John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, every parent wants to give their kids a better life than they had. So parents spend a lot of time making sure their kids are ready when opportunity comes their way. In many cases, that involves putting money aside for their future. Opportunity is one of the pillars of Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut. That means both creating opportunity and helping more Americans to seize those opportunities to get ahead. And one of the ways this bill does that is by helping parents to save and invest in their children's futures. That starts with lower tax bills so parents can keep more of their hard-earned money. And on top of that, we made it easier for parents to support their kids' dreams with things like the bill's new Trump Accounts. These new tax-advantaged investment accounts can be a powerful tool for parents and other family members to give the next generation a brighter future because Trump Accounts can be used for a broad array of expenses. Money from a Trump account can go toward education expenses, buying a first home, starting a business, or buying the family farm or ranch when the time comes. Kids can even opt to use the accounts as retirement savings when they reach adulthood, a financial priority for every American. Trump Accounts will help bring big dreams closer within reach. Parents of children born between 2025 and 2028 can opt in to receive an initial $1,000 balance in their Trump Account from the government. On top of that, numerous companies have already made pledges to contribute to the Trump Accounts for their employees' children, and some philanthropists have made similar commitments. Plus, as I indicated earlier, any member of the family can contribute to a Trump Account. So an aunt or an uncle, grandma or grandpa can add money to a Trump Account as a birthday gift or Christmas gift, further boosting the amount a child will have available when he or she reaches young adulthood. Even $20 per month can build to a substantial sum of money by the time a baby born this year turns 18. And the Trump Accounts app even includes modules and other resources for parents and children to learn about investing and grow their financial literacy, which will help them throughout their lives. Trump Accounts are a significant tool for parents and their kids. But it is far from the only thing that we did in this bill to help the next generation get a headstart on their American dream. The Working Families Tax Cut also made some significant improvements to the traditional 529 education savings plan, allowing those savings to be used for a greater variety of education expenses: tutoring, home- school materials, and vocational and continuing education. Plus, we doubled the withdrawal limit for 529s to $20,000 per year. Mr. President, I am also proud of how the Working Families Tax Cut strengthens pathways to meaningful career options for the next generation. On the higher education side, we implemented accountability and reforms to put downward pressure on the cost of college degrees. We also made permanent a policy I authored that allows employers to pay off a portion of their employees' student loans without the employee having to pay taxes on the repayment amount. For Americans who are interested in learning a skilled trade, this bill is transformative. As I mentioned, it allows 529 savings to go toward vocational education. It also created the Workforce Pell Program, which will provide financial assistance to Americans in shorter term skills and career- training programs--whether they are just starting out or looking to switch careers or develop new skills in their current field. States are just beginning the process of identifying programs that will qualify for Workforce Pell, and it is already generating excitement. One community college president in New York said of Workforce Pell: ``The potential is absolutely huge.'' Another community college administrator in Oregon hailed how Workforce Pell will provide assistance for the college's truckdriving certificate program, a popular program that leads to high-paying jobs but for which financial aid is hard to come by. Workforce Pell will change that. And Workforce Pell will also be a game changer for midcareer professionals. As Colette Atkins, who works at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, said, ``we have students that are working already, and they can't step away for 2 years, but can they step away to do that 8 to 15 weeks to get that training? They sure can. And now there's financial support to help them do that.'' Suffice it to say, Workforce Pell will open new pathways and create a lot of opportunities for a lot of Americans, and it is getting started thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut. Putting more money in Americans' pockets, helping them seize opportunities to get ahead, and creating new pathways to success--that is the Working Families Tax Cut at work. 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 executive session to consider Calendar No. 829.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I move to proceed to Calendar No. 436, S. 4784.

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 move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 831.

