing. Everyone, thank God, is safe, and I am grateful for the quick and professional response of Federal and local law enforcement to ensure that these offices remain safe and secure for all New Yorkers. As I have said many times, these kinds of violent threats have absolutely no place--no place--in our political system. No one--no public servant, no staff member, no constituent, no citizen--should ever be targeted for simply doing their job.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on Venezuela, Donald Trump has turned the Caribbean into a dangerous tinder box. Today, we have more troops off the coast of South America than we have had in decades. U.S. forces have struck at least 20 alleged drug boats with zero independent evidence, no transparency, and no concrete legal justification. On Saturday, Donald Trump proclaimed that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety. What does this mean? We have no clue because Donald Trump said a few hours later not to ``read anything into it.'' The erraticness of his foreign policy is dangerous in itself--saying one thing one day and one thing the next. So Americans are right to wonder, what on Earth is Donald Trump planning in Venezuela? Is Donald Trump nudging America into another war? Is he seeking regime change for Maduro? Will he put U.S. troops in harm's way? Nobody knows. All we have is a bunch of contradictory statements from Trump. Donald Trump seems to be planning a war totally in secret--without congressional authorization, without any transparency, without any explanation for what his goals even are. And all it takes--all it takes--is one mistake, one miscalculation, one lapse in judgment from either side, and suddenly our troops could find themselves in armed conflict with Venezuela. Lives could be lost. American security could suffer. So I want to be very, very clear. If Donald Trump proceeds with his plan to conduct strikes against Venezuela, Senators Kaine, Paul, and I will immediately file a War Powers Resolution to force congressional action to block the use of troops in Venezuela. The power to declare war lies in the hands of Congress, and we intend to exert that authority should the need arise. Now, I urge my Republican colleagues to work with us to advance this resolution if it becomes necessary because the thought of another forever war makes Americans sick to their stomachs. Americans are tired of seeing troops bogged down in one country after another. Americans do not want a pointless war in Venezuela. Donald Trump does not have the authority to send our troops into harm's way without authorization from Congress. Should Donald Trump proceed, the Senate will immediately respond. Should a strike occur, we will force a debate in Congress and force a vote to prevent the U.S. troops from being in hostilities against Venezuela. Our troops' safety and our national security are at stake. I urge both sides to stand ready to assert the powers of Congress on matters of war and peace should the need arise because the rules of the Congress allow us to require a vote on this issue should the need arise.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Mr. President, on healthcare, so the holiday season is upon us, and this year, people are wondering how the hell they are going to afford their health insurance. The ACA tax credits the Republicans have refused to extend will expire, and as many as 20 million Americans will see their healthcare costs skyrocket. Many more than 20 million, even if they have private insurance, will see their costs skyrocket as well. What are Donald Trump and Republicans doing to solve America's healthcare crisis? Absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. Donald Trump and Republicans seem to be in no hurry at all to prevent tens of millions of people's premiums from skyrocketing. After waiting until the last minute to even talk about healthcare, Republicans are now in utter disarray. First, Trump said he would finally release his grand plan to fix healthcare. Then Republicans in Congress threw a tantrum and bullied the President into backing down. Now Republicans in the House and Senate can't seem to get on the same page about how they will fix this crisis that has been brewing under their watch. So while Republicans are in complete disarray about healthcare, Democrats remain united to lower people's premiums and to bring their costs down. Until Donald Trump and Republicans show they are serious about working with us to solve the healthcare crisis, Americans will continue to see their healthcare costs skyrocket, and they will know it is Donald Trump and the Republicans who are to blame. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Hegseth, I want to say a word about Secretary Hegseth. I don't think we have ever seen someone so unserious, so childish, so obviously insecure serving as Secretary of Defense as Pete Hegseth, and that should alarm every single one of us. Secretary Hegseth loves to look tough. He loves to boast about the lethality of our forces. He wants to be taken seriously, but yesterday he posted a ridiculous tweet of a cartoon turtle firing on alleged drug traffickers--a sick parody of a well-known children's book. This man is a national embarrassment. Tweeting memes in the middle of a potential armed conflict is something no serious leader would ever even think of doing. The only thing this tweet accomplishes is to remind the world that Pete Hegseth is not up to the job. But, of course, this is much more serious than memes on twitter. A few days ago, the Washington Post reported that Secretary Hegseth gave a spoken directive to kill all the occupants of the first alleged drug boat struck by U.S. forces. If the reports in the Washington Post are accurate, this may expose those involved to legal consequences. What we need right now more than anything else is the truth, the facts, which is precisely what Secretary Hegseth has refused to give. There are tapes in the possession of the Department of Defense that would show exactly what happened during these military strikes. Secretary Hegseth has an obligation to be truthful, so he should release those tapes. He says the Washington Post account is not correct, so why not release the tapes and prove it? If he refuses to release these tapes, it calls into question the truthfulness of his account. The tapes will show one way or the other what happened and whether Hegseth is telling the truth. If Secretary Hegseth has nothing to hide, he should not fear being truthful. In the meantime, Republicans in the House and Senate, including the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have promised ``vigorous oversight'' on these strikes. This is very encouraging, and I thank them for working in a bipartisan way on this matter. But now Republicans in both Chambers must follow through. We need congressional hearings. We need full and transparent briefings from the Pentagon. Most importantly, the committees should continue to demand that Secretary Hegseth release--release--the tapes. This is such a serious matter that Secretary Hegseth himself should come before the Congress to testify under oath about the nature of his order, the evidence supporting the strikes, and an explanation for what the goals are in Venezuela. With our troops standing on a knife's edge in the Caribbean, we need a Secretary of Defense who can prove himself to be serious, sober- minded, and someone of high character. Sadly, Hegseth has the opposite of each of these qualities.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, earlier today, Donald Trump shared a post on Truth Social calling for Democratic Members of Congress to be hanged. He also posted a message that said: SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH! Let's be crystal clear. The President of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it is deadly serious. We have already seen what happens when Donald Trump tells his followers that his political opponents are enemies of the state. Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior. We all remember what January 6 was like. We lived through January 6. We have lived through the assassinations and attempted assassinations this year. We have Members whose families had to flee their homes. When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen. He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline. Every Senator, every Representative, every American--regardless of party--should condemn this immediately and without qualification, because if we don't draw a line here, there is no line left to draw. Who would have thought the President of the United States would be saying his opponents should be hanged? It is outrageous. No President has ever stooped as low as Donald Trump--none. He has made political violence a feature of his politics, and if we don't draw a line here, there is no line left to draw. And, today, he crossed yet another line that no democracy can afford to tolerate. He must be condemned forcibly, loudly, and without excuses before someone takes his words as permission to do the unthinkable. Anything less enables the flames of hatred to grow and spread. Affordability Mr. President, on affordability, in less than a year, Donald Trump has gone from promising to bring costs down ``on day one,'' as he said, to claiming that the word ``affordable'' is some kind of ``new word'' and even a ``con job.'' That is right. Donald Trump doesn't even want to see the word ``affordable'' on his teleprompter because it will send him into a tailspin. Poor guy, he can't reduce prices. He doesn't care about prices, but he doesn't want to see the word because it will send him into a tailspin. If there was ever ostrich-like behavior, that was it. Here is what he said yesterday at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum: That's the new word they use, ``affordability''. . . . We are bringing prices down, but they came up with a new word: ``affordability.'' What the heck is Donald Trump talking about? Does he think ``affordable'' is some kind of new made-up fancy word? Doesn't he realize that working and middle-class Americans talk about affordability all the time: I can't afford this; I can't afford that. Is he trying to hide the problem by denying the word? Does he think that rising grocery prices, rising rent, rising healthcare are all some kind of lie invented by Democrats? Does he think, if the word is abolished, that people will then automatically, magically, be able to afford all the things that they can't afford anymore? When