[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1503-S1506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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DISAPPROVING THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION RELATING TO ``DEFINING LARGER PARTICIPANTS OF A MARKET FOR
GENERAL-USE DIGITAL CONSUMER PAYMENT APPLICATIONS''--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the following joint resolution, which the clerk
will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 28) disapproving the rule
submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
relating to ``Defining Larger Participants of a Market for
General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
China
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in January, investor concerns about
China's advances in AI innovation wiped out nearly $1 trillion in U.S.
tech stock value, and that happened in a single day.
Chinese companies like DeepSeek are often able to keep pace with
Silicon Valley because they steal our tech secrets, and they do it from
right under our own noses. This not only puts the United States at a
competitive disadvantage but also threatens our national security.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman has warned that
Chinese nationals in our university systems are engaged in widespread
technological espionage both on campus and in the workplace. Foreign
STEM students often take tech jobs that give them access to sensitive
technologies. This shouldn't be possible. Why? Because the law clearly
states that student visas are solely for study, not for work.
Outrageously, the Department of Homeland Security has granted work
authorizations to hundreds of thousands of foreign students every year,
in violation of the law. The Department of Homeland Security has even
allowed foreign students to stay in this country under their student
visas for years after they graduate in order to work. If we want to
protect our national security and our competitive economic competition
with China, this must end.
So I am hopeful that with new leadership at the Department of
Homeland Security, these unlawful work authorizations will no longer be
approved. That leads me to calling on Secretary Noem to protect
American jobs, innovation, and national security by terminating the CPT
and the OPT student work programs--in other words, stop the steal that
benefits the Communist Party of China.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The majority leader is recognized.
Nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on its 21st
Cabinet nominee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, nominated for Secretary of Labor.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer is a former Congresswoman from Oregon. She has
been a mayor, a city councilor, and she and her husband spent 30 years
building a small business. From her first job packing peaches at a
California farm, Ms. Chavez-DeRemer has known the value of a hard day's
work, and in her public service, she has put in the work to seek
differing perspectives and to find common ground.
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Ms. Chavez-DeRemer's mother would always tell her ``When you know
better, you do better,'' and we need the Labor Department to do better
than what we saw from the Biden administration.
Over the last 4 years, the Labor Department pushed out many mandates
that were the very opposite of pro-worker. Americans lost their jobs
because of the Biden COVID vaccine mandate. Many workers found the
independent contractor status they valued threatened by a Biden
administration rule. Then there was the Labor Department's attempt to
allow 150 million Americans' retirement savings to be invested based on
climate factors rather than just an investment's rate of return.
President Trump has shown his commitment to the working people of
this country. Making life better for working Americans was a priority
in his first administration, and it will be a priority in his second.
It is a welcome change in direction from the last 4 years.
Joint Session of Congress
Mr. President, speaking of a welcome change in direction, last night,
the President came to Capitol Hill to address Congress and lay out his
vision for the next 4 years--his vision and his record of
accomplishment, because in just 6 weeks, President Trump has already
accomplished an incredible amount.
Chief among his achievements is the job he and his administration
have done in securing our southern border and restoring respect for the
rule of law. There were approximately 8,450 encounters at our southern
border during the month of February--8,450. That is at least--at
least--a 25-year low. To put that number in perspective, during the
Biden border crisis, Customs and Border Protection was sometimes
dealing with 8,000 or more attempted illegal crossings per day. In just
6 weeks in office, President Trump is overseeing an incredible
turnaround. It just shows what happens when you have a President and an
administration committed to securing the border and enforcing the law.
Senate Republicans are committed to answering the President's call
for additional funding to protect our borders, enforce our immigration
laws, and get dangerous criminal aliens off of our streets.
Another crisis the President has lost no time in addressing is the
national energy emergency that we are facing. As the Washington Post
reported last March, ``Amid explosive demand, America is running out of
power.''
