Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to commit H.R. 3935 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1292 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

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

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, September 28, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, the U.S. Senate will continue its pursuit of a bipartisan bridge CR to avoid a devastating government shutdown. In a little over an hour, we will vote on the motion to proceed to the FAA reauthorization, which will serve as a vehicle for the CR I announced with Leader McConnell 2 days ago. Once we are on the bill, I will be introducing the substitute amendment, which will contain the legislative text of the bipartisan bridge CR, which the Appropriations Committee worked so hard on. And, again, I salute Senators Murray and Collins for the good job they have done. I will file cloture on the substitute and the underlying bill. So Members can expect to vote for cloture on Saturday, if not sooner. Things are coming down to the wire. As I have said for months, Congress has only one option--one option--to avoid a shutdown: bipartisanship. It was true yesterday. It is true today. It will be true tomorrow. With bipartisanship, we can responsibly fund the government and avoid the sharp and unnecessary pain for the American people and the economy that a shutdown will bring. With bipartisanship, we can speed along this process here in the Senate. We can come to an agreement on voting on amendments and allow the Senate to work its will in a timely fashion. With bipartisanship, we can make good on the deal reached earlier this summer to avoid default. Remember--remember--bipartisan majorities agreed to funding levels back in June. The leaders of the House, the Senate, and the White House--we all shook hands on this deal, but now the Speaker and only the Speaker is going back on his word. He is the only one of the five to go back on his word. By being the only one to go back on his word, Speaker McCarthy is saying he cares more about the whims of the hard right--the hard, hard right--than avoiding a shutdown. We cannot have that. We need bipartisanship. If he persists in partisanship, which he is doing now, by always looking over his hard- right shoulder, he will create a shutdown. Sadly, every move the Speaker has taken, since the bipartisan deal in June, has been to shred any prospects of bipartisanship. By focusing on the views of the radical few, instead of the many, Speaker McCarthy has made a shutdown far more likely. Let me say that again. Let me say that again. By focusing on the views of the radical few, instead of the many, Speaker McCarthy has made a shutdown far more likely. Despite the fact that many on both sides want to work together, despite the fact that, here in the Senate, we are pursuing bipartisanship, the Speaker has chosen to elevate the whims and desires of a handful of hard-right extremists and has nothing to show for it. We saw a glaring example last night. Last night, on the floor of the House, the House voted twice, with overwhelming bipartisan majorities, to keep Ukraine funding in the House Defense appropriations bill--each time with over 330 votes, a majority of both Democratic and Republican Members. And yet, after the vote, the Republican leadership in the House subverted the will of the House by going to the Rules Committee and cut the aid to Ukraine anyway. Can you believe that? Ten or so extremists, who don't care at all about governing, about preserving democracy or America's strength in the world, hold more sway in Speaker McCarthy's mind than the majority of his party and the vast majority of the House of Representatives, which he leads. We need to be showing strength against Putin, not weakness. We need to be defending democracy, not abandoning our friends abroad. Speaker McCarthy is letting a small band of very extreme Members override the views of everyone else. It is the tail wagging the dog. That is the crux of the entire shutdown message, and if Speaker McCarthy continues on his path, it will have consequences for years to come. If we are forced to abandon Ukraine by a handful of extreme people who seem to have no sense of the reality of the world, we will pay a price for years to come. How can Speaker McCarthy let that happen? How can he let that happen? A divided government demands compromise. By ignoring this, Speaker McCarthy is driving the country straight to a shutdown, and the longer he resists bipartisanship, the greater the damage of a shutdown will be to the American people. It has been alarming over the last few days to listen to some of my House colleagues on the hard right talk so casually about shutting the government down. Some of them seem proud to do it. They sort of brag about it. It is incredible. They seem completely unbothered that, in a shutdown, over a million Active-Duty military members won't get their pay. A shutdown would degrade troop readiness and devastate our southern border--something our