John Thune

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I call up Cruz-Cantwell substitute amendment No. 6776.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask the reading be dispensed with.

Mr. THUNE. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. THUNE. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last year, Congress passed the GENIUS Act, which is the first bill regulating digital assets ever to become law. And the GENIUS Act was a landmark bill for more reasons than just being the first. It applied a light-touch approach to digital asset regulation that provides clear rules of the road for stablecoins, while allowing space for continued innovation and encouraging that innovation to happen right here in the United States. We have already seen the positive effects of that approach. Stablecoin market capitalization increased by 49 percent in 2025, due in part to the regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act. Visa and Mastercard have been investing in stablecoin-linked credit cards amid heightened demand for such cards. Visa alone tripled its offer of stablecoin-linked credit cards last year, and one Visa executive called the GENIUS Act a huge turning point for the industry. Thanks to clear regulatory guidelines for stablecoins, the digital asset industry is moving in the right direction in the United States. That is a stark contrast to how things were under the Biden administration. Not long ago, digital assets operated in a legal gray zone in this country. The Biden administration was regulating crypto companies with arbitrary enforcement measures, subjecting crypto firms to numerous lawsuits. And these hostile actions led a number of U.S.-based companies to consider moving out of the United States altogether. We can all agree that the United States should be the world's leader in financial innovation, and as the GENIUS Act proves, innovation surges with certainty. When we passed the GENIUS Act over a year ago, I said market structure legislation would be the next logical step. Today, thanks to the leadership of Senator Lummis and Chairmen Scott and Boozman and a lot of hard work from a number of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the Senate has the opportunity to take that step with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The Clarity Act would apply the same approach that we took on stablecoins in the GENIUS Act to the entire digital asset ecosystem. It would provide clear rules of the road while encouraging innovation to happen right here in America. To begin with, the Clarity Act distinguishes the jurisdictions of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, while ensuring that the CFTC and the SEC still work together to harmonize their rules. The Clarity Act also ensures that companies can't skirt securities laws that apply to other financial assets, and it protects the growing number of Americans investing in and utilizing digital assets. It provides everyday Americans with the information they need to make investment decisions, prevents value manipulation schemes, and ensures that law enforcement has the tools that it needs to go after bad actors and fraud. Anyone concerned about another failure like the FTX collapse a few years ago should want to see the Clarity Act passed quickly. This bill would prevent another FTX. It would require exchanges to be subject to examination and provide transparency so that regulators can intervene before harm becomes widespread. It would prevent companies from using customers' funds as their own, as FTX did, and it would ensure that exchanges and their affiliates can't trade on their own platforms. This bill has support from large financial institutions and law enforcement organizations, and it has had bipartisan support from the beginning. As I said, this bill has been a bipartisan work in progress for over a year, with roots that go back even before that. In the last year, 126 substantive changes have been made to the bill at the request of our Democrat colleagues. The Clarity Act was reported out of the Banking Committee on a bipartisan vote, and, over the weekend, Senators Lummis, Boozman, and Scott released a final draft that incorporated even more of Democrats' demands, in the interest of moving forward with this bill. The question now is whether Democrats will take yes for an answer. Digital assets are firmly rooted in the United States. One in five American adults has invested in or used cryptocurrency. The overwhelming majority of crypto owners want clear rules of the road and protections like those provided in the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act. This is a shared priority for Republicans, Democrats, and President Trump. We have been working at it now for over a year. The only reason for this progress to end now would be if Democrats choose politics over good policy. And now is not the time for political games. We have seen what regulatory certainty did to promote innovation and growth in stablecoins. We have an opportunity to do that across the entire digital asset industry by passing the Clarity Act. We should take the opportunity before us to ensure this innovation happens right here in America and that the United States remains the leader in financial technology well into the future. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Byrne nomination.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, on Friday, our Nation paused to observe the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The passage of time has only emphasized the need for remembrance. For many of us, the events of that day are as fresh and clear as they were yesterday. But there are so many young Americans--young adults even, now--who were not alive then and who do not remember the grief of that day, the evil we saw, and the patriotism and resolve that rose from the ashes. There are young men and women who have never heard the stories of the heroes--the firefighters, the first responders, the men and women of Flight 93, the ordinary Americans who placed the lives of others above their own. In the darkness of that day, the very best of America stood up, and I pray that we will never forget their example.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 830.

