John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 460.

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 Wednesday, October 15; 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; finally, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for weekly conference meetings.

Mr. THUNE. For the information of my colleagues, Senators should expect a vote at approximately 2:15 p.m. on the motion to reconsider Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

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, before I begin, I want to mention the very welcome news that the first phase of the historic Israel-Gaza peace plan brokered by President Trump and his administration, working with allies and partners in the region, has been agreed to. This will finally mean the release of all remaining hostages, living and dead, who have been held by Hamas since its October 7, 2023, attack. It is vital that Israel and especially Hamas implement the terms of this agreement as quickly as possible so that this can truly mark the beginning of an end to the bloodshed. I hope a lasting peace for this most war-torn of regions. In addition to both sides adhering to all agreed-upon terms, true peace will also require that there is never again a threat to Israel emanating from Gaza. This means that Hamas must disarm and relinquish any role in governance in the Gaza Strip, and I know the President and Secretary Rubio continue to work relentlessly to pursue peace and make this a reality. I am grateful for this news, and my prayers today are for the successful release of all hostages, the success of this agreement, and the protection of all innocents in harm's way. Government Funding Mr. President, we are now 9 days into the Democrats' government shutdown--9 days in which Democrats have had multiple opportunities to support a clean, nonpartisan CR--sitting right here at the Senate desk--to reopen the government; something that has been passed by our colleagues in the House of Representatives, that has achieved 55 Senators, a Senate majority. Out of 100 Senators, 55 Senators support this 24-page resolution sitting at the desk, which could open up the government today because as soon as the Senate passes it, the President will sign it into law. This is the same nonpartisan measure that, as I said, passed the House 3 weeks ago, no partisan riders, no gimmicks, no partisan policies, Republican policies, anything like that--a simple resolution, 24 pages long, to open up our government and make sure that the Federal employees and the American people who depend upon them get paid. The President is ready to sign it. All it takes is a handful of Democrats. There are three Democrats who have already supported this clean continuing resolution. Just a handful more, and we can end this shutdown in a matter of hours. Fifty-five Senators, a Senate majority--a majority of the 100 U.S. Senators, a majority of the House of Representatives, the President of the United States is prepared to sign it. That is how straightforward this proposition is. We have already seen plenty of negative impacts from the Democrat shutdown. A whole new wave of pain begins tomorrow if Democrats don't act because if we fail to fund the government by the end of day today, American servicemembers begin going without their paychecks starting tomorrow. That is right. If Democrats can't bring themselves to reopen the government by the end of the day, our troops--the people who protect and defend this country--will start missing their paychecks. To say that that is unacceptable is an understatement. Many of our servicemembers are serving in harm's way at this moment. All of them stand ready to rush into danger at a moment's notice to protect the rest of us. They and their families make numerous sacrifices to serve our country. The idea--the very idea--that they won't get a paycheck because Democrats can't bring themselves to accept a clean, nonpartisan CR is beyond the pale. If the government remains shut down after today, instead of getting our troops paid, they are going to have to continue stretching what money they have saved. Unfortunately, sometimes that is not very much. As one advocate for military families put it, ``This isn't just a financial hardship--it's destabilizing for households and military readiness alike.'' ``Military readiness.'' Many families have already begun to visit food banks near bases, and it is even harder on families with a loved one who is deployed. Amy Palmer, who runs an organization that helps military families in Colorado, said families of the deployed ``are having to navigate this alone. They're used to getting the paycheck . . . and paying bills on behalf of their entire family, and with that servicemember deployed and not really having that support system from them . . . it is really hard.'' It is not just our troops who are going to be missing a paycheck. Civilian workers will also be missing part of their pay starting this Friday, including law enforcement officers like the members of our very own Capitol Police. Food banks and other nonprofits around the country are bracing for increased demand from Federal employees, especially here in the national Capitol region. I remember when the Democrat leader was a passionate opponent of government shutdowns because of their impact on Federal workers. I am pretty sure that was just 6 months ago. Other Democrats used to be concerned about the impact on Federal workers as well. A few years ago, our Democrat colleague from New Jersey--himself, a former career Federal worker--had this to say: I worked through multiple shutdowns, including, you know, having to work and show up every day without getting paid. . . . I mean, it's just so scary to think of the fact that this is going to hurt people. Yet Democrats aren't showing the slightest interest in reopening the government to ensure troops and Federal employees get paid. Later today, we are going to have another vote on the clean continuing resolution to open up the government. As I said, we are a handful of Democrats away from passing this continuing resolution and reopening the government, a handful of votes away from paying our troops, and we are going to see if that matters to Democrats. We will see if Democrats choose to pay America's troops or if they, once again, bow to the demands of their far-left base, which is telling them to hold out, or their strategists who are telling them that they are ``winning'' the shutdown. Well, based on the reporting this morning, Democrats couldn't care less whether military families miss a paycheck tomorrow. In an interview posted this morning, the Democrat leader said: Every day gets better for us. ``Every day gets better for us.'' This isn't a political game. Democrats might feel that way, but I don't know of anybody else that does. The longer this goes on, the more the American people realize the Democrats own this shutdown. A Morning Consult poll finds that ``voters increasingly blame Democrats for the government shutdown.'' In the latest Harvard-Harris poll, 65 percent of voters think Democrats should reopen the government instead of holding out for their partisan demands. But Democrats are apparently being told to hold the line by their far-left base, and so this shutdown drags on. We can solve the issue of troop pay and every other problem we are seeing today--today--by passing this clean, nonpartisan CR and sending it to the President. He is ready to sign it. If Democrats would only agree, we could reopen the government in just a few hours, literally, pay our troops, pay our Federal workers, and stop this madness. And this notion that somehow in this political game, the Democrats believe, according to their leader, that ``every day gets better for us,'' that is not the experience of the American people. It is time to end this shutdown and reopen this government. Let's pass this CR today. I yield the floor. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. THUNE

