John Thune

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, if it were up to Republicans, we would have finished the appropriations process months ago. We made a lot of progress on restoring the appropriations process this past year. We had, for the first time in years, actually moved 11 of the 12 appropriations bills across the finish line under regular order, something that literally hadn't been done in years. And I think if you go back to when the last time we did all 12, it might have been 30-some years ago. But that progress was disrupted. It was disrupted, first, when Democrats shut down the entire Federal Government in the fall. It was disrupted again when Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in February. And it was disrupted, yet again, when Democrats walked away from bipartisan talks because they refused to fund law enforcement and border security. For 67 days now, Democrats have refused to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. That is unacceptable, and it is why Republicans are going to move forward this week with a budget resolution that will allow us to take up a funding bill for the law enforcement and border security components of DHS. And to prevent another reckless attempt by Democrats to defund law enforcement when we next take up appropriations, Republicans will fund law enforcement and border security for the next 3 years. Now, I say ``reckless'' about the Democrats because that is exactly what they are. Democrats are refusing to fund the Agency that protects our Nation's borders. Think about that for a minute. Let that sink in. Democrats are refusing to fund the Agency that protects our Nation's borders. These are the people who not only stop people attempting to enter our country illegally but defend our Nation against a number of threats. In fiscal year 2025, Border Patrol agents apprehended 460 gang members trying to enter our country illegally. They apprehended 73 known or suspected terrorists--terrorists--illegally crossing our borders. They seized almost 80,000 pounds of illegal drugs. They are the ones capturing the human smugglers, the drug traffickers, and the criminals engaged in human trafficking, not to mention that they are the ones conducting rescue operations when illegal immigrants are drowning in the Rio Grande or dying of dehydration in the desert. And Democrats want to defund--defund--this Agency. They want to leave our borders completely unprotected. I would say they want to go back to the days of the Biden border crisis, when you had literally tens and often hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants flooding across our southern border every month. But it seems Democrats may be looking for something even worse. Democrats are also refusing to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that is the Agency that removes criminal illegal immigrants from our country like criminals who are in our country because of the open border policies of the Biden administration. Do Democrats really want to go back to the days when criminal illegal immigrants were often allowed to live freely in our country? We owe it to the families of Laken Riley and too many others to keep our communities safe, and that is what ICE is doing. The American people support that mission. Democrats apparently don't. I expect we are going to hear Democrats this week talk about reforming ICE operations. Here is what I don't think they are going to talk about: The White House reformed how ICE operates on its own months ago. On top of that, the White House repeatedly offered Democrats a robust package of legislative reforms, but nothing was ever enough for Democrats. They kept moving the goalpost, and eventually they just walked away. Democrats may have decided to abdicate their responsibility to fund crucial government Agencies, but Republicans will not do the same. As I said, the budget resolution before us this week will unlock funding for law enforcement and border security at DHS for the next 3 years. For the past year, Republicans have operated in good faith to fund the Federal Government with--with--Democrats. We made considerable progress and, as I said, passed 11 out of the 12 appropriations bills. And we were on track to pass a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding bill until Democrats walked away. I suspect our Democrat colleagues will cry ``partisanship''--we heard it from the Democrat leader this morning--throughout this process. The Democrat leader had the gall last week and this to accuse Republicans of embarking on a ``partisan circus'' to fund law enforcement and border security. And it would be funny if those words were not so hypocritical. Democrats--and Democrats alone--alone--have made this process partisan. Republicans bent over backward to work with them, but it was never enough. And we have run out of time to play the Democrats' games. We have a job to do, and Republicans are going to get it done. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 376, S. Con. Res. 33.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, in a moment here, I am going to move to proceed to a budget resolution, but let me just say before I do that that we are in this spot because we tried to appropriate. We tried to fund the DHS Agencies ICE and CBP through the regular order, normal appropriations process--a process which had concluded in a bipartisan deal with Democrats and Republicans both having agreed to fund DHS, an outcome that was walked away from by the Senate Democrats. Then, because they wanted reforms, we sat down for 45 days, I think it was, and went through a process where Democrats kept coming up with new ideas. The White House kept meeting them. There were a number of reforms that were made by the White House. Then, subsequent to that, in the negotiation with the Democrats, Republicans here in the Senate and in the House and the White House worked together to try to accommodate more requests for reforms--all of which were met with a resounding no from the Democrats, so much so at one point that there