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 following the remarks of Senators Coons and Murray.

Mr. THUNE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, there is almost nothing parents won't do for their children. From the moment they hand you that little bundle, your whole life becomes about giving them a better life, ensuring that they have every opportunity that you can give them, and setting them up for success. Most often, that starts with a good education. So last year, Republicans set out to support parents and empower them to make the choices they believe are right for their children's future. For decades now, the 529 savings plan has been a powerful tool for parents to save for their kids' education. At first, 529s could only be used for college, but in 2017, Republicans expanded the eligible uses of 529 plans to include K through 12 expenses as well. And in last year's Working Families Tax Cut, Republicans again expanded 529 plans to include a number of education investments: tutoring, vocational education, homeschool materials, and continuing education. And on top of that, we doubled the amount that you can spend from your 529 account to $20,000 a year. These reforms will help more Americans find success, whether they need a little help getting through algebra or want to pursue a career in the trades. As we mark School Choice Week this week, I also want to note how the Working Families Tax Cut supports scholarships for students who attend the school that best suits them. I am a proud product of public schools, the son of two public school educators, and both of our daughters graduated from our local high school. Students can get a great education at their public school, and they are a point of pride for many communities. But I also understand that some parents would like to send their child to a school outside of their district or to a nonpublic school or choose to homeschool. My home State has been a leader in offering open enrollment, which allows students to go to the public school of their choice, even if it is not the school closest to home, or to enroll in another school district altogether. South Dakota gets it. And I am not surprised that we were one of the first States to opt in to the scholarship initiative created in the Working Families Tax Cut, which encourages private support for scholarships that will help students cover a variety of education expenses and enable them to take advantage of the type of educational freedom that South Dakotans have long enjoyed. And I am glad to see that more than 20 States have already pledged to participate in this important initiative to encourage donations to K through 12 scholarship funds. Our bill doesn't stop there. The Working Families Tax Cut provided additional funding for Pell grants and created the Workforce Pell Grant Program, which will support students pursuing shorter term job training programs that prepare them for in-demand skilled jobs. Then there are our actions tackling the high cost of college degrees. The cost of a college education is out of control. Research suggests that a number of degree programs now have a negative return on investment. The answer isn't throwing more Federal dollars at the problem; it is putting downward pressure on tuition and holding schools accountable for the value of the education they provide. That is what Republicans did last year. We implemented accountability measures to rein in high costs. We also streamlined student loan repayment programs, simplifying the process and providing much needed clarity to folks repaying their loans. And we ensured that graduates won't have to pay taxes on tuition assistance from your employer, a measure that I introduced and this bill makes permanent. The education provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts gives the next generation more opportunities to get ahead and succeed. But before I close, I want to talk about another part of this bill that sets America's next generation up for success. That is the new Trump Accounts. These new investment accounts provide parents with another vehicle to save for their children's future, to invest that money and let it grow over the years. And when those children turn 18, that money--thousands or tens of thousands of dollars--will be tax advantaged and can be used for education, to start a business, or to buy their first home. In short, Trump Accounts will help the next generation get a head start on their American dream. And for children born between 2025 and 2028, the government is offering an initial $1,000 investment in Trump Accounts. We have also seen similar activities from philanthropists and matching commitments from various companies for their employees. A number of those initiatives were announced during yesterday's Trump Accounts summit at the White House. Musician Nicki Minaj was among those at yesterday's summit. She grew up in a housing project in a family that faced its share of financial struggles, and she is now raising her own family. She recently said of Trump Accounts: This program will benefit everyone--decreasing the gap for future prosperity between children who traditionally aren't born with a full bank account and children who are. I hope that parents will take the opportunity to learn about this option to invest in their children's future because the more people learn, the more they will see the potential to set their children--an entire generation of Americans--up for success. A good education is the key to opportunity. It is one of the best gifts that parents can give to their children. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, the next generation will have greater educational freedom and be empowered to seize more opportunities and to find increased success. Our legislation puts our Nation's children on a smoother path to achieving the American dream, and it gives a whole generation more opportunities to get ahead. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have a motion to reconsider.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 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 ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11 a.m., Friday, January 30; 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, morning business be closed, and the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 302, H.R. 7148.

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. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 592, S. Res. 593, S. Res. 594.