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

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all en bloc amendments be considered to the Wicker-Reed substitute amendment No. 3748.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate execute the order of October 8 in relation to the Mascott nomination. I ask unanimous consent that all subsequent votes be 10 minutes in duration, and I would advise our colleagues that we intend to enforce that.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and execute the order with respect to Calendar No. 115, S. 2296. I would reiterate that last vote was a 10-minute vote that took 27 minutes. People should stay close to the floor. Ten-minute votes, OK? Ten-minute votes. Thank you.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I move to proceed to calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Terry Miller, a defense fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges until October 10, 2025.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are 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. President, we are now on day eight of the government shutdown, which is truly unfortunate and unnecessary and totally at the behest of leftwing Democrat special interest groups that have pressured the Democratic leadership into a position that makes absolutely no sense to any thinking person. I want you to think about where we are. Think about this scenario: You have a bill passed by the House of Representatives, over here in the Senate--24 pages long, clean, short term, nonpartisan, no policy riders, no Republican priorities--a clean resolution to fund the government. And there are 55 Senators--55 out of 100 Senators--who are voting for the clean, short-term funding resolution that would open up the government. The President of the United States has said that, as soon as it is passed in the Senate, he will sign it into law. So what you have is complete unified support for a short-term funding resolution to keep the government open and make sure that all the government employees who are currently being impacted and their families can get back to work and get paid again. And so it is always interesting when the Democrat leader comes down here and describes this fantasy world where the bill that they proposed, which would only get 47 votes here in the U.S. Senate--not even 50, not 51, not a majority, and certainly not the 60 that are necessary to pass consequential legislation in the Senate--it wouldn't get a single vote in the House of Representatives. So they have got a bill, a proposal, that they say keeps the government open, that can't pass the Senate, wouldn't pass the House, and wouldn't be signed into law by the President. You tell me--you tell me--who is responsible for the government shutdown. Republicans passed a bill in the House. It is over here in the Senate, 24 pages long, sitting right at the desk. We can pick it up and pass it today and send it to the President, who will sign it into law, and the government opens up again. Or--or--you can take this proposal the Democrats have, which has $1.5 trillion in new spending, allows for free healthcare coverage for noncitizens, completely obliterates the $50 billion rural hospital fund that we put in place to support rural hospitals in this country that are struggling, and they think that would pass. It doesn't pass here, doesn't pass the House, and wouldn't get signed into law by the President. So just a logical person, think about this. Think about the juxtaposition of those two positions, and you tell me who is shutting the government down. We have a straightforward, simple proposition: a 24-page funding resolution to keep the government open, with no partisan policy riders, no gimmicks, short term, which funds the government through November 21 to give us an opportunity to do the government funding the way we should do it, through the appropriations process, where we have the committees meeting and Republicans and Democrats contributing, and then bring it to the floor and have an open amendment process here. That is the way the government should normally be funded. And so what this does is it provides a short-term extension in order for all that to happen. That is all that we are talking about. They have other issues they want to bring up, which I have said before we are happy to discuss. And, yes, there are some things that I think there is interest on both sides in trying to address when it comes to healthcare in this country. But you can't take the Federal Government hostage and expect to have a reasonable conversation on those issues. The government needs to be funded. Federal employees need to go back to work. Federal Agencies and Departments need to be open and providing the services that the American people expect. It is that simple. And that is really what this is all about--again, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. It is whether or not they want to support a 24-page funding resolution that keeps the government open or continue to vote for $1.5 trillion in new spending, free healthcare for noncitizens, and completely wiping out a $50 billion rural hospital fund that is designed to support rural hospitals in this country-- something that would get 47 votes here in the Senate and not a majority in the House of Representatives, and wouldn't get a single vote, honestly, among Republicans in the House of Representatives, and would not be signed into law by the President--versus something, again, passed by the House, here at the Senate. All we need is five more votes. There