The Biden administration, of course, pursued policies guaranteed to
make things worse, from restricting conventional energy development to
forcing Americans into electric vehicles. Fortunately, we are in a new
era. President Trump has already taken steps to roll back burdensome
Biden energy regulations like the electric vehicle mandate and unleash
American energy development, and the Republican Congress will support
his efforts. For the sake of our security, our economy, and Americans'
pocketbooks, we need to have a reliable, affordable, and abundant
energy supply, and I am thankful to have a President who recognizes
this.
One of the signature accomplishments of the first Trump
administration was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
legislation that put more money in hard-working Americans' pockets, and
one of the top priorities of the second Trump administration is making
that tax relief permanent. It is a priority for the President, and it
is a priority for Republicans here in the Senate. We are hard at work
laying the groundwork for permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act this year.
There were so many things to hear last night that were a welcome
change from the last 4 years: President Trump's commitment to reversing
burdensome Biden administration regulations and eliminating 10
regulations for every new one his administration proposes; the
President's commitment to eliminating wasteful and unnecessary
spending; his commitment to protecting children from radical gender
ideology and ensuring that women and girls' athletic opportunities are
protected and more.
As always, Mr. President, I am grateful for President Trump's faith
in America. It reminds us just how blessed we are to live in this great
country and that in the United States of America, everything is
possible.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Mullin). The Democratic leader is
recognized.
Joint Session of Congress
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, Donald Trump subjected the
American people to a deluge of falsehoods, misrepresentations, and
outright lies. What Americans heard last night was easily the nastiest,
most divisive, most partisan, and most dishonest Presidential address
in American history.
In a speech that lasted almost 2 hours, Donald Trump spent over 10
minutes falsely ridiculing and delegitimizing Social Security,
following DOGE's lead alleging this program, which serves tens of
millions of Americans, is a scam. They seemed to be preparing to go
full steam ahead to take benefits away from you, the American people.
It is amazing. Tens of millions of Americans depend on that check,
that Social Security check, to buy food, which is becoming more
expensive under Donald Trump; to pay for prescription drugs, and they
want to repeal the laws we did that made them cheaper for the average
American; and so much else. Calling it a scam, ridiculing it with false
information, and cutting 7,000 out of Social Security offices shows you
where they are headed: to hurt Social Security, one of the most sacred
programs in America.
Why are they doing this? Why would they do this? So unpopular. Only
for one reason: The motivation of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the
Republican Party is tax cuts for the billionaires. That is their No. 1
goal, and they will twist America in knots, hurting people--many
people, millions of people--to get it done.
Trump also lied about his plans to eviscerate Medicaid and lied about
his plans to cut taxes for billionaires while making working Americans
pay the costs.
Mr. President, there was more truth in 10 minutes of Senator Elissa
Slotkin's rebuttal than in 2 hours of Donald Trump's long-winded, self-
serving diatribe. Senator Slotkin did an outstanding job last night
dismantling Donald Trump's nonsense with clarity, with facts, and with
some desperately needed common sense. I am so glad I asked her to
deliver the Democratic response because she knocked it out of the park.
Now, when Donald Trump wasn't lying, he was distracting. He talked
again about renaming the Gulf of Mexico. He talked about renaming
mountains. He said that he was a better President than George
Washington. What a bubble this guy is in. What planet is he on? For a
moment, I wondered if Donald Trump was utterly clueless of the disaster
his administration has been under his watch.
The one thing Donald Trump did not mention last night was a real,
serious plan to bring down costs--the No. 1 thing Americans wanted to
hear most. Instead, Donald Trump doubled down on his plans to send
costs skyrocketing by starting a trade war with Canada and Mexico.
Let's be very clear about this. Donald Trump's tariffs are a tax on
working- and middle-class families. The average American household
could see an extra $2,000 a year in expenses. Tariffs mean the cost of
pretty much everything would go up, not just cars, although he could
destroy the car industry--remember, about 40 percent of the parts that
are in American cars come from Canada--but also housing and groceries
and food--beef, dairy, eggs--and the cost of furniture and smartphones
and laptops and fertilizer for farmers. Even going out to dinner with
friends will be more expensive because of Donald Trump's tariffs.
Tariffs will slow growth. They will erode profits. They worsen
unemployment and inequality and wreak havoc on supply chains that tens
of millions of people and businesses depend on.