Mr. THUNE. 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. The resolutions were agreed to. The preambles were agreed to. (The resolutions, with their preambles, are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this past Monday was the start of tax filing season. Now, I know most Americans aren't usually excited about the start of tax season, but this year, there is less reason for dread because thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, most Americans are going to see a lower tax bill. That means bigger tax refunds for a lot of Americans, as much as $1,000 more than last year, according to some analysts. The Working Families Tax Cuts is literally putting more money in Americans' pockets. As the American people file their tax returns this year, they will see the numerous ways the Working Families Tax Cuts benefit them. Thanks to this legislation, Americans can count on more money in their pockets for the long term. For most Americans, tax relief starts with their tax rate and the standard deduction, which over 90 percent of taxpayers in this country claim. In 2017, Republicans lowered tax rates across the board and just about doubled the standard deduction. In our landmark bill last year, Republicans made that relief permanent, and then we raised the standard deduction even further. On top of that, we created a bonus deduction for seniors, an additional $6,000 deduction to reduce the tax burden of more than 30 million Americans over the age of 65. Then there is the significant tax relief we delivered for families. In 2017, Republicans doubled--doubled--the child tax credit. Last year, we raised it even further to $2,200 per child. And then, we linked the child tax credit to inflation, which means its value will keep pace with families' actual costs, and again that is also permanent. Parents will also have the opportunity to open new investment accounts for their newborns when they file their taxes this season. Those accounts provide another tax advantage option for parents to invest in their children's future. The money can be used after kids turn 18 for their education, to start a business, to buy their first home; in short, to take advantage of opportunities available to them and get a head start on their American dream. Those are retroactive to 2025. So parents who had a baby last year can apply for one of these accounts when they file their taxes this season. Hard-working Americans are the ones who benefit from Republicans' landmark tax relief bill. Perhaps the biggest boost goes to those Americans who earn tips and overtime pay. Waiters, busboys, hairstylists and barbers, Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers are among the hard-working Americans who will be able to deduct their tips on their taxes this year. That will reduce their tax bills and let them keep a lot more of the money they earn. The same is true of workers who put in overtime throughout the year. Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and nurses work important jobs, and that often means they have to work extra hours during the week or come in on holidays. Well, thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, they will be able to keep more of the overtime pay they earn for that extra time away from their loved ones. I don't have to remind anybody about the inflation crisis started by Democrats 5 years ago. Higher prices have affected everybody. But relief is on the way. Affordability starts with more money in your pocket, and that is exactly what the Working Families Tax Cuts delivers. Whether you are just getting started or you are raising a family or you are trying to enjoy your golden years, the Working Families Tax Cuts has something for you. Republicans wrote this bill with hard- working Americans in mind, and that is who is going to see the benefits this tax season and in the years to come. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 300, S. 3627.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, before I begin, I want to take a moment to talk about the situation in Minnesota. The death of Alex Pretti was a tragedy, and there should be a full and impartial investigation into the shooting. I am glad that the President is sending Tom Homan to Minnesota, and I hope that his arrival will help restore order to the situation. I also hope that recent tragedies have inspired some soul-searching among those who have participated in or encouraged abuse toward ICE officers and other law enforcement officers. It is deeply disturbing that we have had public officials essentially encouraging harassment of officers simply trying to do their duty. Appropriations Mr. President, funding for a substantial portion of the government runs out this week. We are on the clock to pass the remaining fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. Productive talks are ongoing, and I urge my Democrat colleagues to continue their engagement and find a path forward that will avoid a needless shutdown and not jeopardize full funding for key Agencies like FEMA and the Coast Guard. We need to fund these and other essential Agencies and finish our 2026 appropriations work now. March for Life Mr. President, on Friday, tens of thousands of individuals filled the streets of DC and marched up to the Capitol Building. They came from every background and from every corner of the country--high school students, college students, church groups, individuals, families-- united by one mission: to testify to the truth that every human being, no matter how small or vulnerable, is of infinite value, created in the image and likeness of God, and endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights--chief among them, the right to life. Abortion statistics are grim--roughly a million babies being killed by abortion every year. So many lives lost. So much love lost. But the March for Life is an occasion for hope. It is a powerful reminder that life has many defenders and that in every place in this country, there are men and women and young people standing up for moms and new babies. Of course, the March for Life, as big and important as it is, is just one small facet of the pro-life movement, which works every day to offer help and hope to moms in need. In 2024, for example, pregnancy resource centers around the country provided more than $452 million in total medical care, support and education services, and material goods to moms and their families. Here in Congress, it is vital that we do our part to support moms and protect babies. I am very proud that with the Working Families Tax Cut, Congress enacted the first pro-life law in decades. Thanks to Republicans' landmark legislation, this year, some of the Nation's largest abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, are prohibited from receiving Federal Medicaid funding. Organizations that have turned the killing of babies into a business are cut off. Later this afternoon, we will be taking up legislation to ensure that pregnant