friends on the other side, who claim to care about border security, conveniently ignore. Small business would lose access to capital. Home buyers would be unable to secure loans. Our supply chains would be imperiled, and costs for American families would go up and up--all because of a needless shutdown caused by a few extremists and Speaker McCarthy's obeisance to them. This will all become a reality, unfortunately, in less than 3 days, unless Speaker McCarthy abandons his doomed mission of succumbing to the MAGA radicals. The only way--the only way, once again--and I have to keep repeating it because maybe it will sink in over there. The only way we prevent a government shutdown is by voting on legislation that can get bipartisan support. That is what we will work on here in the Senate today. As I have said, the bill before us later today is a bridge, not the final destination. I urge my colleagues to continue to work to advance this bipartisan bridge CR and to avoid a reckless and devastating government shutdown. The Senate, once again, is called on to lead by example--to lead the House and the Speaker by example. SAFER Banking Act Mr. President, now on SAFER Banking, yesterday, the SAFER Banking Act, I am happy to say, was reported out of the Banking Committee with a good bipartisan majority of 14 to 9. The next step is to bring SAFER Banking to the floor for a vote, which I will do soon. I worked long and hard--for years--to get us to this point, and now the Senate is one crucial step closer to helping cannabis businesses operate more efficiently, more safely, and more transparently in the States that allow cannabis to be sold. I brought together a bipartisan coalition, with Senators Merkley and Daines, Lummis, Sinema, and Reed, and we committed to reaching a deal on the issue; and I am really proud of the bipartisan deal we produced. I also want to thank Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Scott for moving SAFER Banking through the committee. And, again, let me repeat, my other colleagues were heavily involved: Senators Lummis and Sinema and Reed and, of course, Merkley and Daines, the lead sponsors of the SAFER Banking bill. SAFER Banking's bipartisan vote in the Banking Committee underscores how much momentum we have right now on cannabis banking and how important the issue is for so many business owners and communities across the country. No industry has the ability to thrive if its businesses can't access basic banking infrastructure, especially not an industry growing as quickly and one as new as the cannabis industry. Congress must always be in the business of promoting entrepreneurs, promoting small businesses, and promoting job growth. SAFER Banking will do that precisely in the cannabis industry--connect cannabis businesses to resources like bank accounts and small business loans-- creating a safer and more transparent environment in which they can grow. When I go to the floor, we will add very significant criminal justice provisions to the bill as well, and that is important as well, and I will talk more about that at a later time. So, again, I thank my colleagues on both sides for their cooperation on this legislation. We have been working on it for years. Now is the time to get it done. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as we get closer and closer to an unnecessary and totally avoidable government shutdown, one thing remains clear: The only way forward is bipartisan cooperation. That is what we have been pursuing here in the Senate. I want to salute not only Patty Murray but Susan Collins, Leader McConnell, and our Republican colleagues as we work to pass this CR. But that work is not yet done. Order of Business Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we will convene tomorrow at 10 a.m. to continue consideration of the CR so we can avoid an unnecessary and devastating government shutdown. Members are also advised that we will hold two rollcall votes beginning at noon on U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of California and the Southern District of Mississippi. I hope that we can come to an agreement to pass the bipartisan CR quickly. A government shutdown, as we all know, would be a terrible outcome for the American people. It would gravely impact pay for our troops, our border, TSA, nutrition programs, food inspections, and so much more. If no agreement is reached tomorrow, Members should plan on voting Saturday morning on cloture. I thank my colleagues for their good work.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 360.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it recess until 10 a.m. on Friday, September 29; that following the prayer and pledge, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed; that upon conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3935; further, that at 12 noon, the Senate execute the order of September 27, 2023, relating to the Gee and McGrath nominations, and that all debate time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand in recess under the previous order.

