John Thune

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we are 37 days into an entirely avoidable government shutdown. I say ``avoidable'' because it was. Democrats instigated this shutdown by rejecting a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution. Republicans weren't asking them to swallow a bunch of new conservative policies. There isn't a single partisan policy in the bill. Yet Democrats couldn't bring themselves to take yes for an answer. Democrats, of course, have claimed their decision to shut down the government is about healthcare. They want Republicans to bail out their ObamaCare mess. And as I have said probably 1,000 times now, Republicans are 100 percent willing to sit down and talk about the mess that Democrats have created. We are just not going to have that conversation while Democrats are holding the Federal Government hostage. That was our position in September; that was our position in October; and, yes, it is still our position in November. We are just waiting for Democrats to take yes for an answer. I do know that Democrats have been under a lot of pressure from the far left. The far left pushed them to shut down the government, and the far left has pushed them to keep it shut down. As one House Democrat told Axios yesterday, ``There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out.'' ``There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out''--that quote from a House Democrat just yesterday. Well, what events need to play out? What more needs to happen for the far left to be satisfied? The pain this shutdown has caused is only getting worse as 40 million Americans who rely on food assistance programs are now at risk of going hungry without a resolution of the shutdown. I am sure these Americans are doing everything in their power to feed their families, but they can't do that forever. Federal workers have now gone without pay for more than a month, including the people in this building. Will the far left not be satisfied until Federal workers and military families are getting their Thanksgiving dinners from a food bank? Because that is where we are headed. Then there is air travel. Yesterday, the Transportation Secretary announced that, as a matter of safety, the Department of Transportation is requiring a mandatory reduction in air traffic, starting tomorrow because of shutdown staffing issues. That means widespread flight cancelations, supply chain issues, and hundreds of thousands of passengers dealing with disruptions to travel every day. The impact this will have will be immense--all of it because Democrats cannot bring themselves to accept a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution, which is something that happened 13 times when they had the majority and President Biden was in the White House. So I ask the question again: What more do Democrats need? They got their cheers at the leftwing No Kings rally. They kept their base satisfied through the fall campaigns and election day. And as of Tuesday, they have the extremely dubious honor of instigating the longest and most severe government shutdown in history. How much more do Americans have to endure before Democrats are satisfied? The Democrat leader said yesterday that every day gets better for Democrats. The No. 2 Democrat in the House has said that the American people's suffering takes a backseat to Democrats' precious leverage. The senior Senator from Vermont--a leading voice on the left--wrote an op-ed over the weekend, calling for Democrats to keep the government shut down forever, as far as I can tell. I hope that is not where most Democrats are. I hope at least a few Democrats can see that this can't go on any longer. People are suffering, and it is getting worse every day. A furloughed Federal employee--a mother of five in Maryland--told the New York Times last week: I don't know how to get the mortgage paid. Federal workers are taking on second jobs to make ends meet; food banks across the country are overwhelmed; and American families are looking to the holiday season with apprehension. Democrats have a choice to make: Are they going to continue to bow to pressure from the voices on the far left telling them to keep up their opposition or are they going to stop the American people's suffering and end this shutdown? I hope enough of them are willing to do the right thing, and I hope they do it soon. The American people can't wait for events to play out. 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. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, can this be over now? Have the American people suffered enough or do Democrats need more? Democrats have snarled air traffic; they have damaged small businesses; they left Federal workers in line at food banks; they jeopardized food assistance--food assistance--for 40 million Americans. Are they satisfied now or does the far left want more? Surely, Democrats have hit enough milestones. The election is over. Democrats now have the extremely dubious honor of being responsible for the longest government shutdown in American history. So the question is, Can the American people get a break now? Democrats should be embarrassed--embarrassed--that Federal workers are lining up at food banks and missing bills and in danger of losing homes or cars because Democrats can't summon enough Members to support