Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Well, Mr. President, I and we all are relieved that no one was seriously injured in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. No matter the perpetrator, no matter the motive, political violence endangers our democracy. I denounce political violence in all its forms, as I always have and always will. I commend law enforcement's swift response to apprehend the gunman, which undoubtedly saved many lives, and that includes the Secret Service.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on the need to fund the Secret Service, I just heard Leader Thune lashing out. I sympathize with him. He is in a real pickle. He is fighting with his own Republican Party Speaker in the House. His caucus here is factionalized as to what to do, as to how we fund both ICE and CBP and even DHS. They are in a mess. So what does the Republican leader do? He points fingers at Democrats. That is absurd. The idea that Democrats are somehow to blame for this Republican shutdown of DHS is just ridiculous, and Thune and his Republican leadership ought to act like adults and help us solve this problem during serious--serious--times like these, instead of pointing fingers in another direction. At this very moment, funding for Secret Service and so many other Agencies is sitting idly in the House of Representatives, not waiting for Democrats--we don't run the House--waiting for Republicans. And Republicans somehow, especially the rightwing propaganda, just blames Democrats with no logic, no rationale. What Republican rightwing propaganda is saying couldn't be further from the truth. Democrats wanted to fund all of the law-abiding Agencies at DHS, and we worked with Republicans, Leader Thune, here in the House to do it--here in the Senate to do it. Democrats looked to compromise with Republicans as we pushed for commonsense reforms for ICE and other Agencies, and twice Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would fund all of the Agencies within DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol, which are already funded. Let me say that again. Democrats unanimously--unanimously--supported funding the vast majority of DHS, including Secret Service, not once but twice. We passed it in the Senate, not once but twice. It was House Republicans, not Democrats, who blocked funding for Secret Service, TSA, CISA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and other Agencies that we all agree should be funded. House Republicans could and should fund the Secret Service today, but, instead, they are holding it up. So Leader Thune--if he wants to be constructive, if he wants to get something done--should stop pointing fingers in this direction and start looking in the mirror. At least look down the hall and start talking some sense into the House Republicans, who seem to be tied in a knot because the rightwing MAGA few refuse to go forward. Republicans ought to start standing up to Speaker Johnson and the House Freedom Caucus and say: We must fund this. And that applies to the Republican leader, who has a greater responsibility than just inanely pointing fingers to the other side of the aisle. To the Republicans--House and Senate--stop with the partisan games. Advance the bipartisan bill that we all passed unanimously in the Senate, and we could get the funding for the Secret Service and other Agencies done.

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday, Senate Republicans put forward their budget resolution for its first procedural vote. The contents of their budget resolution are astounding. Mr. President, $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol, zero dollars to lower Americans' costs. This will be a reconciliation of contrasts: Republicans want to shell out billions of dollars to Donald Trump's private army without any commonsense reforms or restraints. Democrats want to put money in Americans' pockets by lowering the costs of healthcare and gas and groceries, housing, and so much else. Republicans are bending the knee to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Democrats are standing up for the American people. Republicans want to keep shutting down TSA, FEMA, CISA, Coast Guard, and other crucial DHS Agencies. Democrats want to reopen all the law-abiding Agencies in the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans are at each other's throats, tying their party up in knots. Democrats stand united, and we stand firm. So this is a reconciliation of contrasts. Senate Democrats will make these contrasts abundantly clear, vote after vote, amendment after amendment, during the upcoming vote-arama. We are also making the contrast apparent off the floor. This week, we Democrats are releasing another ``Broken Promises'' report on how Republicans have taken a trillion dollars out of the healthcare system and ripped healthcare away from 15 million Americans all to give tax breaks to the billionaires. Republicans are about to learn the hard way that when they refuse to reduce costs, they lose. Republicans will find they cannot reconcile their deeply partisan, unpopular, and costly policies with the frustration Americans feel today. This will be a reconciliation of reckoning for Senate Republicans--a reconciliation of reckoning. Iran Mr. President, every day this disastrous war continues, Donald Trump digs himself deeper and deeper and deeper into a hole. The longer Trump takes to extricate himself from Iran, the deeper the hole gets and the harder it will be for him to get out. The Iranian regime that the United States is trying to negotiate with is even more hardline than when Trump began the war. Iran's hold over Hormuz has gotten even stronger. Iran maintains its economic stranglehold on the world, firing on more merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today. So it is amazing. Before the war, the regime in Iran, bad as it was, was not as dug in as this one is, making it even harder to negotiate. Before the war, oil was flowing freely out of the Strait of Hormuz. Now it is all clogged up. Everything Trump did with this war has made things worse, and he keeps