Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 204, which is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 10; following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and 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 Gorordo nomination, postcloture, and that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m.; that following the cloture vote on the Wright-Gallo nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that if cloture is invoked, notwithstanding rule XXII, at 2:30 p.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Wright-Gallo nomination; that upon disposition of the nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Shogan nomination; that there be 10 minutes, equally divided, prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination; and that upon disposition of the Shogan nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Gupta nomination and the Senate vote on confirmation at 5:30 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Mr. SCHUMER. For the information of the Senate, there are two rollcall votes at 11:30, two at 2:30, and one at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks--I am sure they will be excellent--of Senator Murkowski of Alaska.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. If the Senator would yield, I love the Arctic. I have never been there, but I have seen many films and movies about it. I am sure her remarks will be excellent, but I must give a speech at the bipartisan spouses' dinner. So I regret that I will not hear her remarks directly, but I will scan them in the Record.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

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 move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 71.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last week, House Republicans rammed through a nakedly partisan bill to default on America, without taking even a moment to explain how their bill would wreak havoc on our country. That, of course, was by design. Republicans have known for years that their agenda is horribly unpopular with the American people. So the MAGA part of the GOP has used this default crisis to sneak their radical proposals through the back door. Since MAGA Republicans--and House Republicans, in general--have refused to level with the American people, Senate Democrats have been doing their work for them: exposing how ``Default on America'' will crash the economy, raise costs, and kill millions of good-paying jobs. Yesterday, at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing with Administrator Regan, Chair Murray and Subcommittee Chair Merkley showed how ``Default on America'' would devastate clean water and cut programs that protect kids from harmful PFAS chemicals. Chair Murray and Senator Heinrich also met with Deputy Secretary Turk and showed how ``Default on America'' would slash scientific research and cripple American competitiveness, just as both parties passed CHIPS and Science. Here we have finally passed good, strong bipartisan legislation that will help us compete against the Chinese Government. And what do the House Republicans, led by the MAGA group, do? They cut so much of that out. The American people don't want that. And they don't even want the American people to know what they are doing. Today, the Senate Budget Committee is hearing from experts like Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics--hardly a liberal stalwart--to show how ``Default on America'' would lead to hundreds of thousands of job cuts and diminish economic prosperity. And ``Default on America,'' as you know, is the Republican plan. That is what we are calling it, and that is what America knows. And we won't stop there. Senate committees will continue, next week, showing how the MAGA Republican ``Default on America'' plan utterly wreaks of MAGA Republican extremism. And it is not a plan at all. It is just a rightwing wish list thrown together in the House. The stench is foul. Just look at the way the Republican bill treats our seniors. One million seniors will lose access to Meals on Wheels if Republicans' ``Default on America'' becomes law. These are seniors who often can't leave their homes by themselves to get groceries and need a hand from others. It is incredible--tell seniors who are homebound they can't get meals so that some rightwing billionaires don't have to pay taxes? That is the way these MAGA Republicans think, and that seems to be where House Republicans are following. Or look at the way ``Default on America'' turns its back on our Nation's veterans. If Republicans get their way and ``Default on America'' becomes law, up to 80,000 jobs at the Veterans Health Administration would be cut. Our Nation's veterans have dedicated their lives to keeping our country safe. There is no greater shame than intentionally depriving them of the resources to stay healthy, but that is precisely what the House Republican bill does. And if anyone wonders whether or not House Republicans truly care about law enforcement and public safety, ``Default on America'' would cut 30,000 law enforcement jobs--30,000. Let me emphasize that again because it is a stunning revelation. If ``Default on America'' becomes law, 30,000 law enforcement jobs would be cut. Our Border Patrol would be left hanging to dry. Our communities that are fighting the opioid crisis, drugs, and guns would be less safe. This party, which is railing against ``those outside of this room who have said defund the police,'' are defunding the police. Cuts to seniors, cuts to veterans' health, cuts to Federal law enforcement--these are just some of the consequences of the ``Default on America'' wish list that has been proposed by the MAGA Republicans and the Republican leadership in the House. But the horrors don't end there. ``Default on America'' is loaded with poison pills that have nothing to do with averting default and everything to do with the hard-right agenda. ``Default on America'' would deregulate fossil fuels and empower Big Oil, make life easier for wealthy tax cheats, and impose unpopular work requirements on vulnerable families. There is no way the American people will accept legislation as flawed, as cruel, as hard right as the Republican ``Default on America Act.'' ``Default on America'' cannot credibly be called any sort of plan from Speaker McCarthy to avoid default. It reads much more like a House Freedom Caucus manifesto. The solution here is staring Republicans in the face: Do what we have already done under President Trump and President Biden, under both Democratic and Republican majorities. We should pass a clean bill to avoid default--no brinksmanship, no hostage-taking. If we do that, there will be no default on the national debt.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 55.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. 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, May 4, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the postcloture time on the Shogan and Gupta nominations be considered expired and the confirmation votes be at a time to be determined by the majority leader following consultation with the Republican leader.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar No. 74 and Calendar No. 153; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations: all nominations placed on the Secretary's desk in the Foreign Service; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 181 and that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions: S. Res. 181, S. Res. 198, and S. Res. 199.

