Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we continue to pray for the families of the 132 people now confirmed dead in Central Texas. We continue to pray for everyone still missing. We thank our heroic first responders who risked their lives to save those trapped in the storm. Now, in the aftermath of the tragedy in Texas, some of us asked very necessary questions about how to prevent something like this from ever happening again: Did Federal funding cuts hinder rescue efforts? Did staffing shortages make it harder to respond? Of course, Donald Trump didn't like these questions. He threw a fit, a tantrum. He called them lies. He said they were inappropriate. That is how he talks. We know now why he threw a fit and acted so defensively--because, sadly, we may well have been right. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem have spent months attacking FEMA, calling for its elimination, slashing its budget, and hollowing out its workforce. And, now, their own chaos is catching up with them in the worst, worst way. Now, they are trying to change their tune, saying they don't want to get rid of FEMA. A few months ago, they were all for getting rid of it. Now, they say they just want to change it. But there aren't enough walk-backs or pivots in the world to erase the truth. Their actions have unnecessarily harmed America's disaster response ecosystem. Last week, I demanded an investigation into what role, if any, the administration's staff cuts to local and National Weather Service stations played in this tragedy. It is now clear that the administration fired key FEMA personnel during and, sadly, after the tragedy. So, today, it is very clear: This is a systemic problem that exists in Texas, extends beyond Texas, beyond the National Weather Service, and across FEMA. Here are the facts about FEMA: A day after the Texas flooding, FEMA laid off workers--hundreds of call center workers. On July 7, the Agency received 16,000 calls and only answered 2,000 of them, around 16 percent. Secretary Noem, meanwhile, issued a directive on July 11 saying that all DHS contracts of over $100,000 had to be personally approved by her, according to the New York Times--including, according to the New York Times, deployment of search and rescue teams. Every one of them had to be signed off. This is not efficiency. This is adding redtape in the midst of a crisis, authored by Kristi Noem herself. Experts say this ill-advised decision very likely hindered recovery efforts. As it stands today, FEMA is operating with a quarter fewer staffers compared to 18 months ago--one-quarter fewer--including senior-level officials, meteorologists, institutional experts, people who coordinate with public officials and other levels of government to respond to natural disasters. In the middle of a natural disaster, Donald Trump and Kristi Noem are sowing chaos at FEMA, and their incompetence is putting lives in danger. They and the DOGE people and so many around them, they have this fanatical dislike of all government, and so they just cut it. They don't even know what the effect will be. They don't even care. Just cut, cut, cut. Cut meteorologists who warn our people, our citizens, our farmers, our businesses of dangers that might come? Cut them? They are not waste. Their recklessness is hurting rescue efforts. It has hurt the existing ones, and it is going to hurt more in the future, unless they reverse themselves. We all support making Agencies like FEMA more efficient. Americans support cutting waste. Americans support improving the Federal response. But Americans sure as hell don't support DOGE-like cuts to vital places that can often be the difference between life and death. The American people do not support this kind of chaos, this chain-saw approach to FEMA, to the National Weather Service, and to government at large. What Donald Trump and Kristi Noem are doing is chaos, and it is going to lead, unfortunately, to even more people getting hurt when the next disaster arrives.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Now, on Republican cuts, this week, Senate Republicans are set to push through the Senate a bill that betrays rural communities, harms global health, weakens America's standing abroad, and, worst of all, sets the stage for even more harmful cuts down the line. The so-called rescissions package continues a destructive Republican pattern: Cut now and ask questions later. The same thing that is happening with FEMA and the National Weather Service is happening right here. Again, use that chain saw; cut, cut, cut--whether it is waste or whether it is sinew and bone--and then later, say: Oh, maybe we shouldn't have done that. And do you know what? Our Republican Senators, most of them, know this is wrong, but they are so afraid of Donald Trump. Yesterday, he threatened that any of them who voted against the full rescissions package that we have before us would face his wrath. What is going on here? Does anyone stand up to these horrible, horrible cuts that hurt the American people? Republicans, in realtime, are cutting healthcare. They are cutting education. They are cutting aid for our veterans. Veterans are not getting--ask them. The veterans know they are not getting the healthcare they used to. And making things even worse, Donald Trump's tariffs are coming in at the worst possible time, and in a few short months, they are going to raise the cost of groceries. They are going to hurt small businesses and do untold damage to our economy. And, now, this package suffocates public