digging himself into this hole--deeper and deeper. The American people are fed up, seeing this war as reckless, as harmful, and as costly a misadventure as there has ever been. Trump's continued enthusiasm for the war makes me wonder: Has he somehow mixed up the graphs showing his crumbling approval ratings with those showing the soaring price of oil and gas? Let's sort it out for him. Trump's approval rating is at an alltime low. Only 33 percent approve of him in the most recent polls. Trump's approval on the economy is even lower, at 30 percent, in part because the price of oil and gas has gone up and up and up. Trump's standing in the eyes of the American people craters every day that this war continues. Meanwhile, gas has been over $4 a gallon for weeks, the highest it has been in years. Americans are going to pay at least $740 more this year to fill up their tanks because of Trump's war. That is money that could have gone to other things: more groceries, furniture. Who knows? But it is now going into the hands of the oil merchants. Every day, we hear new promises from the Trump administration that victory has been achieved. Victory is just around the corner, he keeps saying. But when you look around the corner, that hasn't happened. Trump says peace is at hand; costs are starting to come down--both lies. And every day, we see the opposite. Trump can talk all he wants, but nothing will change--nothing--until he realizes his war has to end. While I am relieved that the cease-fire deadline has been extended, Congress needs to seize this opportunity to stop this blunder before the fighting resumes. I urge Senate Republicans to vote for our War Powers Resolution later today. That is their fifth opportunity to do so. Republicans, if Trump won't dig himself out of the hole he has dug, you, Republicans, should pull him out by voting for our War Powers Resolution today. If not, you, Republicans in the Senate, are going to fall into the same hole. You are already falling into it. But if you don't dig him out of the hole, you are going to fall into this hole, deeper and deeper, alongside him. I thank Senator Baldwin for her work on this resolution. Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolution every week, until Republicans see reason and help us end this war. They would be doing Donald Trump a favor. Republican Senators would be doing Donald Trump a favor by supporting this resolution. And every week Republicans wait to do so will cost their party politically and the American people financially. Southern Poverty Law Center Mr. President, on the Southern Poverty Law Center, I just want to say a quick word about the deeply disturbing charges the Justice Department has brought against the Southern Poverty Law Center. These charges should send a chill down the spine of every American who cares about free expression and the rule of law in the Justice Department. It should send a chill down the spine of every American who cares about civil liberties and the fight against violence and extremism. Let's be clear what this case is really about. It has nothing to do with alleged wire fraud or the Southern Poverty Law Center somehow working in coordination with the KKK. That is ridiculous on its face. It doesn't pass the laugh test. It is about Donald Trump turning the Department of Justice into the ``Department of Vengeance,'' his own attack dog. He has done it time and time and time again. And when you think it can't get worse, it does: To attack the Southern Poverty Law Center of collaboration and accuse it of collaboration with their known enemy, the KKK? Weaponizing the DOJ to indict civil rights groups is not law and order. It is a message. If you defend voting rights, if you fight White supremacy, you are next. Donald Trump will use the Federal Government to go after any group that dares to speak out against him. This is amazing. In 1983, the Ku Klux Klan tried to burn down the Southern Poverty Law Center for daring to expose its hatred. More than four decades later, the Trump administration is trying to do the same thing in the courtroom. It is an absolute disgrace how far this administration goes down, turning what America is all about inside out. Kash Patel Mr. President, on Patel, every day Kash Patel remains in this job is another day that undermines the FBI and its mission. Take yesterday's press conference. The head of the FBI, the Nation's top law enforcement officer, spent the entire time getting into fights with reporters about his alleged drunken behavior, his partying, his overall fitness for the job. This has become a dangerous, unacceptable distraction for the FBI, which has so much important work to do. Donald Trump has led us to war right now against Iran, a nation known for sophisticated cyber attacks. Why is Kash Patel not focused on that? Why is Kash Patel not focused on the serious threats facing this country? Every day that these stories of misconduct persist, they undermine the mission of the FBI. Every day that these questions about Patel, his behavior, his character linger, they weaken confidence in the leadership of one of the most important law enforcement agencies in the world. Kash Patel must resign immediately. He is not a serious person. He has not shown that he has the skills required for the job. And the last few days have shown he does not have the judgment to lead an Agency like the FBI. This is what happens when Trump just chooses acolytes--people who suck up to him--for important jobs. That shouldn't be any criteria in choosing the head of the FBI. But, instead, it seems to be Trump's only criteria, and it puts him in trouble. It puts him in the hot seat, in the frying pan, over and over again, by choosing people whose only criteria is loyalty to him. Americans deserve steady, sober leadership from their FBI Director, especially during a time of war. Kash Patel is not it. And if Kash Patel wants to keep partying, he can do it somewhere else, without putting the safety of the American people on the line. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first let me thank Senator Baldwin for her outstanding leadership, not only on this resolution but on so many other issues related to Iran as well. Now, let me say this: Every day this disastrous war continues, Donald Trump digs himself deeper and deeper into a hole. The longer Trump waits to extricate the United States from this war, the deeper the hole gets and the harder it will be for him to get out. Republican Senators should do Donald Trump a favor and pull him out of the hole he has dug by voting for a War Powers Resolution today. If not, they will sink even further into that same hole themselves. So I urge Senate Republicans to vote for Senator Baldwin's War Powers Resolution--their fifth opportunity to vote for a War Powers Resolution, and I was proud to be actively involved to sponsor so many of them. Iran's leadership has become even more militant than before the war. Iran's hold over Hormuz has gotten even stronger. Iran maintains its economic stranglehold on the world, firing on more merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today. Meanwhile, gas has been over $4 a gallon for weeks, and that is the highest it has been in years. Americans are going to pay $740 more this year to fill up their tanks, on average, because of Trump's war. Every day we hear new promises from the Trump administration that victory has been achieved; that peace is at hand; that the costs are starting to come down; and every day, we see the opposite. Trump can talk all he wants, but nothing will change until he realizes this war needs to end. And if Donald Trump won't dig us out of this hole, Congress must step into the breach and exercise its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace. Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolutions every week until Senate Republicans see reason. Again, I thank Senator Baldwin for her work. I urge colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, let me be very clear: The Democrats are ready. Republicans wanted this vote-arama. Republicans picked this fight. If Republicans want to slog this out on the floor, so be it. But imagine, America, this is what the Republicans are fighting for-- to maintain two unchecked, rogue Agencies that are dreaded in all corners of this country instead of reducing your healthcare costs, your housing costs, your grocery costs, your gas costs. Can you believe it? Can you believe it? When America is crying out for real relief on the skyrocketing cost of living, Republicans are spending another $140 billion on Trump's private militia--on these two rogue Agencies--that have no restraint and ignore people's real needs. If you ever wanted to know what a bubble these Republican Senators are in, look right here. Look right here. They are tying the Senate in a knot, holding back, moving forward--all so they can fund with no restraint Agencies that have been discredited widely in America. Are you Republicans kidding us? Are you kidding the American people? That is your priority--not lowering costs but billions for ICE; not helping families but billions for masked agents--while America is forking up $4 a gallon at the pump while families are set back thousands more a year because of inflation. Where the heck are you? Where the heck are you? Republicans think the best thing to do right now is to cut another $140 billion check for unaccountable rogue agents. Democrats are ready to go. We will go to bat for the American people anytime, anyplace, against anyone. America will see even more clearly tonight where the Republicans are--not on the side of lowering costs but on the side of masked agents occupying our streets. Where the heck are you? America is crying out for relief from high costs, and you are here, adding $140 billion to an Agency--two groups, Border Patrol and ICE-- that nobody respects in this country. On a whole series of amendments now, we are going to contrast where we are--we Democrats--and where the Republicans are. The Republicans will either side with the American people on high costs or bow to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller and tell the American people to take a hike. ``We don't give a damn about you.'' This will be a reconciliation of contrasts. The contrasts are stark. They are damning. Republicans are bending the knee to Donald Trump and to Stephen Miller. Democrats are standing up for the American people. Republicans are fighting with each other because they know the box they are in--all kinds of dissension--but you brought it on yourselves and have no one else--no one else--to blame. So Democrats are united and strong, focused like a laser on reducing costs. This will be a reconciliation of reckoning for Senate Republicans who will continue to pay the price for their actions tonight. This reconciliation, this budget act, will show who is on whose side, and clearly, if Republicans vote against our amendments, they are not on the side of the American people. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4799 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Republicans say they want to lower healthcare costs. Well, here is a chance. Here is a chance for you, a chance for Republicans to join Senate Democrats to start doing something about it once and for all. Tonight, with the very first amendment of the evening, I am offering Republicans an exceedingly simple option: We should not consider any reconciliation bill that does not lower out-of-pocket healthcare costs for the American people. Republicans slashed $1 trillion from our healthcare system as part of their ``Big Ugly Bill.'' Since then, premiums have soared by thousands of dollars a month for millions of people, prescription drugs are up by 600 percent, and out-of-pocket costs have gone up for people with Medicare, Medicaid, ACA. Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs. Republicans, listen to the American people. They are crying out for you to lower their healthcare costs, not play these ridiculous, ridiculous, games--

Mr. SCHUMER.--by adding so much more to ICE and CBP. So, Republicans, listen to the American people, say no to billions more for unrestrained, rogue agents, and say yes to lower premiums, lower healthcare costs.