Mr. THUNE

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

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. 827.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, at the beginning of last year, the New York Times took a poll of the American voters, and the headline captures their results. This is what it said: ``Many Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities.'' Let me repeat that, Mr. President. ``Many Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities.'' That is right. A New York Times poll taken weeks after voters rejected Democrats at the ballot box suggested that one of the reasons for Democrats' loss was that Americans don't think Democrats share their priorities. The story went on to say: The issues that people cited as most important to them personally were the economy and inflation, health care and immigration . . . But when the poll asked Americans to identify Democrats' most important priorities, Americans identified issues like abortion and climate change, among others. Our Democrat colleagues have found themselves out of power for 18 months now. And we have given them plenty of opportunities to show some evolution--perhaps even moderation--to voters. But as the record shows, Democrats are still in thrall to the far left of their party. They still have the same priorities that turned voters off from Democrats in the last election. Mr. President, for starters, radical transgender ideology remains an article of faith among Democrats. Democrats have repeatedly opposed efforts to keep biological men out of women's sports. And when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously last month that State laws protecting women's sports are allowable under the plain language of title IX, one Democrat Senator called the ruling unjust. ``Unjust,'' Mr. President. As if a young woman working hard all season, only to lose to a man with an inherent biological advantage, is somehow just. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe that biological men should not be playing women's sports, but that doesn't seem to matter to Senate Democrats. And their commitment to transgender ideology doesn't end with supporting the presence of men in women's sports. Democrats have also tacitly--or not so tacitly--endorsed radical gender transition procedures being performed on minors. Procedures, I might add, with no substantial medical evidence to support them and plenty of reason to believe they are extremely dangerous for children, but apparently Democrats are fine subjecting children to those risks. And of course, Mr. President, Democrats are still proudly pro- abortion. And when I say pro-abortion, I mean pro-abortion. How else do you describe a party that wouldn't even support legislation to provide medical care to a baby born alive during a failed abortion? A party that can't bring itself to support a bill to ensure that a pregnant college student knows that there are resources available to help her finish her degree and have her baby. The party that directed small business COVID relief funds to Planned Parenthood, even though they were legally ineligible. A party that is doing everything it can to eliminate pregnancy resource centers simply because they won't recommend abortion. As I said, Democrats are in thrall to the far left of their party, and it is not just on those issues. Far-left activists seem to be the audience for almost everything Democrats do these days. Take, for example, Democrats' two--that is right, two--record-long government shutdowns. Last fall, Democrats shut down the entire Federal Government for a record 43 days to show the far left that they were fighting President Trump. And while TSA lines snaked outside of airports and Americans were visiting food banks because they had to work without pay, the Democrat leader was quoted as saying: Every day gets better for us. Better, that is, for Democrats seeking the approval of the far left. Then earlier this year, Democrats shut down the Department of Homeland Security because they didn't want to fund law enforcement. That is right. Defunding law enforcement--once a fringe position in their party-- became the official position of the Democrat Party as they tried to completely--completely--defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Once again, it didn't matter to Democrats whether Americans would be less safe with open borders. Their audience, far-left activists, wanted them to defund border security and immigration enforcement officers, so they did. And Democrats weren't done. Last week, Democrats here in the U.S. Senate blocked the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that authorizes funding for our military. That is right. Democrats voted against authorizing funding for our military. It is a sad day when Democrats are playing politics with everything all the way up to our national security, but that is where we are. Democrats have had numerous opportunities in the last year and a half to work with us on things that matter to the American people. And, again and again, they have chosen to follow members of their far-left base, in some cases--see New York City's mayor--follow them directly into socialism. That is right. Self-identified Democrat socialists have been winning elections across the country. So what is next? Will the Democrat Party adopt the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America? To quote the New York Times again, ``Many Americans say the [Democrat] Party does not share their priorities.'' A year and a half later, it is obvious that that is still the case: men's and women's sports, abortion up until the moment of birth, open borders, defunding law enforcement. Instead of moving toward the middle, Democrats are just getting more extreme. 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, we recently celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence--the 250th birthday of our country. On July 4 in 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration. The document laid out the causes which impelled the colonists' separation from Great Britain. But more than that, it laid out the political beliefs that would govern a new nation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That in order to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Unalienable rights--rights inherent in man, given by God; rights that exist before government; and that it is the job of government to protect--government not by divine right or military might, but by consent; a government that represents the people, not the will to power. A revolutionary document--pun intended. Many of the ideas in the Declaration, of course, were not new. It was a document built on the wisdom of the ages, on the tradition of British common law, on the inheritance of Christianity, and the colonists' own experiment in self- government in the colonies. Jefferson himself, writing in 1825, said of the Declaration: Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion. All its authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, in letters, in printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc. While many of the ideas in the Declaration were not new, the document was nevertheless, as I said, revolutionary because the Declaration marked an event essentially unique in human history. There had been philosophical treatises on laying out principles of government, but this was not a philosophical treatise. It was the founding of a government, of a new nation, based on philosophical principles--a nation inaugurated not by conquest but on a set of ideas. And what ideas: All men are created equal. Where before in the history of governments do we find that? All men are created equal. No one is given special dignity by nature; no man has a divine right to rule over any other. No, all men are created equal--created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, rights that cannot be taken away, rights that are not the gift of government but of nature and of nature's God, rights that government must defer to and defend. As everyone knows, the United States is currently hosting the World Cup. The media has been filled with stories on how much visitors to this country are enjoying the United States. They are encountering the American character: generous, optimistic, big-hearted, friendly. And they are embracing it. And it occurs to me that that American character almost unquestionably has a lot to do with our founding principles. When you believe that all men are created equal, when you believe that they have God-given rights and dignity--well, that has consequences. All men are created equal. There is no class of divinely appointed rulers, no hereditary aristocratic class, no barriers set to prevent you from rising. Those principles have consequences. So I don't think it is surprising that Americans are generous and big-hearted and optimistic and friendly. I think it is the natural consequence of the principles that we espouse. Every Fourth of July is a day of celebration, but this one--marking 250 years--was particularly special. South Dakota was honored to welcome President Trump to our fireworks at Mount Rushmore--a truly spectacular event. There is no better place to reflect on the majesty of this great country. It is fitting too, though, that along with the celebrations--along with the fireworks and the parades and the hotdogs and the hamburgers-- that July 4 be a day of thanksgiving for the Declaration of Independence and the Nation it founded, for the blessing of liberty, and for all those who have pledged their lives to its defense, from the founding of our country to the present day. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his ``Concord Hymn,'' referred to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord as ``the shot heard round the world.'' If I may borrow his phrase, I think it is fair to say that the Declaration was the ``statement heard round the world.'' It is still--still--heard round the world to this day, and I pray it will be heard until the end of time. May God bless our beloved country and keep us faithful to the principles for which we stand. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 775.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nominations en bloc: Calendar No. 718, Calendar No. 783 through Calendar No. 812 and all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Space Force, Air Force, with the exception of PN970-2; Army, with the exception of PN1061, Theresa M. Long; PN1015, Mark R. Berube and Mandi A. Samples; PN1017, Joel A. Arends and Michael D. Thompson; PN1072, Phillip T. Buckler; PN1065, Samuel A. Smith; Marine Corps, with the exception of PN681-4; Navy, with the exception of PN835; PN925, PN990, Robert J. Moreno and Joshua Q. McCright; and PN1029, Kelly Cruz; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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 the following nominations en bloc: Calendar No. 813 through Calendar No. 817; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the previous order with respect to the Westercamp nomination be modified so that the confirmation vote may occur notwithstanding rule XXII and with all other provisions remaining in effect.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I understand that 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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, July 20; 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 at 5:30 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Flowers nomination and the cloture motion filed today ripen at that time.