John Thune

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. 84.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I sent 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. 42.

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 executive session to consider Calendar No. 83.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, one of Republicans' biggest priorities this year is extending the tax relief we passed in 2017 and preventing a massive tax hike on hard-working Americans. We took a big step forward before Easter with the passage of a budget resolution necessary for a final bill, and we are rapidly moving toward final bill text. Senate Republicans held hours of great discussions today to hammer out a number of details. The issue before us is simple: If we don't act, Americans making less than $400,000 will face a $2.6 trillion tax hike next year--$2.6 trillion. Small businesses will face a $600 billion tax hike. Republicans do not intend to let that happen. We are going to extend the tax relief we passed during President Trump's first administration, starting with the lower individual rates that put more money in Americans' pockets and eased the burden on small businesses. I say ``extend,'' but in fact, we intend to make that tax relief permanent. Hard-working Americans should not have to worry about tax hikes every few years, and small businesses need tax certainty for long-term planning. So we are committed to not only extending the lower individual rates we passed in 2017 but to making them permanent. We are also committed to making other small business tax relief from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, like bonus depreciation and the section No. 199A deduction. The National Federation of Independent Business reports that making the small business section No. 199A deduction permanent would result in the creation of an additional 1.2 million jobs annually, with that number climbing as the law goes on. And the Tax Foundation reports that long-run GDP would increase by a substantial 1.1 percent. That means more jobs and more opportunities for American workers. It also means an increase in Federal revenues-- but an increase in Federal revenues the right way, by growing and expanding the economy, not raising taxes. Ensuring permanent tax relief for hard-working Americans and small businesses would be a substantial part of the final bill, but that is not all that would be included. We will also be focusing on some of the other challenges our country has faced over the past 4 years: a dangerous border crisis, deficiencies in our military readiness, and Biden administration policies that threat to weaken our already shaky electric grid and jeopardize our Nation's energy supply. President Trump has already made tremendous progress on securing the border and deporting criminals here illegally, but we need to dedicate additional resources to border security to secure those gains for the long term. So the final bill that we pass will include a transformational investment in securing our borders, including things like additional detention space, more Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and additional barriers and technology. We will also make a transformational investment in our military readiness to address deficiencies and ensure that we are equipped to detour and defeat any threat. And we will implement policies to unleash American energy production to ensure a secure, stable, and affordable energy supply for the long term. Finally, we will take a hard look at how we spend taxpayer dollars and implement savings measures to put our country on a more fiscally sustainable path. It is going to be a great bill, and it is going to help produce a stronger and a more secure America. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as I said on the floor yesterday, when I meet with South Dakota business owners, I often tell them to let me know how we can help, even if that means getting out of the way, because that is often what the government needs to do: get out of the way. It is a foreign concept to the government-knows-best crowd. But what my Democratic colleagues frequently fail to realize is that while government can sometimes be a help, it can often be a hindrance, especially under Democratic administrations, which tend to load down Americans and American businesses with burdensome regulations for extremely dubious gains. The Biden administration certainly did that. One of our priorities this Congress has been taking advantage of the Congressional Review Act to repeal burdensome Biden administration regulations. We have passed 10 CRA resolutions so far, and this week we plan to add 4 more to that total. We will kick things off with Senator Tim Scott's resolution on the Biden administration's rubber tire manufacturing rule, an excellent example of a burdensome and unnecessary regulation. The Biden EPA's rubber tire rule set new emissions standards for tire manufacturers. Why? Well, that is a good question. Tire manufacturers are already subject to strict emissions rules, and the Biden EPA--that is right, the Biden EPA--found the rule was not necessary to protect public health or the environment. And as for the rule's effect on emissions, while it will reduce the emission of certain air pollutants, it will increase emissions of carbon dioxide and methane. And then there is the cost. The Biden EPA estimated that this rule would cost tire manufacturers $13.3 million per year, and there is reason to believe that that number could go much higher. So we have costly new standards for tire manufacturers, justified by no public health benefit--including, as I said, by the Biden administration--and estimated to produce extremely dubious, if any, environmental gains. You might say we have the poster child for a burdensome and unnecessary government regulation, and we are going to repeal it this week. We are also going to take up Senator Curtis and Senator Lee's resolution to overturn a Biden administration regulation limiting access to public lands in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area for those with off-road vehicles. Senator Curtis has noted that he hopes this measure will be a step toward ensuring that public lands remain accessible to Americans instead of being closed off by Washington bureaucrats. A third CRA measure that we will take up this week is Senator Cruz's resolution to block an unlawful Biden-era Federal Communications Commission regulation that allows a Federal program to subsidize unregulated, off-campus Wi-Fi hotspots for schoolchildren. The problems with this regulation are myriad. It is, as I said, unlawful. It violates the Communications Act, which clearly limits the use of the funds in question to classrooms and libraries, and it effectively extends a program that Congress chose not to renew. Then there is the fact that this rule endangers children by giving them unsupervised access to a whole host of potentially dangerous or unhealthy content. Add to that the fact that it creates the potential for duplication of government efforts to deploy broadband, and you have a whole host of reasons to repeal this Biden regulation. Finally, this week, we intend to take up Senator Kennedy's CRA resolution to repeal a Biden administration rule adding unnecessary redtape to bank mergers. This rule would delay approval of bank mergers that increase competition, potentially restricting choice in banks for consumers. I am grateful to all of the Senators I have mentioned for their efforts to lift burdensome Biden-era regulations and for all those who sponsored earlier CRA measures. Senate Republicans will continue to work to lift unnecessary government burdens and get government out of the way of American families and American businesses. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I move to proceed to Calendar No. 24, S.J. Res. 7.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 66, S. 1582.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have seven 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 when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7; 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 Calendar No. 69, S.J. Res. 13; further, that at 5:30 p.m. the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the joint resolution.