Mr. SCHUMER. I know of no further debate on the resolutions en bloc.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preambles be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, decades ago, President Reagan warned that debt ceiling brinksmanship ``threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on social security and veterans benefit . . . [and] the United States,'' he said, ``has a special responsibility to itself and to the world to meet its obligations. If President Reagan were around today, he might well be exiled by a modern Republican Party that in many ways seems dead set--dead set--on abandoning that special responsibility never to default. We have less than a month to go until we hit June 1. Every day wasted is another day closer to catastrophe. At stake is the well-being of families, retirees, veterans, kids, and the very stability of our economy. But by ramming the ``Default on America Act'' through the House-- totally partisan, knowing full well this bill can never become law-- Speaker McCarthy and the hard right have made the odds of default go up. By handing his gavel over to the hard right, the Speaker is giving the American people two terrible options: either default on the debt or default on the country, with steep cuts to law enforcement, first responders, veterans, seniors, and even cancer research. Just think how radical such an ultimatum truly is. It is a dramatic break from how both parties have approached default in the past. On one hand, a Republican default would crash the economy, increase costs, and kill American jobs. Unemployment would rise to at least 8 percent. Mortgage and car payments would all go up by a lot, while the value of pensions and 401(k)s would come crashing down. That is the future that Speaker McCarthy and the House Freedom Caucus have made more likely by passing the ``Default on America Act.'' But the alternative is also a nightmare scenario. If the Republicans' ``Default on America Act'' became law, 1 million seniors--1 million seniors--would lose access to Meals on Wheels. These are seniors who literally can't get food on their own much of the time and rely on others bringing it to them. They would be on the chopping block if the GOP has its way. Deprive seniors who can't leave their homes of food-- what is that all about?--so that some very wealthy, wealthy multibillionaires don't have to pay any taxes? It is outrageous. Here is another one. The Republican ``Default on America Act'' would eliminate 30,000 law enforcement jobs across the country. Do you know what that means? Gun violence will get even worse. Our neighborhoods will become less safe. Border security would be deprived of billions in crucial resources. The war on opioids would decline, and more addictions, crimes, and others from opioid use would go up. What is that all about? Once again, the hard right--totally enthralled by the very wealthy, wealthy few who are so greedy, they don't want to pay any taxes--say cut things like this. Cut law enforcement. Cut Meals on Wheels. The ``Default on America Act'' would shamefully attack our Nation's veterans, purging 80,000 VA jobs, leaving our Nation's heroes without the care they have earned throughout a lifetime of service. These are just three of many. Eliminate Meals on Wheels; greatly hurt our efforts at law enforcement and safety by dramatically cutting, defunding police; greatly--greatly--tying the hands of the VA so that veterans would get worse healthcare and they would have to wait even longer--this is what the Republicans' ``Default on America'' bill does. That is why it is dead on arrival--not for some political ideological reason, but it would do such harm. When you wonder about the motivation of the Republicans, it ultimately is this, these rightwing Republicans. Listen to the greedy few, the powerful greedy few who don't want to pay any taxes and want to have taxes reduced. Some of them even called for even eliminating the income tax. Finally, the ``Default on America Act'' is chock-full of totally irrelevant, hard-right goodies that would deregulate fossil fuel, reward corporate greed, shower the ultrarich with tax giveaways, and impose cruel and unpopular work requirements on vulnerable families. Whether it is kicking seniors to the curb, cutting law enforcement jobs, or abandoning our veterans, everything about the ``Default on America Act'' wreaks of MAGA extremism. So it is no wonder the Republicans did it in secret. It is no wonder that they didn't want to do what they promised to do: have hearings, have witnesses, have bipartisan discussions and amendments. But if Republicans won't level with the American people about their terrible bill, Senate Democrats are going to do it for them. Tomorrow, the Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on how the ``Default on America Act'' would weaken the economy and slash hundreds of thousands of jobs. I want to thank Chairman Whitehouse and all the members of the committee for doing the important work of bringing this bill to the public eye because the American people deserve better. Incredibly--incredibly--tomorrow's hearing will be the very first hearing in either House that actually looks at what the ``Default on America Act'' does. Amazing. This huge bill that affects almost every aspect of American life--they haven't had one hearing on the issues they are doing. But we are going to start doing it, and that hearing will be the first, but there will be many others. As Democrats shine a light on how unserious and extreme the Republican ``Default on American Act'' is, our view about the path forward remains the same: can't choose the ``Default on America Act''; must avoid the horrors of default; pass a clean bipartisan bill to avert default.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I hope you had a good birthday yesterday.