broadcast. Well, did they even know when they said they wanted to cut it--you know, Donald Trump doesn't seem to like it--how much it helps our rural communities? It is the only place they can rely on for local news, for weather reports. And farmers across rural America depend on public broadcast to get weather reports because there is no other way. Did they know that it guts international aid that ensures America's national security? Did they even think of the consequences, just because Donald Trump says he wants it cut? And everyone knows he doesn't know the details of any of this stuff. The rescissions package is certainly troubling, but the pattern behind it is even worse. It sets the stage for even more party line devastating cuts in the future to healthcare, to education, anything Republicans decide they don't like, all on a party-line vote, all because of obeisance and fear of Donald Trump, not a conviction that he is doing the right thing. This is a dark omen moving forward. Our Republican friends say they fight for the middle class. They say they fight for working people. Then they turn around and take investments away from middle class and rural America. I urge them--urge them--not to proceed with this bill as written.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on judicial confirmation, the first judge confirmation, later today, Senate Republicans will confirm Donald Trump's first judicial nominee of his second term, Whitney Hermandorfer, to be a circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit. We all know when it comes to judges Donald Trump cares only about one thing: total unyielding fealty to Donald Trump--not experience, not judicial independence, not knowledge or desire to pursue the law, but brazen, uncomplicated fealty to Donald Trump. That is how he chooses judges. That is how the people under him choose judges. We have never seen this in America. You could have been a conservative like Ronald Reagan, someone like George Bush or H.W. Bush or Clinton or Obama. They all looked. You know, they wanted someone to have some philosophical kinship with them. But they said: Will they follow the law? Do they know this law? Not this administration. It is so different than all the others in a very bad way. Donald Trump doesn't care about the law or what the Constitution says. He says that himself. He only wants his foot soldiers in black robes defending him when he tries to do whatever he wants. Ms. Hermandorfer has failed to show that she can be an independent jurist committed to upholding the law. She has less than 10 years of legal experience. She has never served as the sole or chief counsel on a single case. She has made a career out of going after people's reproductive rights, transgender rights, and antidiscrimination policies. When nominees like Ms. Hermandorfer are the standard, our courts are weakened; the judiciary runs amok; the American people are worse off. I strongly--strongly--oppose her nomination.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, and finally, a very good day. I just got in from Albany in New York State. It was a very good day for Upstate New York. This morning, I was up in Albany to make a very exciting announcement years in the making. America's first ever national semiconductor technology center is now officially open for business in Albany, NY, in Upstate New York. Today is the day I have been dreaming about since the time I wrote the Chips and Science law and when I was writing the NSTC program into the bill. I had always been thinking of Albany and of Upstate New York. This center will be a leading hub for semiconductor innovation, not just in America but the whole world. This is a great message for all Americans. Whether you live in Albany, New York State, or any other part of this great country, there is a bold, vital message that comes from Albany: The future of chips and the most advanced semiconductor chips is here in America--not overseas, not China. These chips are vital to so many parts of our lives--our phones and computers and our cars and our national security and even to the AI systems that are already changing the world. Albany NanoTech will specifically focus on what is called EUV, extreme ultraviolet lithography research. It will be one of only two public facilities on Earth to be home to this EUV tool and the only one in America. So what does this announcement mean? It is not just an abstract thing. It means major chip companies from around the world will have the ability to collaborate in New York in R&D for new chips. It means startups and other innovators will have access to the most advanced machinery to experiment and discover new innovations in semiconducting. It will even mean more good paying jobs--J-O-B-S--at Albany NanoTech and the local economy. We all worried that China would gain the lead on this chip production. Well, now we have the answer, and that is the Albany NanoTech Center. No. 1 place in the United States and in the world for the new high-end research into semiconductor chips. At the end of the day, this announcement, which I have worked so long and hard for since 2017--at the end of the day, this announcement will help make chips and science a reality, boosting American innovation, creating American jobs, making the United States the world leader in chipmaking. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on healthcare costs, Republicans' ``Big Ugly Betrayal'' will devastate American healthcare this year. Not many years down the line, not a few years down the line. It is going to hurt now. There is a growing idea among Republican Members of Congress and then the lobbyists who talk to the press all the time that hospitals don't need to worry about the ``Big Ugly Bill'' because there is time to stave off or change the horrible Medicaid cuts Republicans passed and are now running away from. That is garbage. Donald Trump and Republican leaders forced their Members to walk the plank and cut Medicaid to the bone. So now they are in damage-control mode. They know how bad it is. They want to make their ``Big Ugly Bill'' seem less destructive and seem more palpable when, in reality, it is, quite literally, a death sentence for rural hospitals and vulnerable Americans. And that death sentence for so many of them is not 2 years away; it is now. Here are the facts that show Republicans' ``Big Ugly Betrayal'' is having an impact right now, not later: At least 300 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closing because of this bill already--already. Not 2 years from now. Now, this week, 2 weeks after the bill passed. Hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Maine have announced they are closing or are in serious danger of closing. Not in 2027, not in 2028. Now. Now. Governors in at least eight States--eight States--have called special sessions this summer. Not in 2028, not in 2027. They have called special sessions this summer or are pushing stopgap subsidies to shield doctors and hospitals from the immediate harm. States don't see the ``Big Ugly Bill'' as a problem for years from now. To them, to the workers, and, most of all, to the people who get healthcare in a lot of these rural hospitals, it is a problem right now. And this fall, more problems. Not in 2028, folks. This fall, people will get notices that their insurance premiums for the Affordable Care Act will go up 75 percent on average because Republicans chose not to extend tax credits for the ACA. This will also impact people on private insurance. If you don't have ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, you are still going to get increases in your insurance. Everyone is affected by these cuts--just about everyone-- unless you are one of those billionaires who self-insures. You don't have to have insurance because you have got all the money in the world to pay any medical bill. That is not true of the vast majority of Americans. And what they are doing is just the start. Republicans have made it clear they want even deeper cuts to Medicaid. Many in the House Freedom Caucus--those rightwingers--have said they weren't satisfied with their ``Big Ugly Bill.'' So who is to say that Donald Trump and Russell Vought won't use rescissions or another reconciliation bill to cut healthcare even deeper? And what are our Republican colleagues going to do when the handful of rightwing Freedom Caucus people in this body and the other body say they demand cuts or they won't vote for any bill? Are they going to cave once again? Say: OK? Let me say it again: All this talk from Republicans that many of their own cuts won't materialize is utter nonsense. Hospitals are closing now. States are reacting now. Insurance companies are adjusting now. And the harm to the American people will happen now, not later.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, later today, Senate Republicans will hold the first procedural vote on a judicial nominee in Donald Trump's second term, Whitney Hermandorfer, to be a circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit. Everyone knows that for Donald Trump's judges, one thing has always mattered most: loyalty to him. Not experience, not independence, not knowledge of the law, not even following the rule of law. When it comes to judges, Donald Trump cares only about one thing: fealty. He doesn't care about the law, precedent, or even what the Constitution says. He only wants them to do whatever he wants, no matter how baseless or irrational it is. A quick glance at Ms. Hermandorfer's background shows she is unqualified to serve on the bench. She has less than 10 years of legal experience. She has never served as the sole or chief counsel on a single case that was tried to verdict. Indeed, she has made a career out of going after people's reproductive rights, their transgender rights, and anti-discrimination policies. At the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, she has tried to strike down protections for employees who need reproductive care. She supported Donald Trump's firing of more than a dozen inspectors general, even filing an amicus brief on behalf of Tennessee. The list of reasons why Ms. Hermandorfer would make a terrible judge goes on and on and on. If Ms. Hermandorfer is the standard for Donald Trump's judges in his second term, then it is clear Republicans learned nothing from the first time around. The American people don't want Donald Trump's foot soldiers wearing black robes. They want experienced, fair, and independent jurists committed to upholding the law. Ms. Hermandorfer falls way short of the mark, and I oppose her nomination. Again, when the only criteria for choosing a judge is fealty to Donald Trump, the judiciary runs amok; the judiciary is weakened; and the executive, as they are trying to take away power from the first branch of government, the Congress, is also trying to take away power from the third branch of government, the judiciary, in an effort to make Donald Trump a virtual King. That is what he wants. That is terrible for America and terrible for what this country has always stood for.