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. THUNE. Mr. President, I understand 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, this is Small Business Week, a time to celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators of our communities, the farmers and ranchers, the sons and daughters carrying on the family business. These hard-working Americans are the backbone of our economy and a sign that the American dream is alive and working. Small business is a big deal, and the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are working hard to deliver for American small business owners. One of our top priorities this year is making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. TCJA did a lot for small businesses. Lower tax rates, the 199A small business deduction, and bonus depreciation and other investment incentives lowered small businesses' tax burden and encouraged them to invest in themselves, hire more workers, and, in turn, grow our economy. And that is what happened. After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed, we saw businesses buy new equipment. They hired new workers. Paychecks got bigger. It was good for small business and good for American workers, and it led to a very strong economy before the pandemic. But many of the law's provisions are expiring at the end of this year, and if we don't extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, small businesses will face a $600 billion tax hike in 2026. Republicans do not intend to let that happen, but we don't just want to extend the TCJA's provisions. We want to give small businesses certainty by making these pro-growth tax policies permanent because permanence will encourage long-term investment, it will encourage growth, and it will maximize our economy's potential. According to one estimate, making the 199A deduction permanent would lead to 1.2 million more jobs per year, and that number will grow larger as the years go on. And that is just one pro-growth, pro-small business provision in the law. In addition to making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, President Trump has already prioritized restoring American manufacturing. The Tax Code is a key part of that. Investment incentives like bonus depreciation helped manufacturers purchase the latest technology and grow their workforce with good-paying jobs for the American people. More manufacturing--more businesses and jobs here in America--grows our tax base, and that means more revenue--revenue that we get the right way, which is with a bigger and stronger economy, not bigger tax bills. We have an opportunity to help turn the page on the Biden economy and set up our country for long-term economic strength, and we can do that by delivering on the President's tax priorities and making his first term tax success permanent. Another one of our small business priorities is regulatory relief. When I meet with South Dakota business owners, I often tell them to let me know how we can help, even if sometimes that means getting out of the way. Often, that is what the government needs to do--get out of the way--and that is what we have been trying to do this year. Congress has blocked a number of burdensome Biden-era regulations through the Congressional Review Act, and we have more Congressional Review Act measures planned for this week. For example, we have passed resolutions blocking Biden administration rules on commercial refrigerators and freezers and walk-in coolers. These are rules that would have driven up costs and reduced choices for small businesses. One standard had a payback period--if you can get this--of 90 years; meaning, a small business would start saving money almost a century after purchasing an appliance. That is absurd, and it is just one example of the regulatory burdens Congress is working to lift off the backs of small business owners. The Trump administration is also working overtime to rescind a host of bad Biden-era rules that would place heavy burdens on small businesses. Farmers, ranchers, and landowners would be pleased to know that the EPA has initiated a more collaborative process with stakeholders as it considers an alternative to the Biden administration's WOTUS rule, or waters of the United States. And the administration and Congress have been working to repeal anti- energy Biden regulations and unleash American energy dominance to ensure we have an affordable and reliable energy supply for years to come. Strong small businesses mean a strong America. I will always be grateful for the lessons I learned getting my start working in small businesses. During the summers, my parents, who were educators, ran a motel in my hometown of Murdo, and as is common in a lot of small businesses, the whole family helped out. Later on, my first job was as a busboy at the Star Family Restaurant. I later graduated to a cook. I learned a lot there, including what it took to keep the business running day to day and week to week. Small business owners work hard in pursuit of their dream. They create opportunity and jobs, and they bear the heavy responsibility that comes with signing the front of a paycheck. I know that small businesses have been facing a number of challenges lately, and my aim is always to do everything I can to help. I look forward to continuing to work with my Republican colleagues here in the Senate to support and strengthen small businesses because when small businesses succeed, we all succeed. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time on H.J. Res. 61 be expired at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, and the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of H.J. Res. 61, and, if passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; further, that following disposition of H.J. Res. 61, the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 13 and, if the motion to proceed is agreed to, all time be expired and the Senate vote on passage of S.J. Res. 13 at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader on Wednesday, May 7; further, that on Tuesday, May 6, the Senate execute the order of May 1 with respect to the Bisignano nomination at 2:15 p.m. and, following disposition of the Bisignano nomination, the Senate resume legislative session and the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 7 and, if the motion to proceed is agreed to, all time be expired and the Senate vote on passage of S.J. Res. 7 at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader on Thursday, May 8; finally, that at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 60 and, if the motion to proceed is agreed to, all time be expired and the Senate vote on passage of H.J. Res. 60 at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader on Thursday, May 8.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 200, S. Res. 201, and S. Res. 202.

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.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 12, which is at the desk.