was one offer made by the White House, and the Democrats didn't even respond for 18 days. Eighteen days suggests a lack of seriousness about this issue. Ultimately, I think what has happened here is the far-left Democrat base in this country has insisted that their leadership not fund the Agencies that are responsible for law enforcement in this country, whether that is the Border Patrol, which has responsibility for ensuring that our border is secure, or ICE, which is responsible for ensuring that illegals who commit criminal acts in this country are deported. Enforcing the laws of this land--that is the job these two Agencies have been charged with, and the Democrats have determined they are not going to fund them. So essentially, when the Democrat leader talks about Republicans owning something, I will tell you what the Democrats own. The Democrats own the position which they have tried before and failed, and that is open borders, wide-open borders, millions of people coming into this country illegally over the past four years, and defunding the police. Open borders and defunding the police--that is what the Democrats own. Because of that and their unwillingness to work with us on an appropriations process that provides reforms and funding for those two Agencies, Republicans have been forced to use the budget reconciliation process to ensure that those two Agencies are funded not only for today but in the future because I don't see a universe in which the far-left Democrat base is ever going to let their leaders fund these Agencies that are responsible for law enforcement in this country. This is defund-the-police. That is simply what it is. So we are going to move to budget reconciliation to ensure that those two Agencies are funded not only for today but for the balance of this administration's term in office.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, tax day was last week, and I would like to read a brief excerpt from a Washington Post article. The title of this article: ``Tax refunds shoot up as Americans take advantage of new deductions.'' And here is the excerpt: Karen Richardson, 68, has had a predictable tax return since she retired from her job administering government benefits four years ago. She lives on a fixed income and usually owes some money at tax time, so she was surprised to get a $1,000 refund this year due to the senior deduction. ``The Big Beautiful Bill worked for me,'' she said, ``I didn't think it applied to more than the richer people. . . . I really didn't think it applied to me.'' Well, as Ms. Richardson and many other hard-working Americans have discovered, the Big Beautiful Bill, the Working Families Tax Cuts, does indeed apply to them. It worked for them this tax season, and it will work for them in future tax seasons. In 2017, Republicans overhauled our outdated Tax Code so that it would work better for our economy and for American families alike. We cut tax rates across the board, doubled the child tax credit, and nearly doubled the standard deduction. And all of this made a significant difference to working families' tax bills. But this relief was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, which meant that starting this January, Americans would have seen a lot more of their paychecks going to the Federal Government. Republicans were determined not to let that happen. And so last summer, we passed the Working Families Tax Cut to prevent a massive $2.6 trillion tax hike on Americans making less than $400,000. But we didn't just prevent a tax hike. In addition to ensuring that Americans can keep enjoying lower tax rates, Republicans passed a number of additional tax relief measures. We boosted the standard deduction again. We increased the child tax credit and linked it to inflation so its value will never go down. We instituted no tax on tips. We instituted no tax on overtime and more. And hard-working Americans are reaping the benefits. This tax season more than 30 million seniors claimed the new bonus deduction for older Americans. More than a million taxpayers bought an American-made car and were able to deduct an average of $1,800 in auto loan interest on that new vehicle. More than 25 million American workers were able to deduct overtime pay from their taxes, resulting in substantial tax savings. And more than 6 million workers were able to deduct their tips from their taxes. And that doesn't even count the parents who were able to take advantage of the enhanced child tax credit or the new tax- advantaged accounts for their child or all the Americans, all of the Americans who benefited from our further increase in the standard deduction. The Working Families Tax Cut is working for working families. The New York Times recently interviewed a number of taxpayers. The Times reported: Many of the taxpayers said they had received their largest refund in years, money that is going toward paying down credit card debt, catching up on bills, padding savings accounts or covering the cost of a vacation. ``money that is going toward paying down credit card debt, catching up on bills, padding savings accounts or covering the cost of a vacation.'' That was our goal with this bill, to take some of the pressure off, to free up money that families could use to do things like pay down debt or put away for a rainy day or take a much-needed vacation. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, Americans now have a little more breathing room in their budget. And whether we are passing tax relief, new measures to make prescription drugs more affordable at the pharmacy counter, or legislation to address the cost of housing, Republicans will continue to work to make life more affordable for hard-working Americans. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 681, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the resolution.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21; that 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 the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of H.R. 8322, which was received from the House.

Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

Mr. THUNE. I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. THUNE. I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the Calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, April 20; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, at 5:30 p.m., that the Senate proceed to executive session and execute the order of April 15 in relation to Calendar No. 671, Andrew Davis, and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Monday's session of the Senate, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, one thing you can always count on is that Democrats have a lot of nerve. The Democrat leader has been out and about, this week, criticizing Republicans for taking up reconciliation legislation to fund border security and immigration enforcement. This was his quote: Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan circus just to avoid basic accountability for ICE and Border Patrol. Let me repeat that: Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan circus. Is he serious? Because the shoe is entirely on the other foot. Democrats, through their stubborn refusal to seriously engage in bipartisan negotiations and their ultimate refusal to fund law enforcement at all, have forced us into a position where the only way we can fund law enforcement and border security is through reconciliation. A big priority of mine, when I became leader, was conducting appropriations through regular order. And despite Democrats' decision to shut down the entire Federal Government for 43 days in the fall, we were well on our way to passing all of fiscal year 2026 appropriation bills--all 12. We had a bipartisan deal on DHS funding--DHS funding for the entire Department--that included additional funding for body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, deescalation training, and increased oversight of ICE funding. But then Democrats reneged on that agreement. But did Republicans then move to reconciliation? Not at all. We bent over backward to reach a new deal with Democrats. The White House repeatedly--repeatedly-- offered a robust package of reforms, and we spent weeks--weeks--trying to negotiate. But Democrats weren't interested in negotiation. A good example of that is that one of the offers that was made by the White House wasn't responded to by Democrats for 18 days. Eighteen days we kept coming out here saying: Come on. Give us a counteroffer here. You want reforms, you want changes made; let's sit down and figure that out. Just more stall, delay, obstruct. I would say they were interested in nothing but their exact list of demands with no compromises, but I strongly suspect that Democrats were never interested in a deal at all. And, in fact, after weeks of stonewalling, Democrats eventually made it clear that no deal was happening, which meant that either Republicans acceded to Democrats' refusal to fund law enforcement and border security or--or--we pursue the only option left to us, which is funding law enforcement and border security through reconciliation. If Democrats want to be the party of defunding law enforcement and open borders, then so be it. But we are not going to join Democrats in their irresponsible refusal to fund key parts of the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats refused to fund the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, individuals guilty of things like murder, assault, and sexual crimes against minors. They refused to fund drug interdiction and efforts to fight human trafficking. They refused to fund border security. That is right. They refused to fund the Border Patrol. These are all critical security priorities. So Republicans are going to fund them through reconciliation because the Democrats have left us no other option. And to prevent Democrats from voting to defund law enforcement once again in September, we are going to fund border security and immigration enforcement for the next 3 years. If you want to see a partisan circus, look no further than Democrats' 43-day government shutdown in the fall. Remember what that was about-- what that was over. It was over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill. And the Democrats' shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security happened because they couldn't take yes for an answer. Our national security, the functioning of our government, the salaries of government workers, all--all--have been repeatedly sacrificed this year thanks to Democrats' partisanship. I would say that the Democrat leader should be embarrassed by what his party has done to the Federal Government and to the Senate itself. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled rollcall vote: Senator Heinrich for up to 5 minutes, Senator Klobuchar for up to 5 minutes, and Senator Smith for up to 15 minutes.