Mr. THUNE

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

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, it is hard to believe that we are in the last few months of the 119th Congress. Two years ago at this time, Democrats were still in charge, and the country was dealing with the two defining legacies of the Biden administration: a historic inflation crisis and a historic immigration crisis. And I don't use the word ``historic'' lightly, but those two crises were truly historic. Democrats presided over the worst inflation crisis in 40 years, with inflation reaching 7, 8, and 9 percent. And they presided over 4 straight years--4 straight years--of recordbreaking-- recordbreaking--illegal immigration. Republicans' priority when we came into office was dealing with the effects of these crises, and that started with preventing a massive tax hike on hard-working Americans. As everyone knows, during the first Trump administration, Republicans passed a historic reform of our Tax Code. We cut tax rates across the board, doubled the child tax credit, and nearly doubled the standard deduction. But that tax relief was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The standard deduction, which is claimed by 90 percent of Americans on their taxes, would have shrunk, increasing the amount of Americans' income the government could tax. Tax rates would have increased. The child tax credit would have been reduced by 50 percent. For a typical family in my State, that would have meant sending an additional $2,500 a year to Washington. Well, Republicans were not going to let that happen. And so in 2025, we passed the Working Families Tax Cut--sometimes known as the One Big Beautiful Bill--to prevent this massive tax hike on hard-working Americans. We made the increased standard deduction permanent; we made the lower tax rates permanent; and we made the increased child tax credit permanent. In other words, more money in American families' pockets permanently. But we didn't stop there. We were well aware that Americans had had a very rough time financially under the Biden administration and so we took action to put additional money in hard-working Americans' pockets. In 2017, we had doubled the child tax credit. In 2025, we not only made that increase permanent, we boosted the child tax credit even further and indexed it to inflation so its value will never go down. We also implemented no tax on tips and no tax on overtime, substantially lowering the tax bills of millions of hard-working Americans, from Uber and Lyft drivers to hairdressers, to police officers. And we added a new bonus deduction for seniors, making retirement more affordable for millions of older Americans. And our efforts to help Americans keep more of their hard-earned money didn't stop with the Working Families Tax Cuts. We have also spent this Congress cutting burdensome regulations that have driven up prices for hard-working Americans, from the California electric vehicle mandate, which would have forced Americans into costly electric cars, to regulations that would have driven up the cost of appliances. We passed landmark housing legislation in June to help keep hard- working Americans from being priced out of the housing market, and we took action to drive down costs at the pharmacy counter as well. We passed a law to ensure that patients get the savings from any discounts or rebates from their purchases at the pharmacy counter in their healthcare plans. We removed incentives for pharmacy benefit managers to promote higher priced medications at the expense of seniors. And we improved access to more affordable generic drugs. As I said, in addition to reducing taxes and working to lower costs, Republicans were also committed to dealing with the Biden border crisis. President Trump took action immediately to get the situation at our southern border under control, and the reduction in illegal immigration has been staggering. During the last full year of the Biden border crisis, which was fiscal year 2024, there were well over 2 million illegal immigrant encounters at our southern border. Well, we are almost done with fiscal year 2026, and do you want to know how many encounters there have been at the southern border? Fewer than 120,000. We are looking at somewhere on the order of a 90-percent decrease. And do you want to know how many of those illegal immigrants have been released into the United States? Zero. That is right, not a single illegal immigrant has been released into the United States during the entire 2026 fiscal year. Now, that has been the case for 15 straight months, in fact, under President Trump. And I don't need to tell anyone what a massive turnaround that is from the Biden administration, which presided over the release of millions of illegal immigrants into our country's interior. The dangers of the unchecked illegal immigration that we saw under the Biden administration are manifold. And to help prevent anything like that from happening again, the Working Families Tax Cut included substantial resources to help guarantee the security of our Nation's border from additional Border Patrol agents to security technology. We also boosted funding for our national defense and for law enforcement. Safer communities and a safer country, that has been and will continue to be a Republican priority. Our work isn't done, but I am proud of what we have been able to do this Congress to put more money in Americans' pockets and to help make our country more secure. And hard-working Americans will continue to be at the top of Republicans' agenda. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this year, we celebrate 150 years of the Capitol Guide Service. Since 1876, Capitol guides have welcomed visitors to the U.S. Capitol and shared with them the history, art, and architecture that make this building a symbol of American democracy. Over the last 150 years, their uniforms have changed, but the mission of the Capitol guides remains the same. Generations of Americans have passed through this building and learned about our Nation and our government from the Capitol Guide Service. And thanks to these men and women, visitors from around the world can see and understand this building and the business of the American people being done within its walls. When the first guides began their tours in 1876, Constantino Brumidi was still at work, statues were still arriving from the States, and many States had not yet been admitted to the Union, my own included. The guides in this building are not only history-tellers; they are witnesses to history in the making. I congratulate them on 150 years of welcoming visitors to the Capitol, and I wish them the best in their continued service.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Morgan Schroeder, an intern in my Rapid City, SD, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several months. Morgan is a graduate of White Lake High School in White Lake, SD. Currently, she is attending Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD, where she is pursuing a degree in political science. She is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Morgan for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Aiden Whitley, an intern in my Rapid City, SD, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks. Aiden is from Edgemont, SD, where he graduated with his high school diploma from homeschool. Currently, he is attending Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD, where he is pursuing a degree in political science. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Aiden for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Cruz Collin, an intern in my Rapid City, SD, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks. Cruz is a graduate of the International School of Toulouse in Toulouse, France. Currently, he is attending the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, OR, where he is pursuing a degree in renewable energy engineering and applied physics. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Cruz for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, just before I begin my remarks, I would associate myself with the remarks of my colleague from South Dakota pertaining to the Postal Service and their work in South Dakota. If there was a way to build an incredibly inefficient model, they have figured out how to do it. It needs to be fixed. I share his view, and we will work with him to insist and ensure that they make changes that improve the service that affects the constituents, the people that we represent and serve. Republican Party Accomplishments Mr. President, when this Congress began last year, we had a long to- do list. The American people had made their priorities clear. As I said from the start, this Republican majority was ready to deliver. Republicans were committed to strengthening our economic future, ending the Biden border crisis and making America safer and stronger in the years ahead. That is exactly what we have been working on these last 19 months, and the American people are seeing the results of our efforts. The clearest example came this April when 90 percent of Americans saw a tax cut which meant more of their hard-earned money stayed in their pockets instead of going to the IRS. That was thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts. That was Republicans' top priority last year. The American people had suffered for years through an inflation crisis caused by Democrats' reckless spending, and they were facing a massive tax hike, $2,500 for a typical family in my State if Congress had failed to act. But the Working Families Tax Cuts made sure that tax hike never came. Republicans delivered permanent--permanent--tax relief that benefited 97 percent of taxpayers this past year. We implemented new tax cuts like no tax on tips or overtime, raised the child tax credit, gave seniors an additional $6,000 deduction, and provided America's small businesses and family farms and ranches with significant and permanent tax relief too. And Republicans haven't just put more money in hard-working Americans pockets. We have been working to bring down costs, and one of the ways we are doing that is by lifting unnecessary and burdensome regulations that drive up the cost of things that Americans need. We passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which cuts redtape and that has contributed to home ownership becoming more affordable for many Americans. We did away with Biden-era regulations that would have driven up the cost of household appliances and energy. We got rid of electrical vehicle mandates that were going to force Americans into pricey electric cars that they didn't want, and we have taken concrete action to drive down costs at the pharmacy counter as well. We passed a law to ensure that patients get the savings from any discounts or rebates from their purchases at the pharmacy counter and their healthcare plans. We removed incentives for pharmacy benefit managers to promote higher priced medications at the expense of seniors. And we approved access to more affordable generic drugs. These are policies that change the math of families' budgets: more money in their pockets, lower costs for the things that they need. And beyond that, we have also taken actions to strengthen our economy for the long term. We have seen positive news about a boost in manufacturing in our country thanks, in part, to the Working Families Tax Cuts. Other provisions in that law make education pathways more affordable, strengthen our skilled workforce, and create opportunity for the future. The law also bolstered programs that America's farmers and ranchers depend on, and the Working Families Tax Cuts made a generational investment in rural healthcare providers in all 50 States, putting those providers on a more secure path forward so that Americans in rural areas can continue to have access to quality, affordable healthcare close to home. I mentioned that ending the border crisis was another priority for the Senate majority, and we didn't waste any time getting to work on that either. The first bill we passed was the Laken Riley Act, requiring that illegal immigrants who are arrested for certain crimes aren't put back on the streets. We also passed the HALT Fentanyl Act to ensure that law enforcement has the tools it needs to go after fentanyl and fentanyl analogs that have taken too many--too many--American lives. And then there is the border itself. President Trump took swift action to secure the border early last year, and in the Working Families Tax Cuts, we provided the resources necessary to hire more agents, finish the border wall, and keep the border secure permanently. Today, illegal border crossings have slowed to a trickle. It has been like that for just about the entire Trump administration, an incredible feat considering how bad things were under President Biden. And thanks to our efforts, the resources are in place to ensure the border stays secure for the long term. Beyond the border, we have also been focused on strengthening our military. The Working Families Tax Cuts made a generational investment in our military readiness. We complemented those efforts in last year's annual Defense bill which, among other things, made significant reforms to the way the Pentagon does business to ensure that tax dollars are being spent to maximum efficiency and effectiveness for our men and women in uniform. And this year's National Defense Authorization Act builds on those efforts as well. We have been busy. The Senate has taken close to 900 votes since last January. We have been in Washington a lot more than in previous years. We have also done a lot of things that haven't been done in a number of years. As I said, we made generational investments in border security, military readiness, and in rural healthcare. We approved the most significant tax relief bill in decades. We confirmed 21 Cabinet nominees faster than the last three incoming administrations. And we passed the first crypto bill ever. We approved a rescissions package that cut billions in Federal spending for the first time in literally three decades. Our work continues. Earlier this afternoon, we passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, giving the President critical tools to bring peace to Ukraine. We also approved another slate of 74 Trump administration nominees, bringing our total to 590. And I expect to move forward on additional items very soon. We have been working our way through our to-do list and delivering real wins for the American people. And the work goes on. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion on Collins substitute amendment No. 6732.