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, Donald Trump's ``Big Ugly Bill'' hasn't even been law for a week, and already the troubling headlines are pouring in. This morning, let me start with a few headlines from around the country, crystallizing the devastating impact that the Republicans' signature bill has. From News 9 in Oklahoma: Oklahoma Healthcare Officials Warn Of Rural Hospital Closures Amid Pending Medicaid Cuts. From CBS 13 in Maine: Medicaid cuts lead to rural Maine hospital closures and service reductions. From Nebraska: Rural southwest Nebraska clinic closes, blaming expected Medicaid cuts. So we have proof: The ``Big Ugly Bill'' is, in fact, already shutting down hospitals. It is cutting off healthcare. Donald Trump and Senate Republicans promised their bill would not touch Medicaid, but these headlines show that that is a lie. Worst of all, people are going to die because of Donald Trump's ``Big Ugly Bill.'' According to a study done by Penn on the House bill, Republican cuts to Medicaid and healthcare will lead to 51,000--51,000--preventable deaths a year. Again, that is the House version. The Senate's Medicaid cuts will be even deeper, more harmful, worse. It translates to one preventable death every 10\1/2\ minutes, all so that the billionaires can pay less in taxes. It is profane. It is morally bankrupt. It is sickening.

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, today, the Senate's thoughts and prayers are with all the victims' families and communities devastated by the flash floods in Texas. The reports from Texas were both heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time--water rising over 25 feet in a matter of minutes, entire buildings and homes swept away, hundreds of people stranded. As of this morning, 105 people have died during the floods--27 children. To see the pictures of those children, the little beautiful faces, which I saw published in one of our New York papers this morning, just breaks your heart and stays with you--and the agony, of course, of those in their families who survived. Of course, the search continues for many more, and we hope and pray more will be found alive. I thank all of the first responders on the ground. And we all hope for the best in the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts. Now, when a tragedy as devastating as the one in Texas occurs, the American people deserve to know what happened, what more could have been done to minimize the tragedy, and what we can do better to prevent this from happening again. That means taking a close look what went wrong, if anything, at the Agency level. So, yesterday, I asked for an investigation into what role, if any, the administration's staff cuts to local National Weather Service stations played in preparedness and response to the Texas tragedy. We also must look forward as communities rebuild, as families mourn. We must ensure the Federal Government has all the resources in place to aid those in need, and that means holding off against devastating cuts to Agencies like FEMA. As recently as last month, Donald Trump talked about ``wean[ing] off'' FEMA and has toyed with eliminating the Agency entirely as soon as this year. That would be a mistake at any time, but in light of these horrible floods, it is unthinkable that Donald Trump would do something like put FEMA's future in doubt. As communities rebuild, today would be a good day for Donald Trump to back away from his threats to dismantle FEMA. Any one of us who has visited these terrible hurricanes and floods and so much other in terms of natural destruction sees the job FEMA does. They are dedicated, they are hard-working, and they are there for people at the exact time people desperately need them. To eliminate this Agency? It speaks to someone who doesn't know anything about what they do. We all know that nothing can bring back the lives of those who perished, but the administration can and must ensure it takes every step, including funding FEMA--not eliminating it, not cutting it in two-thirds, but funding it fully--the administration must do that to ensure that it takes every step possible to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the VA workforce--Donald Trump and Secretary Collins are manufacturing a cynical staffing crisis at the Veterans' Administration. Earlier this year, we learned that Secretary Collins announced plans for a wide-scale, 80,000-plus employee reduction of the workforce at the VA, putting the well-being of our veterans at immediate risk. There was never any transparency for these plans, and many of the decisions were clearly done haphazardly, without thinking through the consequences. Yesterday, the VA released another alarming announcement, saying they are on pace to lose 30,000 staffers without having to resort to a reduction in force--as if that made things better. They proposed 80,000, and because of huge pressure--mainly from our veterans and our veterans groups--they backed off. But make no mistake about it, a cut of 30,000 will decimate the ability of the VA to provide good healthcare to our veterans, who have risked their lives for us. Secretary Collins is making the VA so toxic that workers are leaving on their own. The workers--I have talked to so many of them--are dedicated to helping our veterans, and when they see the administration just slashing and burning the VA without any concern for the consequences or why people were fired--the bottom line is still this: Thanks to Donald Trump and Secretary Collins, tens of thousands of highly skilled workers are exiting the VA, and our veterans are the ones that suffer. I have heard this from veterans over and over again. One story sticks out in my mind. A woman who served in Afghanistan got PTSD and was treated at the VA hospital near Buffalo, and then, because she saw the dedication of those VA workers, she became an employee. She worked really hard. She was dedicated to the veterans. She knew she could probably make more money in another job. But she got home one Friday