college students are aware of and able to access the support they need to carry their babies and parent while continuing their education. The Pregnant Students' Rights Act, introduced by Senator Ashley Moody, requires colleges and universities to ensure that all students are informed of the protections and accommodations available to them should they become pregnant--such as modified class schedules, excused absences, physical accommodations, and more. No student should ever have to feel that she needs to choose between keeping her baby or completing her education. The legislation will help ensure pregnant college students are aware that support is available to them in their local communities and on their campuses, both while they are pregnant and after giving birth. I would like to think that this bill would get 100 votes here in the U.S. Senate. The pro-abortion movement and the Democrat Party have long claimed to be for choice. Well, what better way to ensure that women actually have a choice than by making sure that they are aware of the resources available to them. This bill does nothing to restrict abortion. It doesn't even mention abortion. It simply ensures that women know about the support and accommodations available to them and that they have information about how to file a title IX complaint should they face discrimination. This bill should have unanimous support. Yet we fully expect that, by and large, the Democrat Party will oppose this legislation. That is right. The Democrat Party will vote against legislation designed to do nothing more than inform women of the resources available to them and of their rights under title IX. Why? Well, that is a good question. Why does the Democrat Party oppose making sure women are informed about the support available to them? For that matter, why has the Democrat Party opposed legislation to ensure that babies born alive during an abortion are protected or why did they remove safety requirements around chemical abortions--requirements designed to ensure that at least the mother, if not the baby, was protected? Well, it is because they are afraid. They are afraid, if they support even the tiniest, most commonsense measure to ensure safety around abortion or protect babies or even just ensure pregnant college students know of the resources available to them, that they will somehow, inadvertently, point to the truth that they are so desperate to hide--the fact that an unborn child is just as much a human being as you or I because, after all, Democrats are fighting an uphill battle. We know science. We have ultrasounds. We know very, very well that that unborn child waving her hands or sucking her thumb on the sonogram screen is a human being, and every one of us knows, at the core of our being, that human beings deserve to be protected. Abortion requires us to suppress our natural instincts. It requires us to close our eyes, stick our fingers in our ears, and pretend that the human being we see on the ultrasound, moving her fingers and kicking her feet, is nothing more than a clump of cells that we can sacrifice at will. So I understand the Democrats are scared, and they should be scared because, when it comes to abortion, they have built their house upon sand, and sooner or later, that sand will crumble. Sooner or later, the truth will win. Life will win. I want to thank everyone who marched for life here in DC on Friday, and I unite my work and my prayers to theirs in that the day may soon come when every baby born and unborn is guaranteed the right to life and the full protection of our laws. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 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 ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 589, which is at the desk.

Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and 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 the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3705, which is at the desk.

Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, January 28; 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, morning business be closed, and the Senate resume the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 302, H.R. 7148; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the work of the Appropriations Committee never seems to stop, and that has certainly been true over this past year. Under the leadership of Chair Collins, our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee have held hearings and markups and done the hard work of writing legislation to fund the government. They reported eight full-year bills from the committee, most of them with broad bipartisan support. That put us in a position to be able to pass three appropriations bills here in the Senate before the August State work period last year. We hadn't passed a single government funding bill in this Chamber before August since 2018. In 2025, we passed three of them, and we were able to reconcile those three bills with the House and get them signed into law in November. That is the way we should be passing appropriations bills, through regular order--a process that gives all Senators the opportunity to make their voices and the voices of their constituents heard. That is a far cry from how things have too often been done around here in the past. In too many years, we have had massive omnibus bills written behind closed doors. That is not how I wanted to operate. When I became majority leader, I said appropriations would be a priority. I said that I wanted to take bills through regular order to open up the process and ensure we were making the best use of taxpayer dollars. We made considerable progress this past year getting back to regular order. I hope that progress will continue as we look ahead to the next appropriations cycle, but we have to finish this one first. We have a January 30 deadline to fund the remainder of the Federal Government, and we are on track to do that. Before we leave this week, the Senate will send another package of three bills to the President's desk. This package received a big bipartisan vote in the House last week. We had a big bipartisan vote here in the Senate earlier this week, and we are on track to pass it later today, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law. Yesterday, the House passed another package of two bills, again with broad bipartisan support. I want to point out that this package, like the three-bill package we are considering in the Senate, actually spends less money than if we were to do just another continuing resolution. It cuts $10 billion or more than 10 percent from what we would expect to spend on these Agencies under a continuing resolution. That is thanks to our appropriators doing the hard work of going through the budget and making the tough budgeting decisions all Americans are familiar with, whether they are running a business or managing their household budget. That is the result of a better process, and it is what happens when we make government funding a priority. Appropriators are working on another package of the four remaining bills, which I hope will receive the same bipartisan backing that has characterized the appropriations cycle thus far. Before the end of the month, the Senate will need to process all of these funding bills and get them to the President's desk. Appropriations doesn't always make headlines, but it is an important responsibility. So I want to thank our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee again for their diligence in crafting these bills. I know that when we finish this cycle, the next one is coming in right on its heels. My hope is that we will be able to build on the progress we have made this past year to get the appropriations process back to what it should be--an open process that every Senator can participate in. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a list of the fall 2025 Senate Page class be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today, we expect a vote on a resolution to direct the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities in or against Venezuela, even though--even though--the United States is not currently engaged in hostilities in or against Venezuela. That is right. We have no troops on the ground in Venezuela. We are not currently conducting military operations there. But Democrats are taking up this bill because their anti-Trump hysteria knows no bounds. Here are the facts. Nicolas Maduro is a narcoterrorist who helped lead the so-called Cartel of the Suns. He advanced large-scale drug trafficking, armed an illegitimate militia, solicited arms for a terrorist organization, presided over unfree and unfair elections, targeted political opponents, and oversaw the killing of thousands, as a U.N. report outlined, to name just a few--just some of--his crimes. The United States did not recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Neither did the European Union. And he was a fugitive of the U.S. justice system. Back during the first Trump administration, Democrats were calling for the ouster of Maduro and for U.S. assistance in Venezuela and were criticizing the President for not going far enough in opposing the Maduro regime. President Biden raised the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro to $25 million. But then President Trump directs an isolated Special Forces raid in support of a valid warrant to capture Maduro so that he can be tried for drug crimes, and Democrats are falling all over themselves to criticize the seizure and arrest of this international criminal. Talk about Trump derangement syndrome. It is funny; I don't remember Democrats trying to tie the President's hands when Democrat Presidents took far more extensive military action that involved thousands of troops or airstrikes over weeks and months in Libya, Bosnia, Serbia, and Haiti. Most recently, in 2024, they locked arms and voted to turn a blind eye toward a monthslong deployment of troops for President Biden's disastrous floating aid pier to Gaza, even while Biden's own Defense Department called it an active war zone and the pier was fired upon twice. They said those troops were not engaged in hostilities and therefore not subject to the War Powers Resolution, and yet today they are claiming the opposite for a couple hundred troops who were in Venezuela for a matter of mere hours and who have already returned to their bases in the United States or on U.S. Navy ships in international waters. But with President Trump, Democrats are incapable of deciding on the merits. They reflexively oppose anything he does or says, even when it contradicts or is in tension with their own prior opinions. Whatever the outcome of this process, I trust that the Trump administration will continue to work to combat the terrible scourge of illegal drugs and to keep our Nation and our communities safe. Senate Accomplishments Mr. President, 2025 was a year of hard legislative work in the U.S. Senate. We passed once-in-a-generation legislation, the Working Families Tax Cut bill, which is currently putting more money in hard- working Americans' pockets. But we didn't just make the headlines legislatively. In addition to a packed legislative schedule, we considered and confirmed 417 civilian Presidential nominations--more than were confirmed in the first year of President Trump's first term or President Biden's. And while 417 would be an impressive number all on its own, it is particularly remarkable given the historic level of obstruction the President's nominees faced. I said ``historic,'' and I mean historic. When you look at this term, President Trump remains the only President on record--the only President on record--in American history not to have had a single nominee confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. Compare that to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who each had 98 percent of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote in the first term of their Presidencies--98 percent. George W. Bush and Barack Obama each had 90 percent. And while Democrats substantially eroded this tradition of bipartisanship during President Trump's first term, both President Trump in his first term and President Biden each had more than half of their nominees confirmed by voice vote. So the Presiding Officer can see what I mean by historic obstruction. Democrats, of course, attempted to justify themselves by claiming, in the words of the Democratic leader, that ``historically bad nominees deserve a historic level of scrutiny.'' The only problem with that argument, of course, is that a lot of these supposedly historically bad nominees received Democrat votes. So either Democrats were supporting historically bad nominees or this wasn't about historically bad nominees at all, which, of course, it wasn't. The real reason Democrats were dragging out nominations for Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement was nothing more than petty politics-- because as we see with Venezuela and as we have seen with Presidential nominations, Democrats are incapable of fairness or nuance when it comes to President Trump. They can't deal with the fact that he was elected President, and so they reflexively oppose anything he does or says, even when it is something they might otherwise support. The virulent partisanship Democrats have injected into our politics is deeply regrettable, but Republicans, of course, have not let it stop us from achieving things for the American people, whether that is passing the Working Families Tax Cut bill or confirming 417 Presidential nominees in the face of historic Democrat obstruction. And we are right back at it this year, confirming four nominees the first week of 2026. The American people elected President Trump, and Republicans remain committed to ensuring that he has his team in place so that he can do the work the American people elected him to do. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.