John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 197.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it has been a long road to get to today. More than a year ago, groups of Republican Senators and staff began meeting to lay the groundwork for extending tax relief for hard-working Americans if we were given the opportunity. Voters gave us that opportunity. Since we took office in January, Republicans have been laser-focused on achieving the bill before us today. Now we are here passing legislation that will permanently extend tax relief for hard-working Americans; that will spur economic growth and more jobs and opportunities for American workers; that will rebuild our military, secure our borders, unleash American energy, and cut waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal programs. With this legislation, we are fulfilling the mandate we were entrusted with last November and setting our country and the American people up to be safer, stronger, and more prosperous. No bill of this size comes together without a lot of very hard work, and I want to thank the committee members and the chairmen who worked so long on this legislation. I also want to thank the committee staff and the leadership staff and the Member staff who have put an incredible number of hours in putting this bill together. None of us would be where we are without our staffs. And nowhere is this more true than on this bill, which would not have come together without a lot of very late nights, early mornings, and long afternoons of tireless work from staffers. I hope that they take pride today in what they helped achieve for the American people. I also want to thank all the individuals who keep the Senate floor running and who worked overtime this weekend during consideration of the bill. That includes the cloakroom staff, the clerks, the doorkeepers, the Capitol Police, and the pages who stayed past the end of their session to help out. I am very, very grateful to all of them. I hope everyone manages to get some sleep. I look forward to the House taking up and passing this historic legislation and getting it to the President's desk. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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. 81.

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. 58.

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 send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have 1 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 is authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: committee on homeland security and governmental affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, June 30, 2025, at 9:45 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma session only, with no business being conducted, on the following date and time: Thursday, July 3, at 12 noon; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, July 3, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, July 7; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; finally, that notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motions filed on July 1 ripen at 5:30 p.m.

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 the Democratic leader.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we have before us today a once-in-a- generation opportunity to deliver legislation to create a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America. With one bill, we can deliver on a number of priorities: tax relief for hard-working Americans; economic growth; a stronger national defense; a more secure border; a more reliable energy supply; and reductions in waste, fraud, and abuse across the Federal Government. We seldom have an opportunity to take the kind of action that we are planning to take on just one of these priorities, let alone all of them. When was the last time we considered legislation like this to give a $150 billion boost to our defense spending? After serious declines in our military readiness, we are on the verge of a notable investment in a number of critical military priorities: shipbuilding, missile defense, defense manufacturing capacity, critical munitions, drones and counter-drone technology, an expanded Air Force fighter fleet, nuclear modernization, U.S. infrastructure in the Pacific, and more. And while it is no substitute for robust yearly defense funding, our bill represents a real chance to start to turn our readiness deficiencies around. There is no time in which we can afford to let our military readiness slide, but, above all, at this time of increased global instability, it is especially vital that we ensure that our military has the resources it needs to deter our enemies and defend our country. So just by itself, the national defense section of our reconciliation bill represents a historic opportunity, and that is just one section of the bill. We are also looking at historic investment in border security--$160 billion. Yes, that is right--$160 billion to undo the damage done by the Biden border crisis and secure our border for the long term. More Border Patrol agents, more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, funding to complete the border wall and implement critical border technology--it is all there. We have the opportunity to take the gains the Trump administration has made in securing our border and deporting criminals and make that progress permanent. Like the defense section, the border security provisions of this bill would be an impressive and historic piece of legislation all on their own. But, again, they are just one section. We are also looking at the chance to increase our energy independence, making us safer and more prosperous, and we are looking at an exceedingly rare opportunity to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, including the first real entitlement reform in decades--reform that will put these programs on a more sustainable path for today's recipients and for tomorrow's. Once again, these are impressive opportunities all on their own, but even more incredible when you consider that we are looking at the prospect of being able to do all of these things in one bill. And then, of course, there is the tax relief. Talk about a section of the bill that would be an achievement all on its own. We are looking at the opportunity to make the 2017 tax relief permanent. That means permanently extending the lower tax rates; permanently extending the increased standard deduction; and not only permanently extending the enhanced child tax credit but enhancing it even further to $2,200 per child and linking it to inflation so its value will never go down. But not just that, there is more. We are eliminating taxes on tips for millions of tip workers. We are eliminating taxes on overtime for millions of hourly workers. We are putting in place an auto loan interest deductible when you buy a new car manufactured here in the United States. And we are increasing the standard deduction for millions of low- and middle-income seniors, making their retirement a little easier and more prosperous. We are also implementing a program to create saving accounts for newborns, with an initial deposit of $1,000 to help parents save and invest for their children's future needs. And that is still not all. We are also looking at the chance to grow our economy by making the rest of the Tax Cuts and Job Act's business tax relief permanent. That means lower effective rates for small and medium-sized businesses--the job-creating 199A small business deduction and full expensing for new equipment and for domestic research and development. And we are adding to the 2017 tax relief with new pro- growth provisions, like a provision to boost domestic manufacturing by implementing full expensing for new factories and factory improvements. Thanks to the pro-growth provisions in our legislation, we can expect to see GDP as much as 4.9 percent higher as a result of our bill. And that, of course, means more jobs and opportunities and better wages for hard-working Americans. Republicans made some promises to the American people last November. We promised to grow our economy, to extend the 2017 tax relief and prevent a $4 trillion tax hike on the American people, to secure our border and enhance the safety of our communities, and to unleash American energy. We made those promises, and the American people elected us to office. Now they expect us to deliver. The opportunity is before us to deliver on our promises and make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Fifty-three Members will never agree on every detail of legislation; let's face it. But Republicans are united in our commitment to what we are doing in this bill: securing our border; strengthening our national defense; growing our economy; unleashing American energy; cutting waste, fraud, and abuse; and preventing tax hikes on hard-working Americans. Mr. President, it is time to get this legislation across the finish line.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 107, H.R. 1.

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2360.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the reading dispensed with.

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. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I would like to start by just taking a moment to thank the clerks who stayed up all night reading the amendment and getting us to this point. I know it was a long night and that we are not finished yet, but I want them to know that the Senate appreciates their dedication, their stamina, and their service. In just a moment, I am going to make a point of order against the substitute amendment that I offered on behalf of Chairman Graham. I believe the Chair should rule that there is no point of order against the amendment because, under the Budget Act, the Senate looks to the Budget Committee to assess the budgetary effects of an amendment. Basically, this has to do with the current policy baseline that we decided to use in the budget resolution for this bill and how we handle points of order related to it. This is an issue that, I think, we need to deal with right off the bat. Point of Order Therefore, I make a point of order under section 313(b)(1)(E) of the Congressional Budget Act against substitute amendment No. 2360.

Mr. THUNE

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