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, well, yesterday afternoon, Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on a CR that will keep the government open until November 17, and, with a strong bipartisan vote of 77 to 19, the Senate agreed to move forward last night on this legislation. It shows that, in the Senate, both parties can work through our differences for the betterment of the country. But in the House, Republicans have tried everything but bipartisanship. Last night, the Speaker twisted himself into pretzels yet again, trying to avoid his responsibility of governing. But this is the truth: Every bill House Republicans have pushed has been partisan, every CR has been aimed at the hard right, and every path they have pursued to date will inevitably lead to a shutdown. Speaker McCarthy, the only way--the only way--out of a shutdown is bipartisanship, and by constantly adhering to what the hard right wants, you are aiming for a shutdown. They want it. You know it. You can stop it. Work in a bipartisan way like we are in the Senate, and we can avoid harm to tens of millions of Americans. Bipartisanship is precisely what we have been pursuing here in the Senate. We haven't agreed on everything, and there is still a lot more work to be done. But we haven't let our differences paralyze us, and the result has been a commonsense, bipartisan, sensible approach for a CR. It will keep the government funded at current levels until November 17. It will extend the Federal Aviation Administration until December 31. It will replenish the Disaster Response Emergency Fund to help communities battered by natural disasters. It will continue paying Federal firefighters. It will extend funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and other healthcare programs. And it will send more help to our friends in Ukraine. Thank you to my colleagues who negotiated this bill in good faith. Thank you to Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins and all the staff on the Approps committees, who worked all day and night through the weekend. And thanks to Leader McConnell and the many, many Republicans who worked with us and joined us in passing this, for moving forward on this bipartisan CR. Now, there is still much more work to do. Now that we are on the bill, it will require consent and cooperation to move it swiftly through the Chamber. We cannot have Members trying last-minute delay tactics and risk a shutdown. The CR agreement the Senate has released is a good, sensible, and bipartisan--let me emphasize ``bipartisan''-- bill. It is a bridge toward greater cooperation between the Chambers and away from the paralyzing extremism we have seen in the House. And a reckless shutdown will serve no purpose except for hard-right partisans, whose only goal is to grind the gears of government down and promote extremism. It will cause grave harm for communities across the country. A reckless shutdown will cause grave harm to our border. It will affect our military by withholding their pay. It will disrupt everything from food safety inspection to TSA operations, to small business loans. This is the problem with MAGA extremism. It is not serious about governing. Chaos is the only word in their playbook. Conflict seems to be their natural state of being. And some of them seem to exult in shutting down the government. And if MAGA Republicans get their way, the danger for this country will be great. Extremism will be dominant. The ultrarich will be empowered. Working families will suffer. Women's healthcare will be even more curtailed. We don't want to go down that troubling road. The Speaker should resist the 30 or so Republicans who want to drag us in that direction, and he can do it by giving bipartisanship a chance, just as we are doing here in the Senate. SAFER Banking Act Mr. President, now on SAFER Banking, this morning, as we speak, the Banking Committee is holding a markup on our bipartisan SAFER Banking Act. Today's markup of SAFER Banking represents a huge step forward in the Senate's effort to help cannabis businesses operate more efficiently, more safely, and more transparently. I worked long and hard to get to this point with Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Scott; and special thanks to Senators Merkley, Daines, Lummis, Sinema, and Reed, because I thank them for their cooperation as well. It has been a goal of mine since we started this session of the Senate to move forward on this legislation. And the good news: The SAFER Banking bill is about to be reported out of committee with strong bipartisan support this morning. Once it is reported out of committee, I will bring SAFER Banking to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible. For too long, cannabis businesses have been forced to rely primarily on cash transactions--no credit or debit cards. Dealing only in cash stifles these businesses' growth, opens them up to so many risks, and makes them easy targets for theft, robbery, and other crimes. No industry has the ability to thrive if they can't access banking infrastructure, especially not an industry that is growing as quickly and is as new as the cannabis industry. Congress has always been in the business of promoting entrepreneurs, promoting small business, and promoting job growth. We should continue doing so with the cannabis industry. Our SAFER Banking Act will connect cannabis businesses, especially ones in minority and underserved communities, to traditional financial resources like bank accounts and small business loans, creating a safer and more transparent environment for the industry to grow. I am also committed to including criminal justice provisions like HOPE and GRAM in SAFER Banking. I have long advocated for expungement of records for cannabis offenses, and with SAFER Banking moving through the committee in a strong bipartisan way, now is the time to get it done. So, again, I thank my colleagues on both sides for their work on this legislation, which has been an effort years--years--in the making. And once it is reported out of committee, I will put SAFER Banking on the floor for a vote very soon. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 370, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the 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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a moment, my friend from West Virginia will submit a resolution regarding the Senate dress code. Although we have never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward. I deeply appreciate Senator Fetterman's working with me to come to an agreement that we all find acceptable, and, of course, I appreciate Senator Manchin's and Senator Romney's leadership on this issue. I will move for the Senate to adopt this resolution in a few minutes. I now yield to my colleague from West Virginia.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as I mentioned a minute ago, although we have never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel that formalizing it is the right way forward. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 376, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and that the motion 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 Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 373, S. Res. 374, S. Res. 375, and S. Res. 377.