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Let's be clear. The administration has obviously not thought through
these tariffs. They seem to be changing their plans by the hour. Even
this uncertainty is extremely harmful to the economy. It makes it
impossible for businesses to plan ahead. It depresses spending, slows
growth, and eats away at consumer confidence.
Yes, there are certain tariffs--particularly against China, which is
competing with us economically in unfair ways--that might make some
sense, but these have been unthought through. They are creating chaos
for the economy. That is the one thing that the tariffs are
accomplishing--chaos for the economy, stock market plummets.
Why are they doing this? Well, it is not different here than Social
Security or Medicaid. Why is Donald Trump hell-bent on starting a trade
war when virtually every expert knows the casualties of a trade war
will be families and consumers? The reason is very simple--one reason
he and DOGE say that Social Security is a scam: They want to take away
people's benefits to pay for billionaire tax cuts. That is the whole
ball game.
I can't think of a time where any President ridiculed Social Security
the way Donald Trump did, and I can't think of a time where someone was
more chaotic and deleterious on tariffs than Donald Trump was.
What they are seeking in return is the greatest transfer of wealth
from working families to billionaires in the history of America. They
want to take Social Security benefits away from you, the American
people. They want to take healthcare away from you, the American
people. They want to take away education and medical research and
infrastructure and basic public services. Why? Well, it is pretty
expensive to give tax cuts to the wealthy and elite, but that is what
they are doing. That is what a transfer of wealth looks like to the
average American--taking so much away from you, the things you need and
depend on.
But Donald Trump and Republicans forget one thing: The American
people aren't just going to roll over and let Republicans ruin this
country. Democrats and, frankly, all Americans of good will, regardless
of party, are organizing and mobilizing to defend healthcare and Social
Security and the livelihood of American families. Americans are
organizing in public, and Republicans have seen these frustrations at
townhalls. That should be the first clue that they should drop their
terrible agenda. When a lead Republican in the House tells Republicans
``You better cancel your townhalls,'' they are running away from their
policies and priorities.
We are organizing online. I set up a call with some of the leading
activists, people who have been out there on the frontlines protesting
in New York last week. I thought about 500 people would get on the
Zoom; it was 3,000. I met with 3,000 on Zoom--a turnout exceeding all
expectations--to talk about how to defend healthcare, defend public
services, stop tax cuts for the very wealthy, and make people's voices
heard in the halls of power.
We are organizing in the courts. New lawsuits are happening every
single day. Since just March 1--that is 4 or 5 days ago--at least 35
court rulings have come down halting or pausing some of the
administration's worst abuses. The courts are one of the best tools
available for protecting the rule of law and preventing the worst
abuses of the administration.
Organizing is not easy. It takes persistence. But it works. It makes
change happen. It is the cornerstone on which democracy is founded.
Donald Trump's exhausting speech is now in the rearview mirror, so
Democrats will keep fighting every day to protect this precious
democracy and hold the line against Donald Trump's attempts to rob
American families of their livelihoods, taking so much away from the
average American family and giving it to the very, very wealthy.
I yield the floor.
Mr. SCHUMER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Republican whip.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today having just
heard the minority leader come to the floor and have his reflections on
last night's address to the Nation by President Donald Trump. Well, a
man is entitled to his opinion.
This morning, however, CBS News reported on what the viewers at home
thought about what they saw. The headline is ``Poll of Trump's 2025
joint address to Congress finds large majority of viewers approve.''
A large majority--76 percent of the viewers--approved of what they
heard last night.
They asked those viewers: Did the President spend time on talking
about the issues that you care about?
Two out of three said: Yes, indeed.
His speech--how did it make people feel? What did they say?
Almost 70 percent said: Hopeful. Hopeful for the future.
Over half said: Proud. Proud of America.
Speech viewers described the President as ``presidential,''
``inspiring,'' and ``unifying.''
The question they asked is: Does President Trump have a clear plan
for inflation?
More than two out of three said: Yes.
That is what the American people saw.
