    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Page S1307]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                     Budget

      Mr. President, on the Republican budget, last week, Senate
    Republicans passed their budget resolution, clearing the way to massive
    tax giveaways for Donald Trump's billionaire buddies. From the moment
    Donald Trump was sworn in, everything Republicans have done can be
    boiled down to this: Billionaires win; American families lose. That is
    the Republican agenda in a nutshell.
      This week, it is House Republican's turn. Today, I want to say this
    about the Republican plan in the House: It doesn't matter which path
    Republicans ultimately go with--one bill, two bills, 50 bills. At the
    end of the day, Republicans are very clear: They want to cut taxes for
    billionaires and have the American people pay the cost.
      Republicans want to perhaps push the biggest cuts to Medicaid ever so
    billionaires can have another tax break. That is morally corrupt and
    politically bankrupt.
      With a government shutdown just a few weeks away, what are
    Republicans doing? They are spending precious time trying to cater to
    the wishes of the absolutely richest people in America, instead of
    working to avoid a disastrous halt of services that help tens of
    millions of middle-class American families. Their priorities are
    utterly skewed and upside down.
      If House Republicans proceed this week, the backlash, ``upsetness,''
    and anger House Republicans saw in their townhalls last week is only
    going to get far more thunderous.
      I yield the floor.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
      The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
      Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
    the quorum call be rescinded.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

               Remembering Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stewart, Jr.

      Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, earlier this month, the United States of
    America lost a legend: Harry Stewart, Jr., one of the last surviving
    Tuskegee Airmen, died at the age of 100.
      Lieutenant Colonel Stewart's legacy is one of excellence. He grew up
    watching planes come in and out of LaGuardia Airport, dreaming of one
    day flying himself.
      At just 18 years old, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart joined a new
    initiative launched in Alabama; a first of its kind training program
    for Black pilots established after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
      He flew 43 missions from late 1944 to the spring of 1945 with the
    332nd Fighter Group; earning the Distinguished Flying Cross after
    downing three German planes in a dogfight just before the Allied
    victory in Europe.
      Lieutenant Colonel Stewart didn't recognize the gravity of what he
    was doing at the time, he said in an interview just last year. He just
    wanted to serve his country, and serve his country he did.
      But let's stop for a moment and think about what that means.
    Lieutenant Colonel Stewart and the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen signed
    up to fight for a country that did not allow them the same rights as
    White citizens. They put their lives on the line to fight for a country
    that treated them as second class.
      They could not live, work, eat, or drink alongside White countrymen
    or women. It was a world where people who looked like them could be met
    with violent attacks just because of the color of their skin. Consider
    what that means--that Lieutenant Colonel Stewart and the Tuskegee
    Airmen dealt with all kinds of discrimination, and yet still decided to
    risk everything to serve this Nation.
      They faced almost inconceivable injustices, but they also believed in
    the promise of America, even though that promise wasn't being met. They
    fought for that promise against the Nazis in Europe and in doing so,
    blazed a trail for countless others to follow.
      After the war, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart and three of his fellow
    Tuskegee Airmen won the U.S. Air Force's inaugural TOPGUN competition,
    an accomplishment that wasn't acknowledged, though, until decades
    later.
      Unfortunately, that was a common theme for Lieutenant Colonel Stewart
    after the war. After aspiring to become an airline pilot his whole life
    and even after serving heroically and earning the Distinguished Flying
    Cross, he was prevented from flying commercial jets because of his
    race.
      Instead, he earned a mechanical engineering degree from New York
    University and remained in the Air Force Reserve. He taught the next
    generations of pilots until being recalled for duty during the Korean
    war. It wasn't until 2007 that the Tuskegee Airmen received the
    Congressional Gold Medal for their valor.
      The legacies of Harry Stewart, Jr., and the rest of the pilots who
    made history, should be recognized as central to America's story.
      In his first term, President Trump promoted Airman Charles McGee to
    brigadier general and pinned his stars in the Oval Office.
      In his second term, Secretary Hegseth has reaffirmed that the Trump
    administration will continue to honor these heroes, and the Tuskegee
    Airmen will remain role models not only for the next generation of
    American servicemembers but for all Americans.
      Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr., and the pilots he flew with represent
    the best of America. Their courage and selflessness in the face of
    adversity both at home and at war are inspirational.
      And their legacies--those of greatness and unquestionable merit--
    deserve to be celebrated amongst the rest of our country's heroes, not
    just during Black History Month but all throughout the year.
      I yield the floor.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). The Democratic whip.
      (The remarks of Mr. Durbin pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 91
    are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
      Mr. DURBIN. I yield the floor.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.