Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, if you are one of the over 43 million Americans with Federal student loan debt, today's Republican measure attacking debt relief is a slap in the face. Even a casual examination of today's CRA shows that is a cruel measure. This is what Republicans are proposing: They not only want to sabotage President Biden's student debt relief, they not only want to put a stop to future payment pauses, Republicans actually want to ask for payments and interest retroactively--from September to December of last year. That is right; if you are a student loan borrower and were told that you didn't have to worry about payments last fall, you could be back on the hook if Republicans get their way. This Republican bill is a student debt bait-and-switch, penalizing borrowers by an average of $1,500 in extra payments. And there is another twist in the knife: If you are a first responder, an educator, a member of the military, or any sort of employee in the public sector, the Republican bill could jeopardize your eligibility for the public service loan forgiveness program. We should be in the business of helping Americans saddled with student loan debt, not making their problems worse as this measure would do. I will vote no. Vote on H.J. Res. 45 The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the motion to proceed.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the only amendments in order be the following to H.R. 3746: Paul No. 107; Braun No. 91; Marshall No. 110; Sullivan No. 125; Hawley No. 93; Kennedy No. 104; Cotton No. 106; Budd No. 134; Lee No. 98; Kaine No. 101; Kennedy No. 102; that at 7:30 p.m., if any of these amendments have been offered, the Senate vote on the amendments in the order listed, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption with the exception of the Lee amendment, Kennedy amendment No. 102, and the Kaine amendment; that there be 2 minutes for debate, equally divided, prior to each vote and with 6 minutes, equally divided, prior to each of the votes on the Kennedy amendments; that following disposition of the above amendments, the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on the passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all without intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all votes after the first be 10-minute votes in length.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am pleased--so pleased--to announce that both sides have just locked in an agreement that enables the Senate to pass legislation tonight, avoiding default. For the information of my colleagues, this is what will happen on the floor: In a few minutes, the Senate will begin holding votes on 11 amendments--10 from the Republican side and 1 from the Democratic side. To finish our work tonight, after the first amendment, we are limiting each vote to 10 minutes. So I ask my colleagues to stay in their seats or near the floor during the votes. Let's keep this process moving quickly. After we finish voting on the amendments, we are immediately considering final passage, and by passing this bill, we will avoid default tonight. America can breathe a sigh of relief--a sigh of relief--because, in this process, we are avoiding default. From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star. The consequences of defaulting would be catastrophic. It would almost certainly cause another recession. It would be a nightmare for our economy and millions of American families. It would take years--years--to recover from. But for all of the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their cooperation. Let's finish the job and send this very important bipartisan bill to the President's desk tonight. Mr. President, I also want to dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs. This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling deal limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/ supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, or combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance. I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, about an hour ago, I entered a statement into the Record, and I would like to read it so the Members can hear it. I want to also dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs. This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's evil ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance. I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore our national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries. Mr. President, I want to remind Members, we were indulgent in the first vote. That is over. We are doing 10-minute votes. Please stay in your seats so we can finish this bill at a reasonable hour.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, that was 12 minutes. We are getting down to 10. Everyone should be here. Call the vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. That took 9 minutes 40 seconds. Keep going. (Applause.)

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we are slipping a little--11 minutes. Let's stay in our seats.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, 10\1/2\ minutes. We are getting a little better than last time. Let's get it down to 10. Stay here. We are all getting to know each other now.

Mr. SCHUMER. All right, everybody, that is our record--9:20. Let's beat it.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first, I want to thank everybody for cooperating. I think we got the most votes in the least time. Second, and more importantly, we are about to vote on something so important to the country, and so many of us on both sides of the aisle will know that if we do this, we will not default. That is very, very important. Thank you for your cooperation. The next vote is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

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 executive session to consider Calendar No. 179.

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. 26.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

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. 81.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 232, S. Res. 233, S. Res. 234, and S. Res. 235.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the junior Senator from Illinois, the senior Senator from Hawaii, and the junior Senator from Maryland be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions from June 1, 2023, through June 5, 2023.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned to convene for a pro forma session with no business being conducted on Friday, June 2, at 10:15 a.m.; that when the Senate adjourns on Friday, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6; that on Tuesday, following the prayer and 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 Crane nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6.