was the last time Donald Trump actually spoke to someone earning a middle-class income or someone who earned minimum wage? If Donald Trump actually spent time talking to real people around the country, instead of bragging about ballrooms and jetting around the world in luxury, he would realize there is nothing made up about the affordability crisis. These kinds of comments from Donald Trump give the game away. He has absolutely no conception of what everyday Americans are going through right now. He is on another planet. It has gotten so bad that he doesn't even want to listen to people talk about rising costs. Here is what he said just a few days after the recent election: I don't want to hear about the affordability. Well, he is going to hear about affordability from the American people, above all, because they can't afford a whole lot of stuff. And when Donald Trump wants to know why his popularity is sinking, it is because of things like this. The No. 1 crisis that the average American feels when they sit down and try to figure out how to pay bills is they can't afford them, and Donald Trump says he doesn't want to hear about affordability. Do you hear that, America? Donald Trump doesn't even want to hear your worries about your high rent or high grocery costs. Don't even mention that they are ``affordable'' because that word sends him into a rage. It is unbelievable. This President--unbelievable--he thinks that by saying you abolish a word, you abolish the problem. And the magnitude of this problem is so large. Ask America, Trump: Is your healthcare too expensive? They will say: Yes. Are your groceries too expensive? They will say: Yes. Can you afford your healthcare? They will say: No. Can you afford your groceries? Can you afford the cost of electricity? Can you afford to buy a new car? They will say: No. And he doesn't want to hear about it. He says extending the ACA premium tax credits, which would save people thousands a month, is nothing but a waste of time. This President is so out of touch with Americans, and, every day, more and more Americans are realizing how out of touch he is when he says things like this. Healthcare Mr. President, let me talk now about HSAs and the healthcare debate. After Democrats pushed Republicans for months to fix ACA premiums, Americans are now about to fall off a healthcare cliff, and Donald Trump has no plans to fix it whatsoever. Maybe he thinks healthcare is affordable for people. It isn't for most. If Donald Trump were smart, he would have worked with Democrats at the drop of a hat to extend the ACA tax credits for at least another year. We offered him that. But, instead, he is telling Republicans to push half-baked ideas like health savings accounts and direct checks. Let me say this very plainly. Donald Trump's Republican ideas about HSAs are nonstarters for Democrats because they are completely flawed and woefully insufficient for our Nation's healthcare problems. If Republicans push this flawed policy, they will go nowhere in the Senate. First, neither HSAs nor a lump-sum check will do anything to help people afford insurance. If your insurance plan goes from $1,000 a month to $4,000, a one-time check isn't going to go very far. For cancer patients who pay thousands of dollars for lifesaving medications in one month, their HSAs will do nothing--nothing--to help them afford care. Second, implementing changes this complex would be practically impossible before the end of the year. People are signing up for health insurance right now, and health savings accounts cannot be used to pay for premiums, period. Third, Republicans talk about ``waste, fraud, and abuse'' and have railed on insurance companies. But the Republican policies will do nothing--absolutely nothing--about either problem. So either Republicans don't understand how healthcare works or their complaints about fraud and abusive insurance companies are cynical and disingenuous. That is why Democrats insist that one of the best things we can do right now is extend the ACA premium tax credits, because when people talk about costs, healthcare is near the top of the list of their worries, if not at the very top. It is shameful that Donald Trump and Republicans have given up entirely on solving the healthcare premium crisis. When people's monthly payments spike next year, they will know it was Republicans that made it happen. And more than that, they will know Democrats are the ones who are fighting on their behalf to lower costs and rebuild the sunny American optimism our country desperately needs. Anti-Semitism Finally, on anti-Semitism, anti-Semitism in America has reached a dangerous tipping point. Jewish Americans are facing threats, harassment, and violence at levels we have not seen in generations. As I have said many times in this Chamber, anti-Semitism is the canary in the coal mine. Where there is anti-Semitism, there lurks White supremacy and other pernicious forms of hate. Three days ago, the President of the United States declined to condemn Nick Fuentes' hateful views and defended Tucker Carlson's decision to give Fuentes a platform. The President was asked about his thoughts on the interview. He declined to condemn Nick Fuentes. That is disgusting. For Donald Trump to excuse and protect the spread