a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution. That is right--a clean, nonpartisan funding bill sitting right here at the Senate desk. We have not asked Democrats to support a single new Republican policy. We haven't asked them to support a single partisan policy rider. We simply ask them to extend current funding levels for a few weeks so that we could have time to do bipartisan work on appropriations bills. The Democrats couldn't take yes for an answer. On the subject of appropriations, if any Democrats cherish the faintest hope of still funding the government through a full-year appropriations process--a process that they have delayed for 5 weeks and counting--they should vote for the clean, nonpartisan CR today. I realize the Democrats have been under a lot of pressure from their far-left base to keep the shutdown going. I assume that it was pressure from Democrats' far-left base that saw the Democratic leader flip his positions on shutdowns 180 degrees in the space of just 6 months. I realize that there are a number of Democrats in the Senate who are not just yielding to pressure from the far left but are themselves members of the far left and are happy to continue this shutdown forever if it means somehow sticking it, they think, to President Trump. I am hoping there are still Democrats out there who can see beyond the political extremism of their leftist base. And I hope there are some Democrats who can take an honest look at the widespread damage that their shutdown is doing and say: Enough is enough. Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. Parents are starting to think about what they are going to put under the tree. Do Democrats still want Federal employees lining up at food banks at Thanksgiving? at Christmas? On the topic of the holidays, it is an open question whether people will be able to spend it with their families this year if the shutdown continues. Air traffic has been snarled for weeks as a result of Democrats' shutdown, and things are getting worse. The Transportation Secretary just announced yesterday that the government may be forced to close parts of our airspace if the shutdown continues into next week. Close airspace--think about that. I could go on. I could talk about the unions asking Democrats to end this shutdown and support a clean continuing resolution. I could talk about the business organizations making the same request. I could read the headlines about Head Start preschools closing and SNAP recipients who are worried about their benefits and National Guard units that aren't training and on and on--every single thing as a result of the Democrats' decision to shut down the government more than 5 weeks ago. But surely--surely--there are at least some Democrat Senators who can see this for themselves, who can see this for themselves and realize it is past time to end this before the damage gets even worse. It is day 36 of Democrats' shutdown--day 36. How much longer are Democrats going to make the American people suffer? 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. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, like many Americans, I was saddened to learn this morning of the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Dick was a lifelong public servant who believed very deeply in our country and brought his considerable knowledge and intelligence to its service. As the Secretary of Defense and later as Vice President, he played a key role in shaping policy on many of the most consequential issues of his day. He was also an avid outdoorsman and fly fisherman who loved spending time in the mountains of his home State. I enjoyed having him in South Dakota and showing off some of what our State has to offer. My thoughts and prayers today are with Lynne, his wife; with his two beloved daughters; and with his seven grandchildren. Government Funding Mr. President, ``Every day gets better for us.'' Those were the words of the Democrat leader a week into the shutdown, reflecting on the supposed benefits--political benefits--for Senate Democrats. I guess it is nice that every day is getting better for Senate Democrats because it sure isn't getting better for anyone else. We are in the sixth week of the Democrat shutdown. That is right--the sixth week--and Democrats' victims are everywhere. Let's just go through a few headlines. These are some headlines from newspapers and news outlets around the country. Some Head Start preschools shutter as government shutdown continues. Shutdown crushes small business owners as losses hit billions--industry leaders beg Congress for ``clean CR.'' ``Everyone is worried": Dallas SNAP recipients navigate uncertainty, dwindling funds. That is the Democrats' shutdown at work. Here is another headline: After a month of the shutdown, workers face mounting bills, car repossessions. And the subhead to that article said this: Finances are becoming dire for the more than 750,000 government workers who have been going without pay [now] for a full month. Here are some more headlines: Flight delays pile up as government shutdown enters second month. Worst weekend for air traffic controller staffing since start of shutdown. Flight delays could worsen as government shutdown drags on. ``Could worsen''--and we are entering one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, with people making holiday