Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 126, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 10; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Abelson nomination postcloture; further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that following the cloture vote on the Vargas nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that if cloture has been invoked on the Vargas nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Warnock.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, August 1, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this is the last day before our August work period and so I have a lot of topics to cover and I will go through all of them. We are going to talk about the tax bill we are doing today. We are going to talk about the Supreme Court and immunity to the President. We are going to talk about AI and what has been accomplished there. And KOSA and COPPA, we are going to talk about that. And last but not least, I have to talk about and I will talk about the Veterans' Administration and our hospital, the Northport hospital, on Long Island.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 652.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 705.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before I speak on the tax bill, I come to the floor with really good news. After years of brutal and wrongful detention in Russia at the hands of Putin's regime, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza are on their way home. It is great news, and I was proud to work and stand with Leader McConnell in a bipartisan show of unity. We spent many, many hours working hard, sending letters, making calls to get Evan's return. I commend President Biden for getting them all home. For all other Americans held hostage or unjustly imprisoned around the world, today shines as a beacon of hope that America will never give up on you, and we will continue to do everything we can to bring you home. You are in our thoughts and minds, including those from New York who are still imprisoned unjustly by authoritarian regimes around the world. Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 Now, Mr. President, on the tax bill, today, the Senate has a chance to move forward on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. Democrats are ready to advance bipartisan--bipartisan--tax relief today. The question is, will Senate Republicans join us to give Americans a tax break or will they stand in the way? Will Senate Republicans join us to give businesses a tax break; to give families with children a tax break; to give our housing market a tax break; or will they stand in the way? This is bipartisan legislation if there ever was any. The bipartisan tax bill passed the House 357 to 70. It won majorities from both parties. It was written, along with Senator Wyden who did a great job, by the conservative Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee-- hardly a liberal. So we know this is not only a good bill, it is a bipartisan bill. If the tax break was able to unite a group as divided as House Republicans, it should certainly not be blocked by Republicans in the Senate. It is good to talk about standing up for families and business but not if you turn around and then vote against them here in the Senate. Today is a good opportunity for both sides to show we back up good talk with strong action. So, if you care about helping families, vote yes. If you care about taking a half a million kids out of poverty and giving relief to 16 million other families so that they have enough money to give their kids clothes and books and food, vote yes. If you care about promoting business and getting an R&D tax credit, something that has always had bipartisan support, passed so that business can invest in new machinery and equipment and hire new workers, vote yes; and if you care about solving the housing crisis whether it is rural-- where it has become a big problem--or urban or suburban, please vote yes. I want to give many thanks to my colleagues: Chairman Wyden for his leadership, the whole Finance Committee, and, particularly, Senators Brown and Casey and Bennet as well as Cantwell and Hassan, who worked so long and hard on this bill. I yield the floor. Cloture Motion

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I enter a motion to reconsider.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, once again, let me just repeat quickly, I am just really saddened by the fact that our Republican colleagues have not voted for a bill that passed so overwhelmingly in the House, put together by a conservative Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and that would do so much to help housing, help kids and families, and help businesses. It is a shame that they put politics over helping the American people.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 430, S. 4199.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCHUMER. Well, Madam President, something very good just happened. I am very happy the Senate ends this busy week on another productive note. The Senate just unanimously passed the JUDGES Act. The goal of the JUDGES Act is in the name. It creates 66 new Federal district court judges in order to relieve our overburdened judiciary. And I want to thank Senator Coons on the Democratic side and Senator Young on the Republican side for their good work in pushing this bill forward. Today, our Federal courts simply can't keep up with the immense workload like they used to in the past. As our country has kept growing and growing, our Federal courts, sadly, have not kept pace. The last time we systematically increased Federal judges in America was 1991. We have roughly 80 million more Americans living today than there were back then, so clearly our Federal judiciary desperately needs more capacity. This bill provides it. Specifically, the JUDGES Act adds 66 new judges over the next six Congresses, starting in 2025, adding 11 at a time. This bill was unanimously reported out of the Judiciary Committee 20 to 0. There is broad consensus we need more judges on the Federal bench. It is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It also reflects the recommendation of the Judicial Conference for increasing the number of judges. This is a very responsible, bipartisan, and prudent bill. As I said, our population has increased, and the litigiousness, if you will, of our society has increased, so there is a desperate need for new judges. I hope the House passes the JUDGES Act very soon, because it is bipartisan; it is prudent; it is responsible. Equal justice under law can't always be counted on if their Federal bench is stretched beyond capacity. Equal justice can't be counted on if you have to wait years and years to hear a case, to get a verdict, and so many other parts of the judicial process. So I call upon our colleagues in the House to move this bill through their Chamber, because the result will be a better functioning judiciary. Right now, people have to wait far too long to hear their cases in court. This should reduce that wait. Thank you to Senator Coons and Senator Young again for their excellent work in getting this bipartisan bill done.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I want to file the No Kings Act, which deals with the horrible Supreme Court decision which gave immunity to future Presidents, and so I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, as I said, this is just putting on the calendar, rule XIV'ing the No Kings Act, which deals with the awful Supreme Court decision that basically allows Presidents to do what they want as long as they can call it official. I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. SCHUMER. I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent to resume executive session.