night and saw on her computer ``You are RIF'd''--which means you are fired--with no reason why and not even a chance to come back into the office to pick up her mementos she had there--pictures of her loved ones. Donald Trump likes to pretend that he cares about our armed services members and veterans, but actions speak louder than words, and Donald Trump's actions when it comes to sabotaging the VA are disgusting. And the worst part about what is happening at the VA is the timing. While Donald Trump creates a staffing crisis at the VA, his big, ugly bill will jeopardize Medicaid coverage for veterans as well as shut down hospitals that serve veterans and thereby put even more strain on the VA. It is a vicious cycle, a cynical double whammy where veterans pay the ultimate price for Donald Trump's cruelty. The administration should immediately reverse course and refill these positions and make sure the VA operates at full capacity.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the July work period and rescissions-- this July 4, Donald Trump and Republicans wreaked havoc on our country. On a day when Americans are supposed to celebrate our independence and our blessings as citizens of this great Nation, Donald Trump signed one of the most destructive pieces of legislation in modern history--the biggest giveaway to billionaires ever, the biggest cuts to Medicaid, devastation to our healthcare economy and America's clean energy economy, with millions of projected job losses--so many job losses that it could well cause us to fall into recession. When it is harder to find jobs, more people get fired, and prices go up. This vote will haunt our Republican colleagues. It will haunt them every time a rural hospital closes. It will haunt them every time seniors are unable to get home care. It will haunt them as premiums go up, as the uninsured rates spike, as kids go hungry, as jobs disappear, and as our adversaries grow stronger while America grows weaker. Frankly, many Republicans knew perfectly well their own bill would hurt people back at home. Yet they voted yes anyway. Why? It is simple to answer that. Why did they vote yes anyway when they knew it was wrong? Because they are afraid of Donald Trump. Now we return to session at the start of a new work period. Very soon, Senate Republicans are expected to bring to the floor at Donald Trump's behest a so-called rescissions package that will gut critical investments in public broadcasting and weaken America's standing abroad, on a simple majority vote--not the 60 votes required traditionally as appropriations bills move forward. Will Senate Republicans bow down to Donald Trump yet again or will they actually show backbone and stand up for their constituents? These investments were negotiated on a bipartisan basis between Democrats and Republicans as part of the government funding process, and with a simple majority vote, Republicans could take away the investments they all voted for--many of them voted for and renege on their word and spoil--spoil--the bipartisan appropriations process. That is a road Senate Republicans would be wise not to go down. If Republicans cave to Donald Trump and gut these investments agreed to by both parties, that would be an affront--a huge affront--to the bipartisan appropriations process. It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement by concocting rescissions packages behind closed doors that can pass with only their votes--not the customary 60 votes required in the appropriations process. The 60-vote process almost always ensures bipartisanship. Worse, there are alarming reports that Donald Trump plans to bring additional rescissions packages down the line to codify the DOGE. These rescissions may be small compared to the rescissions they will put on the floor later. Look at the new budget that Trump has proposed. There have also been reports that OMB Director Russell Vought--and perhaps the President himself--promised hard-right Republicans in the House additional cuts on programs they detest as a way to secure the votes for their big, ugly bill. These cuts may be unlawful if the reports prove true. This is not a bait and switch; it is a bait and poison to kill. It is not a bait and switch; it is a bait and poison to kill. This is deeply troubling and will threaten to further poison bipartisanship--a crucial ingredient for this institution to function. I urge Senate Republicans to press ``pause'' on their partisan rescission package and instead work with Democrats on a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government. That bipartisan process has begun in the Appropriations Committee, and I am hopeful more progress will be made later this week as the committee begins their markups on the first three bills. So, again, Senate Republicans have a choice to make. They can keep bowing to Donald Trump. They can continue walking on eggshells, trying not to upset him, giving him what he wants even at the cost of breaking the law and hurting the people back home. Or they can do their jobs. They can stand up to Donald Trump and reject this rescission package that would gut funding for critical programs with a simple majority vote. They can work with Democrats on a bipartisan, good-faith negotiation to fund the government later this year. This is not just about one rescission package. This is not just about one appropriations process, as important as those are. This is about the role of Congress as a coequal branch with the Executive, as the Founding Fathers proposed. Most importantly, this is about protecting the well-being of Americans back home.