plans with their families. There are a lot more headlines where those came from. People are suffering all because Democrats can't bring themselves to accept a clean, nonpartisan funding bill. The list of people begging Democrats to pass a clean government funding extension is long, and it is growing longer. The Teamsters Union, the New York City steamfitters union, the American Federation of Government Employees, multiple airline pilot unions, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, business organizations like the National Restaurant Association. I could go on. All of these organizations are begging Democrats to take yes for an answer and support a clean, nonpartisan bill--the one sitting right there at the desk that is available to be picked up and passed today, sent to the President, signed into law, and the government opens. But Democrats are recalcitrant. For a party that claims to represent working people, it is striking to me how very little Democrats seem to care about working people during this shutdown. The senior Democrat from Vermont published an op-ed this weekend in which he called for this shutdown to keep going--forever as far as I can tell. Of course, he attempts to claim that Democrats are doing this for working people, to which I say: Give me a break. Democrats are injuring working people with their shutdown. Maybe Democrats have no idea what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck like so many Americans, including many government employees. But let me just tell them there are a whole lot of working people out there who can't afford to miss a single paycheck, much less the multiple paychecks that they have now missed thanks to the Senate Democrats. And beyond the people Democrats have directly deprived of paychecks, there are a lot of other people whose livelihoods are being affected by this shutdown, like small business owners and employees whose incomes have declined because the Federal workers who usually patronize their businesses are out of work. There is really nothing Democrats can do to make that right, but they can at least make sure that they don't extend the pain that people are experiencing. Later today, we are going to vote once again on a clean, nonpartisan funding extension--the one we have voted on 13 times already, the one sitting right at the desk--that would open this government today and make sure that all of those Americans will get paid. We just need five Democrats to join the three who are already voting with us, and we could end all of this pain and reopen the government. That is all it takes--five Democrats. Everybody knows--and follows our government and this process--that, in the Senate, it takes a supermajority. It takes 60 votes to do virtually anything. So we need help. We need help from some Democrats with a backbone who are courageous enough to take on their leftwing base and do the right thing for the American people. I do realize that Democrats are facing tremendous pressure from the far-left wing of their party, which is apparently content to see working people suffer as long as Democrats make a good show of opposing President Trump, but I hope--I hope--that there are at least those five Democrats out there who will look at the pain that people are experiencing and will say: Enough is enough. We are in the sixth week now of this shutdown--the sixth week. While every day may be getting better for Senate Democrats, thanks to Senate Democrats, every day is getting worse for the American people. 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. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it is November--November. It has been 5 weeks since Democrats shut down the government, and once again, we start this week by asking, is this the week that Democrats end their shutdown? I have said before that there are no winners in a government shutdown. There are no winners, but there are plenty of losers. Chief among them is the American people. As the senior Democrat from Virginia said just last year, ``Shutdowns aren't victimless crimes.'' And, after 5 weeks, the victims of the Democrats' shutdown are starting to pile up. Military families have turned to food banks in significant numbers, and they are not the only ones. Food banks in this area and around the country have seen an influx of Federal workers who are missing paychecks due to the shutdown. And things are set to get much worse with SNAP running on limited emergency funds and its future uncertain. Thanks to the Democrats, millions more Americans--millions--are now at risk of going hungry. Yet the Democrats' shutdown marches on. Of course, letting Americans go hungry is just the beginning. Thanks to Democrats, Head Start Programs are beginning to close, housing assistance programs are at risk, seniors and people in rural areas can't access telehealth services, National Guard training is on hold, and veterans programs are on pause. I am sorry to say I could go on. Actually, I could go on for a while. Shutdowns have consequences, and the pain is being felt around the country. Last week, it seemed that Democrats were beginning to acknowledge that their shutdown was having consequences. We even heard Democrats express concern that Americans were suffering. But when they were given the chance to end all of that suffering, the vast majority of Democrats in