are a majority of U.S. Senators today who support the short-term funding resolution, 55 out of 100. We need 5 Democrats. You tell me who shut the government down. And I think that the public is becoming wise to this debate and this argument and these fallacious arguments that are being made by the Democrats. In fact, there is a new Harvard-Harris poll that came out Monday that found that 70 percent of voters oppose a government shutdown--70 percent. And of interest to my Democratic colleagues, 65 percent of voters, including 63 percent of Independents, think the Democrats should end the shutdown by accepting a continuing resolution like the clean funding resolution I just described that is in front of us. So what are my Democrat colleagues doing? Well, after their resounding defeat in the Presidential election last November, you would think they might be paying attention to the strong majority of voters who would like the shutdown to end as well. You would think they might notice that 63 percent of Independents--voters I am sure Democrats would like to capture in the next election--want Democrats to accept a resolution like the clean CR in front of us. But you would be wrong, because Democrats are still deeply in thrall to the far left, and they are taking their marching orders for this shutdown from far-left interest groups. And I mean that literally. A recent Axios article reported: Progressive grassroots groups are blasting congressional Democrats on speed dial to ``hold the line'' in any negotiations to reopen the government. Now, that followed an Axios report that found: Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his staff are closely coordinating their government shutdown strategy with outside liberal groups. . . . Backing down and helping fund the government, like Schumer did in March, is unacceptable, the groups have told his team. Backing down and helping fund the government, like Schumer did in March, is unacceptable, the groups have told his team. And so the liberal groups say ``jump,'' and Democrat leaders say, ``How high?'' Forget the robust majority of Independents that want the Democrats to end this shutdown. You know, back in the day--and by ``back in the day'' I mean as recently as 6 months ago--the Democrat leader was a pretty robust opponent of government shutdowns. Yes, he was an opponent--so much so that even though he didn't like the continuing resolution we passed in the spring, he voted for it anyway because, in his words, ``a government shutdown would be far worse.'' But then progressive groups got big-time mad, and now the Democrat leader is leading the charge to keep the government shut down-- indefinitely, apparently--and all those Federal workers and hard- working Americans he was so worried about before seem to have slipped his mind. In fact, Democrats have barely reacted to the fact that Federal workers are going to start missing pay. When we realized we were going to need a continuing resolution to allow us more time to complete the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, Republicans wanted to do everything we could to ensure that there was no government shutdown, which is why we put forward a clean continuing resolution with no Republican policies or partisan policy riders. We knew a shutdown would be costly and disruptive for hard-working Americans, and we were determined to ensure the Democrats had no reason--no reason--to oppose our CR. But Democrats weren't deterred by the fact that there was nothing for them to object to in our bill, and they decided to oppose it anyway. Now, Democrats will get another chance this week to vote to keep the government open. And I hope the Democrat leader and Democrat Senators can summon up some of that concern they used to have about shutdowns and vote to reopen the government. At the very least, if the Democrat leader is too worried about his polling to vote to reopen himself, he could allow Democrat Senators who do care about the functioning of our government to join Republicans to reopen.

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 proceedings.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, in just a few minutes, Senator Collins will cast her 9,750th consecutive vote--her 9,750th consecutive vote. Mr. President, 9,750 votes is a substantial milestone all on its own, but 9,750 consecutive votes--that is something else. What it is, is a tribute to Senator Collins' incredible work ethic and her absolute dedication to the people of Maine. Susan shows up for Mainers. She represents them in committee; she represents them on the floor; and she represents them in every single vote--the big votes, the little votes, and the in-between ones. But thanks to Susan Collins, the people of Maine always have a voice. Susan, congratulations on yet another incredible milestone. (Applause.) Thank you for your service, and thank you for your example.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I yield back all time on H.J. Res. 105. Vote on H.J. Res. 105

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, before I begin, I want to note that today marks 2 years since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. By day's end on that October 7, hundreds of innocent Israelis were dead, and more than 200 hostages had been taken. Some of those hostages are still in captivity. My prayers today are with the remaining hostages, the survivors of that day, and all those still grieving the loss of their loved ones-- and for a just and lasting peace in the region.

Mr. THUNE

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