of Nick Fuentes' ideology confirms what many of us have long said: White supremacy and anti-Semitism are taking deep roots, unfortunately, within the Republican Party. Just as we saw from the leaked texts of young Republicans, just as we saw from text messages of administration officials, the Nick Fuentes saga on the right reveals that anti-Semitism and White supremacy have been growing with disturbing currency within the rightwing and within the rightwing of the Republican Party. But I know this is not true of everyone on the Republican side, especially not for many Republicans in this Chamber. Therefore, I will soon lead a resolution, here in the Senate, rejecting Nick Fuentes and his White supremacist views and condemning Carlson's platform of hate and condemning White supremacy whenever and wherever it occurs. In the coming days, I will work to grow support for my resolution so the Senate can take a clear stand against hatred and anti-Semitism. I hope my Republican colleagues will join me in this effort and cosponsor this resolution. Calling out anti-Semitism should not be a partisan issue. In fact, when we refuse to condemn anti-Semitism, when we stay silent and fail to reject anti-Semitic rhetoric, when we normalize hateful figures spewing disgusting anti-Semitism, that is when anti-Semitism spreads throughout society like a poisonous wildfire. Americans don't want to see that happen. So my resolution will give every Senator--every single Senator--a chance to make an important stand against hatred. The country must see us unite and fight this awful form of bigotry. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday, with near unanimity, the House and Senate agreed to pass legislation to compel Donald Trump to release the Epstein files. A few hours after the House voted, I came to the floor and got unanimous consent for the Senate to immediately pass this bill, and a few moments ago, the Senate received the Epstein bill from the House. We are glad the House has sent us the bill, and this means it will get to the President's desk quickly. After months of waiting, months of Republican delay, after so many failed attempts from Donald Trump to hide the truth, the Epstein Files Transparency Act is headed to his desk. And, again, this is a very important moment for so many people whose lives have been destroyed by Jeffrey Epstein and his circle of abusers and monsters. So I want to thank, again, all the advocates, the survivors, and the victims groups who raised their voices, who spoke courageously about the need for accountability, and pushed Congress to take action. It is a shame that so many Republicans, Donald Trump, and Republican leaders in Congress tried for months to prevent the truth from coming out. Republican leaders had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get this bill over the finish line. Left to their own devices, these Republican leaders would have never let the bill see the light of day. But that shows you how powerful this issue is, and it shows you that when a strong group of people--they may be a small group, but with moral right on their side, with great conviction--they can get to the truth and move that desire forward. But I want to be very clear: The job is not done. The vote is not the end. It is only the beginning. Once the President signs the bill, he must apply and execute it faithfully. There must be no funny business from Donald Trump. He must not use the excuse of frivolous investigations to release some Epstein documents while intentionally hiding others that deserve to be seen by the American public. This is not an invitation for Donald Trump to pick and choose his version of the truth. This bill is a command for the President to be fully transparent, to come fully clean, and to provide full honesty to the American people, even if he doesn't want to. So I want to be clear: Anything less than full transparency will be unacceptable in the eyes of the American people. If Donald Trump refuses to comply, if he refuses to obey the law, Senate Democrats will hold him accountable. We will exercise oversight. We will demand transparency. We will make it clear to the American people that Donald Trump has broken his promise to come clean on Jeffrey Epstein. Inflation Mr. President, now on costs and the high cost of living that American people are facing, 2 weeks ago, the American people, not only in New Jersey and Virginia but across the country, sent their loudest message yet that they are fed up--just fed up--with the high cost of living. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say Donald Trump's top priority right now should be lowering prices, and no other issue comes close. A Marist poll released this morning shows the American people know precisely who is fighting for them and who is making life more difficult, because the most important issue keeping Americans up at night right now can be summed up in one word: costs--or in three words: cost of living. And that is exactly the issue Donald Trump and Republicans have ignored and even made worse. Now, just yesterday, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he will never sign an extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, and we know, if they expire, people's cost for healthcare, so vital to American families, is going to go up--$500 a month, $1,000 a month, $20,000 a year. How are families going to pay for that? And faced with the Hobson's choice of cutting back on everything else dramatically or having no healthcare for their families, Americans will hate that choice. And that is why we are fighting so hard for them. Donald Trump says to the American people: Drop dead. That is his message in the middle of the most stressful open enrollment period, perhaps ever--just incredibly out of touch. So Republicans can ignore high costs at not just their own political peril but also to the immense detriment of American families. That is who they are hurting, which is why Democrats will keep the fight going. It is why we Democrats have worked for months and continue to fight every day to do something about people's healthcare costs. It is why Democrats have fought relentlessly and continue to fight relentlessly against Donald Trump's ``Big Ugly Bill.'' It is why Democrats have demanded that Republicans work with us to extend the premium tax credits. We will fight to lower people's healthcare costs. We will fight to bring down rent, bring down people's electric bill, and make groceries more affordable. Donald Trump may think affordability is some kind of Democratic ``con job,'' as he derisively called it, but the opposite is true: Americans are fed up with high costs, and they need a lifeline while Donald Trump is tossing them an anchor. Venezuela Mr. President, on Venezuela, last week, Donald Trump said he is ``sort of decided'' on his military strategy on Venezuela. This follows Trump sending our largest U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of U.S. sailors and marines to the Caribbean, as part of the largest military buildup in this hemisphere in decades. Yet Congress has gotten very few answers from the Trump administration about this rapid and potentially dangerous escalation. In fact, on multiple occasions, I have directed Secretary Rubio to explain their escalatory actions toward Venezuela, but, so far, I have received very little from him. So, today, I am renewing my call on Secretary Rubio to provide an all-Senators classified briefing on this military buildup and the reported plans for military operations in Venezuela. To date, the Trump administration has failed its duty under the law to consult with Congress on preparations for military action in Venezuela. We have heard no clear goals. We have heard no clear timeline. We have heard no clear explanation for what Donald Trump's ultimate objective is in the region, and military action could risk the lives of thousands of U.S. servicemembers and destabilize the entire region. Make no mistake, the Maduro regime is horrific, undemocratic, and the United States should be strong in using all legal tools against drug traffickers who poison Americans with deadly narcotics. But the last thing Americans want right now is another endless war. The last thing Americans need is Donald Trump bumbling the United States into a war with Venezuela. So, again, I am calling on the Trump administration and Secretary Rubio to provide an all-Senators classified briefing on current military planning for operations in Venezuela. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I want to thank Senator Schiff and Ranking Member Whitehouse for leading the charge on such an important resolution. Around the country, people's gas and electric bills are skyrocketing. More and more Americans are looking for every penny they can find to pay the bills, especially with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays around the corner. As families are trying to save, Donald Trump is making it easier for gas companies to waste--that is, waste as much natural gas as they want--by delaying an important rule that reduces leaks and waste from natural gas facilities. Can we have some order please. Extracting natural gas costs money, and the more natural gas is wasted, the more consumers end up paying. That means it gets even more expensive to heat your home during the winter. It means more stress for families trying to make ends meet. It is bad enough that the Republicans cut off all clean energy. That is going to cause people's electric prices to go through the roof. But now this is even worse--insult to injury to the American consumer. So the bottom line is simple: Americans are falling behind on their energy bills, and Donald Trump and Republicans are doing the bidding of the natural gas and oil lobby to drive up energy costs, destroying good-paying American jobs in the process. That wasted natural gas is poisonous to our communities. It leaks out into our neighborhoods, causing asthma, lung cancer, heart problems, even reproductive issues. So Democrats have acted to reduce methane leaks and waste, saving consumers money and making our communities healthy. That is a win-win. But Trump and Republicans, again--America, when your electric bill goes up, talk to your Senator, if they are Republican, about why they are cutting wind, cutting solar, and letting oil companies waste valuable methane. They are doing it all, and it is going to hurt the American consumer. I urge strongly that we support this resolution. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.