this body were perfectly willing to prolong the shutdown and the American people's pain. The vast majority of Democrats voted once again against a clean continuing resolution--the only bill on offer that could end all this suffering literally in a matter of hours. It is the only bill in the Senate that would fix every single issue I just mentioned. It would pay our troops and fund SNAP, Head Start, veterans programs, and pay our staffers. Three Democrat Senators already support that clean continuing resolution. The Democrat from Maine, who supported the clean CR in the House, said: There is a lot of important work to be done in Congress, none of which will be any easier if Mainers are suffering the harms of a government shutdown. The Teamsters Union and the American Federation of Government Employees--more traditionally allies of Democrats, to be frank--have called for Congress to spare the American people further pain and to pass the clean continuing resolution, and they are far from the only ones. It should not be this hard for a handful of Democrats to support a clean bill that simply reopens the government. It is a very straightforward proposition. It is a 24-page bill that is sitting right here at the Senate desk--not a single new Republican policy, no partisan policy riders, nothing that Democrats haven't supported before on numerous occasions. It just reopens the government, and it is just five Democrat votes away from being sent to the President, who would sign it literally in a matter of hours. This bill is also the quickest way to get to discussions about healthcare--that is, if Democrats are serious about solving the ObamaCare problem and not just interested in using it as a political issue. As I have said more times than I can count, Republicans are more than willing to have a healthcare discussion with Democrats. In fact, had Democrats voted to reopen the government last week, President Trump would be meeting with them this week. Unlike Democrats, who want to continue papering over the unaffordability of ObamaCare forevermore, Republicans have ideas for actually lowering healthcare costs--and lowering costs not just for Americans on ObamaCare but also for seniors, vulnerable Americans, and the majority of Americans who get their healthcare through their employers. So we are ready and willing to have that discussion, but first Democrats need to stop playing politics with people's lives and reopen the government. Airline travel is snarled. Small businesses are suffering. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are working without pay. And now 40 million Americans in need are at risk of losing their food stamps. So the question is, How long--how long--are Democrats going to continue this? Another month? two? three? How much suffering is enough for Democrats? The bill is sitting right there. We have voted on it 13 times already. We will get that opportunity to vote on it a 14th time tomorrow. For the sake of the American people, let's hope that at least some Democrats can see their way to ending this and ending it soon. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 421.

Mr. THUNE

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

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 ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2025; 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; and that the closure motion with respect to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371, ripen at 11:30 a.m.; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings; and that at 2:15 p.m., the Senate execute the order of October 30 in relation to the confirmation of the Dunlap nomination.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned following the remarks of Senator Merkley.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committee was authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

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, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, Democrats are grasping at straws these days. The other day, the Democrat leader came to the floor and tried to reboot the notion that the clean CR sitting before us here in the Senate is a partisan CR. Yep. Apparently, a bill with no partisan add- ons, strictly a bill to fund the government, is a partisan bill--only in ``Democratland.'' The Democrat leader, of course, continues to try to push this ludicrous narrative that Republicans--or President Trump--shut down the government. That is right. The party that demanded nothing and put forward a clean, nonpartisan bill is the party that shut down the government. And the party that demanded $1.5 trillion to keep the government open--until Friday, until Halloween; that is what their bill will do-- $1.5 trillion in new spending to keep the Federal Government open until Friday. I wonder if Democrats have seen some of the recent headlines like this one, and I quote: ``Benefits cliff amps up pressure on Senate Democrats'' and ``Largest federal workers union calls for an end to the shutdown, putting pressure on Democrats.'' ``Putting pressure on Democrats,'' not Republicans. Now, why? Because Republicans are ready to reopen the government today, and we are not demanding a single thing in exchange. It is the Democrats who are refusing. In fact, the Democrats latest ploy is--get this--moral outrage that the