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, finally, on the nomination of Bedford to the FAA, later this evening, Senate Republicans will vote to advance Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FAA, Bryan Bedford. To say that Mr. Bedford is a deeply flawed nominee would be putting it mildly. Throughout his career as an airline executive and during his hearing, Mr. Bedford has shown a callous disregard for the 1,500-hour rule and even refused to commit to protecting the rule if confirmed. I worked long and hard with the families of Flight 3407, years ago, to establish the 1,500-hour rule after they lost all their loved ones on a tragic plane crash that occurred on a winter's night in Western New York. They have worked so hard, and they are so proud of their accomplishments. In the face of unspeakable loss, they worked relentlessly to change America's aviation laws to prevent a tragedy like that that happened to their families. Today, the 1,500-hour rule is the gold standard for pilot training. So affirming the 1,500-hour rule should be the easiest thing in the world for someone nominated to oversee the FAA, but Mr. Bedford failed again and again to do so. Weakening the 1,500-hour rule is dangerous and could cost lives. With aviation safety top of mind, Americans don't want pilots with less training, which would happen if the 1,500-hour rule were not extended, were repealed or not enforced. Americans don't want the FAA weakening safety standards, but I fear that is precisely what Mr. Bedford will do: weaken the 1,500-hour rule, weaken safety standards, and prioritize profits over passenger safety. The American people deserve far better than an FAA Administrator who isn't fully committed to their safety. The Senate should reject Mr. Bedford's nomination. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, Senate Republicans have to decide: choose the American people or bow down to Donald Trump and his coterie of billionaires because this bill, as we have said for months, steals people's healthcare, jacks up their electricity bills, takes away their jobs--all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. All month, Senate Democrats have put this bill on trial in the court of public opinion. We have exposed how it steals Medicaid for more than 16 million Americans. We have exposed how it takes away food benefits from millions of hungry kids. We have exposed how this bill increases the debt by $3.5 trillion to bankroll billionaire tax breaks. We have shown how this bill increases the debt $1 trillion more than the House bill. We have shown how this bill cuts Medicaid even more than the House bill. We have shown how this bill kills climate jobs even more than the House bill. With every rewrite, Senate Republicans have made their bill more extreme, pro-billionaire, and more hostile to people's healthcare and livelihoods. Why do they do that? There is a small group on that side of the aisle--the MAGA hard-rightwingers--who is dictating what has happened, and all the rest of the Senators on the Republican side, who know it is wrong, go along. It is a small group. They don't represent more than 10 percent of the American people, but they are dictating what this body does, A, because of the rules we have--a simple majority--but, B, because our colleagues on the Republican side lack the courage of their convictions to do the right thing for the American people. It is outrageous cutting people's healthcare, causing people to get sicker and to even die; cutting people's healthcare so that it is certain, almost, that more people will die--just to give tax breaks to billionaires. It is so destructive for Republicans to pass a bill like this at a time when people pay more for groceries, when people pay more for rent, pay more for childcare, pay more for medication. It makes no sense to reward the billionaire class and special interests at the expense of everyone else. Look, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, but they don't need another tax break, and they certainly shouldn't get a tax break by taking food from the mouths of hungry children--how outrageous, how cruel, how mean, how heartless, how uncaring--all to help the billionaires, whom they are enthralled to. No surprise about it, many Republicans themselves don't seem all happy about the bill in front of them. We heard what our colleague from North Carolina had to say about this bill. My guess is about half-- maybe even more than half--of the Republicans in the Senate totally agree with him, but he had the courage to speak the truth--the backbone to speak the truth--but not our other colleagues. Senator Tillis spoke candidly. He was one of the few truth-tellers on the other side as the bill devastates his State. But make no mistake about it, it will devastate the States of most every Republican here. Week after week, month after month, year after year, when this bill passes, the destructive treatise will be all over their States, with people losing jobs, with people's costs going up, with people not getting healthcare, with hungry kids not getting food. It is a piece of legislation that Tillis can't sell back home, and you won't be able to either, my Republican colleagues. How can any Senator go home and tell their constituents, ``I am sorry. I took away your healthcare because I wanted to give tax breaks to billionaires''? Yet, Republicans are dead set on walking off a cliff by passing a bill they know will be ruinous to their own constituents. That is why Democrats--Senate Democrats--forced this Chamber to read the bill cover to cover. That is why we debated all day yesterday, and now it is the Republicans' turn to vote. Later this morning--very soon--we will begin the vote-arama process. Senate Democrats will bring one amendment after the other--again and again and again--to put Republicans on the record. We will begin this morning with a motion to appeal the ruling of the Chair to try to reverse Republicans' brazen attempts to deceive the American people about the true costs of the bill. Republicans are doing something that has never been done before in the Senate by deploying fake math and budgetary hocus-pocus to make it seem like their billionaire giveaways don't cost anything. That is obviously outrageous, and it is absurd that the Budget chair is taking the Senate down this fact-free road. He is helping erode and even destroy the Senate. Every Senator will soon have an opportunity to reject this nonsense.