Mr. SCHUMER. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the waiver provisions of applicable budget resolutions, I move to waive all applicable sections of that act and applicable budget points of order for the purpose of the pending measure and ask for the yeas and nays. Vote on Motion

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, tonight, Senate Republicans showed the American people where they stand, not for families struggling with the high cost of childcare, groceries, gasoline, electricity but for pumping $140 billion toward rogue Agencies. All night long, we gave the Republicans a chance to do the right thing by voting for our amendments. We gave Republicans a chance to vote for an amendment to lower out-of-pocket healthcare costs. They said: No. We gave Republicans a chance to lower childcare costs. They said: No. We gave Republicans a chance to stop insurance company delays, to protect school meals, to give people a hand at the grocery store. And Republicans said: No, no, and no, again. What kind of bubble are they living in? How apart are they from people's real needs? And, instead, take that money, which should have gone to lowering people's costs, and give it to an Agency that everyone knows needs reform. Republicans can rest assured that when reconciliation comes back up in a few weeks, they are going to have to face these votes again. Democrats will make sure that they do. We will continue to force vote after vote on the most pressing issue facing Americans today: their high, high, all-too-high costs. Democrats are going to hold Republicans' feet to the fire because the American people demand it. The American people are hurting right now because of the soaring cost of living, and that is why it is so important that Democrats continue to force Republicans to take these votes and go on record about their disastrous agenda. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last week, in Nevada, Donald Trump said ``the war in Iran is going along swimmingly . . . it's perfect.'' From Trump, again: ``The war in Iran is going along swimmingly.'' The truth is that the Trump administration is barely treading water, caught in the riptide of its own incompetence. Donald Trump has become so frustrated by his inability to end his own war of choice that he warned yesterday that ``lots of bombs will start going off'' if his cease-fire expires tomorrow. He also repeated his threat ``to knock out every single powerplant and every single bridge in Iran.'' That would constitute a war crime. Trump has backed himself in a corner, and he knows it. Thirteen American servicemembers have been killed, hundreds of others wounded. Gas is over $4 a gallon and won't be coming down anytime soon. Only one in four Americans--only one in four Americans--thinks Trump's war has been worthwhile, and Trump's approval rating has sunk to its lowest point on record. And Trump says everything is ``perfect.'' What planet is he on? It is absurd. It is an insult to the American people. And Senate Republicans have backed Trump up the entire way. Four times now, Senate Republicans have voted against our War Powers Resolution, and they have surrendered one of Congress' most important responsibilities under the Constitution to Donald Trump. Senate Democrats will force a fifth vote on our War Powers Resolution tomorrow, and we will continue to force votes every week this catastrophe continues. Make no mistake, every time Senate Republicans continue voting against our resolution, they tie themselves more tightly to this failed war policy and this failed President. Republicans can try to duck and dodge responsibility all they want, but unless Republicans join us on our resolution, they will go down with Donald Trump's ship.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on reconciliation, instead of focusing on the issues that Americans truly care about right now, Senate Republicans will entangle the Senate in the partisan sideshow that is reconciliation. In just a few hours, Republicans will release a budget resolution that will demonstrate just how out of touch they are with the American people. Senate Republicans want to pour $75 billion into ICE and Border Patrol without putting any restraints on these rogue Agencies' rampant violence in our streets. That is not what the American people want. Americans want us to lower their costs, to end this debacle in Iran; to reopen FEMA, the Coast Guard, TSA, and other Agencies Republicans have shut down. And they do not want us to waste our time and their tax dollars empowering Trump's personal police force. For weeks, Democrats have been ready and willing to address Americans' priorities. For weeks, Republicans have chosen to put the partisan policies of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller first. Americans want to know why Republicans aren't fighting to lower their gas, healthcare, grocery, and housing costs. During reconciliation, Democrats are going to make sure this majority answers to the American people, and we will put a focus on lowering the costs of healthcare and gas and groceries and housing costs and many other costs that have gone up due to Trump's incompetence.