President isn't stepping in to save Democrats from the consequences of their actions. That is right. Democrats are outraged--outraged--that they are coming face-to-face with the consequences of their decision to shut down the government, and so they are flailing around, blaming President Trump for not stepping in to somehow save the SNAP program from running out of money to pay benefits. Yes, that is right. The very same people who were content to let the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children-- more commonly known as WIC--run dry are now positioning themselves as crusaders for nutrition benefits. President Trump did step in to save Democrats from themselves on WIC. He somehow managed to find money to cover the program for the time being. But there is a limit to what he can do. That is kind of the reason we like to, you know, have the government open. But, apparently, Democrats are still not willing to contemplate allowing the government to function because the SNAP bill that they tried to UC yesterday was not just a cynical political ploy to insulate themselves from the consequences from their own actions, it was also a disturbing signal the Democrats are ready to continue this shutdown, I guess, forever. Do Democrats have any--any--end date in sight? Are there any consequences bad enough to get Democrats to reopen the government again? Because things are getting pretty serious here. The shutdown had consequences from day one. But now, 30 days in, the consequences are really stonewalling. Here are some headlines I think that describe the situation: ``Government shutdown could lead to $14B in lost GDP, CBO reports.'' ``Shutdown could close Head Start programs this week, jeopardizing child care.'' ``Shutdown crushes small business owners as losses hit billions-- industry leaders beg Congress for `clean CR.' '' ``Ongoing government shutdown threatens holiday travel.'' ``National Guard Training Grinds To Halt Amid Shutdown--With No Pay In Sight.'' ``U.S. government shutdown: 60,000 aviation safety staff face financial strain as crisis deepens.'' ``Largest federal workers union calls for `clean' bill to end shutdown.'' Those are just a sampling of the headlines out there, and they represent the consequences as the Democrat shutdown accelerates. So when will the Democrats put an end to this? When the economy is ruins? When Federal workers have lost their homes? When housing assistance and small business loans and Head Start and National Guard training are distant memories? I hope the pain of the American people is worth the plaudits the Democrats are getting from their liberal base. I don't know if listing out the consequences of Democrats' shutdown moves Democrats anymore. I really don't. In fact, more than one Member of their party--way more than one Member of their party--described using the pain of the American people as ``leverage.'' Let me give you an example of some of the things they have been saying, starting with the Democrat leader: Every day gets better for us. The whip, the No. 2 position among House Democrats, says: There will be families that are going to suffer . . . but it is one of the few leverage times we have. The Senator from New Mexico: Paying our troops ``gives the President more leverage.'' That is a really good reason not to pay the troops, right? The Senator from Arizona, when asked about it, said: Hey, I would just go back and ``shut it down again.'' The Senator from Delaware: Frankly, this is our only moment of leverage. And although a very unpleasant tool to use-- Very unpleasant if you are a worker who lost their job and are not getting paid. And, of course, the Senator from Vermont: You reopen the government, we lose our leverage. It is all about leverage. That is what they are making it all about-- leverage. The question is, When are the American people going to matter more than their leverage? If there are any Democrats out there who can still see beyond the demands of their far-left base, if there are any Democrats who care about the damage that this shutdown is doing, then I have the bill right there at the desk--a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution to fund WIC, SNAP, troop pay, air traffic controller pay, farm programs, housing assistance, our national defense, and every single other government priority. We just need five Democrats to show some courage and join the three Democrats who are already with us, and we can get this government open. That is all it takes. Everybody knows that in the Senate, it takes 60 votes to do anything. Democrats come down here and consistently say that Republicans have control of the Senate, the House, and the White House. The Republicans in the House, Senate, and White House all agree: Open up the government. You can't do that in the Senate unless you have 60 votes, meaning we have to have a few Democrats. We have a few already. We need five Democrats with a backbone, five Democrats with the courage to take on that far-left base and say: We care more about the lives of the American people than about gaining some political leverage. It just takes five, Mr. President. Enough is enough. I urge my Democrat colleagues to agree to reopen the Federal Government and to do it today. 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. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 371.