Mr. SCHUMER. Every Senator will soon have an opportunity to reject this nonsense and vote for commonsense budgeting. Americans will be watching. Later this morning, I will offer a very simple amendment to send this bill back to the Finance Committee so that we can get rid of any provision that raises healthcare costs for families and small businesses to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. My colleagues will offer many other amendments here too. We will see, once and for all, if Republicans really meant all of those nice things they have been saying about strengthening Medicare and about protecting middle-class families or if they were just lying. The American people will find out in a few hours. Republicans have said they don't want to cut Medicaid. Today, we will give you the chance. Republicans say they want to prioritize the middle class. Today, we will give you the chance. Our amendments will give Republicans so many chances to defend Medicaid and SNAP and good-paying jobs and clean energy that, if they say no, they will regret it long after this debate is done. Finally, to my Republican colleagues, let me offer a warning in good faith. You all know that Donald Trump makes things up. He has no regard for the truth. When he talks about this bill, he is lying. When Donald Trump says this bill won't cut Medicaid, he is lying. When he says this bill will grow the economy, he is lying. When he says this is the best thing Congress could pass for our country, he is lying. So what are my colleagues on the Republican side going to do--listen to someone who just makes things up? listen to someone who peddles lies and fantasies? follow Donald Trump off a political cliff by passing a bill that will be disastrous for the people back home or will my colleagues stand up for the American people--stand up to protect healthcare, good-paying jobs, and middle-class families? The American people will not forget what Republicans do in this Chamber today. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, we are about to vote on something that we have never seen before in the Senate, and rather than be honest with the American people about the true costs of these billionaire giveaways--and, by the way, I didn't hear Trump campaigning on tax breaks for billionaires, which is the main thrust of this bill. He wouldn't tell them about that. But Republicans are doing something the Senate has never done before: deploying fake math, accounting gimmicks, to hide the true cost of the bill. Look, Republicans can use whatever budgetary gimmicks they want to try to make the math work on paper, but you can't paper over the real- life economic consequences of adding tens of trillions to the debt, and that is what this does, make no mistake about it. And it is the way we have always calculated things. So to vote yes on this--make no mistake about it, my colleagues--will in a dramatic way further erode the Senate. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading of the motion be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this amendment, the first we will offer, is simple. It undoes the travesty that is at the core of the Republican bill. Their bill, the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which is really a big, ugly betrayal, cuts taxes for billionaires by taking away healthcare from millions of people. My amendment simply says that if people's healthcare costs go up, the billionaire tax cuts vanish. Republicans--you can tell in the speeches already--are on the defensive. They know how bad this bill is for the American people. They know that Donald Trump is lying when he says it won't cut healthcare. I salute my colleague from North Carolina. We all heard what our colleague from North Carolina had to say yesterday about this bill. My guess is about half--maybe even more than half--of the Republicans in the Senate agree with him. But he had the courage to speak the truth. He said it himself: The bill devastates his State. But make no mistake about it, it will devastate the States of almost every Republican here. It is outrageous--outrageous--to take food out of the mouths of hungry children, to take healthcare away from people who need it to survive--

Mr. SCHUMER.--just for tax cuts for billionaires, and the American people know it. To my colleagues--

Mr. SCHUMER. To my colleagues, in conclusion, I say you know what the right thing is. Say no to cutting healthcare. Say no to gutting jobs.

Mr. SCHUMER. Say no to this shameful, backwards bill and vote yes on my amendment.

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Six months.