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Haiti, later today, I am meeting with Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime to discuss how we can support Haiti's path to security and democracy by helping its government stop violence and root out corruption. The Haitian community is woven into the fabric of American society, and it is particularly true in New York, which is the proud home of the largest Haitian-American diaspora in the country. Sadly, Donald Trump continues to vilify and demean Haitian-Americans with his bigoted attacks. He repeated vile, baseless stereotypes about Haitians on the campaign trail and tried to strip them of temporary protected status. In defiance of the process that Congress established, Trump threatened Haitians' TPS, even though the dangerous conditions they fled in Haiti persist and are even getting worse. That is cruel, and that won't fix our broken immigration system. I will continue fighting for the Haitian community in New York and beyond to help Haiti make progress on the challenges it faced today, and I look forward to meeting with the Prime Minister.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading.

Mr. SCHUMER. In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings.

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Kevin Warsh--Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing comes at a dire time for an independent Fed and for the American economy at large. Donald Trump continues his brazen efforts to force the central bank to serve his personal political interests rather than the best interests of the American economy and the American people. Trump's attempt to oust Lisa Cook from the Fed Board and his sham investigation against Chair Jerome Powell have threatened the independence of the Fed, one of the most important financial institutions in the world. If you are worried about the cost of living, if you don't want to see interest rates go up, then Donald Trump's meddling in the Fed should alarm you. If there is one thing markets do not like, it is chaos. And the more Donald Trump meddles with an independent Fed, the more chaos he injects into the markets. And the more chaos he injects into the markets, the more interest rates go up. The markets hate chaos. Do you hear that, Donald Trump? The markets hate chaos, and you are causing chaos in the markets with your on- again, off-again, hot, medium, cold statements about this war. No new Fed Chair should be confirmed under this body under a cloud of coercion and uncertainty that has been created by Donald Trump. It would set an awful precedent for the future independence of the Fed. I urge Senate Republicans not to proceed with Warsh's confirmation so long as these attacks on the Fed's independence continue, as Senator Tillis has pledged to do. With inflation rising, costs soaring amidst Trump's disastrous war of choice with Iran, Trump will even put more pressure on the Fed to manipulate interest rates to serve as part of his agenda. Whoever serves as the next Chair must be able to withstand that immense amount of pressure. From Trump's blundering war in Iran to his costly and constantly changing tariffs, the Trump administration has poisoned our economy with uncertainty. Senate Democrats will not allow Donald Trump to inject more chaos into our economy by undermining the Fed.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, earlier today, we caught our first glimpse of the Senate Republicans' budget resolution. Forget being on the same page; Republicans aren't even on the same planet as the American people. They want to give $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms but zero dollars to lower Americans' costs. Let me say that again: $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol--no reforms, no accountability, no strings attached; zero dollars to lower Americans' costs. That is their priority. That is why they are dragging the Senate through an arduous, convoluted reconciliation process--to put money in the coffers of Trump's rogue Agencies rather than in Americans' pockets. Democrats want to lower Americans' grocery, gas, healthcare, and housing costs. Senate Republicans want to appease Donald Trump and Stephen Miller by giving ICE and Border Patrol tens of billions of dollars to continue spreading violence in our streets. Democrats are going to make sure that the contrast is on open display during reconciliation. If Senate Republicans would rather acquiesce to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller than stand up for the American people, so be it. We are going to make them own that decision amendment after amendment, vote after vote. I yield the floor.

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, before I begin, I want to express my deepest and dearest sympathies for our friend Mark Warner, his wife Lisa, and the rest of their family as they mourn the terrible loss of their daughter Madison. I know how close the family was to Madison, and the depth of that loss is unfathomable. The Warner family should know that we are keeping them in our prayers. We are wishing them strength. May Madison's memory be a blessing.