So apparently the minority leader did not see the same speech or did
not reflect the same way as the great majority of the American viewers
at home, because last night, I believe people saw President Trump's
bold agenda and rapid action in motion. That was focused on securing
the border.
Joint addresses to Congress are typically about making promises, but
last night, it was different. President Trump spoke about the promises
he is keeping, the action that he has already taken to make our country
safer.
The numbers tell the story. Under President Trump, in February, there
were less than 9,000 illegal crossings at our southern border. That is
the lowest in recorded history.
Under Joe Biden, the border was a very different story. The border
was wide open for members of criminal cartels, the drug dealers, people
on the Terrorist Watch List.
Last month was February. We are now into March. So we look at
February 2022, 2023, 2024, and now with President Trump back in office.
In February 2022, under Joe Biden, 160,000 illegal crossings; 2023,
157,000 illegal crossings; 2024, 190,000 illegal crossings; President
Trump, less than 9,000. Joe Biden was having these numbers in a single
day when he was in the White House.
President Trump is securing the border. He is doing it boldly. He is
doing it strongly. He is doing it with intention.
One illegal immigrant said: It is too hard; you can't cross right
now. That is the message we wanted. The American people wanted illegal
immigrants to be hearing that it is too hard, don't even try it.
Under President Trump, we actually have reverse migration. It is the
reality. Cartel criminals once profited from the border invasion--not
anymore. One smuggler told NBC News that his profits had fallen 80
percent. That is a good message for them all to hear.
Illegal immigrants are turning around, and at the same time, illegal
criminals in this country are being taken down. In my home State of
Wyoming, ICE recently arrested two Mexican nationals, drug dealers. One
man was found with a pound of methamphetamine. President Trump is
taking coldblooded criminals like this off of our streets and getting
them out of the country.
President Trump is also fighting to stop the drug cartels, and these
are the people who are flooding our Nation with deadly drugs. Fentanyl
poisoning kills more than 70,000 American citizens each and every year.
This is a crisis.
On day one, President Trump listed these killer cartel members as
terrorist organizations. No other President has taken such a bold step
ever. And it is working. The cartels are now shutting down drug labs.
The leaders are going into hiding. For the first time in years, the
cartels are running scared.
That is the way it should be. President Trump said he is going to do
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whatever it takes to keep Americans safe.
President Trump began his first day in office by signing dozens of
Executive orders. He cracked down on illegal immigrant criminals in
each and every one of our communities.
He empowered the Border Patrol agents. They are securing the border
once again. He launched the largest deportation operation in history.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have started to deport the
worst illegal immigrant criminals.
President Trump also made sure American taxpayers stopped paying
billions of their dollars on free hotels, on free phones, on free
healthcare for illegal immigrants, which, of course, acted as a magnet
to bring more illegal immigrants into the country. Not the message they
are hearing today.
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are for American citizens,
not for illegal immigrants. President Trump's actions are going to
protect and preserve these vital programs for the very people that the
programs were intended from the beginning.
The American public overwhelmingly supports what President Trump is
doing. CBS News, the same people that did the poll this morning on how
successful and how much the people of this country welcomed the
President's address last night--well, last week, CBS News reported that
59 percent of Americans approved of President Trump's deportation
program. And 64 percent say the President's actions are reducing
illegal migration and crossings at the southern border.
It is what the American people want. It is what they voted for in
November--a secure border. People around this country oppose what the
Democrats are doing in sanctuary cities like Chicago, Los Angeles,
Denver, and Boston. They oppose funneling their hard-earned taxpayer
dollars to pay for benefits for illegal immigrants. People want safety,
they want security, and they want some sanity coming out of Washington
that they didn't have in the last 4 years. That is what President Trump
and that is what Republicans are delivering.
This is only the beginning. Last night, President Trump laid out a
clear path forward. He said the Department of Homeland Security needs
backup, needs manpower, we need to finish the wall.
Manpower, technology, the wall, they are essential for full border
security. That is why 2 weeks ago, the Presiding Officer and I and
other Members of our colleagues here on the Republican side of the
aisle passed a budget that increases for border security. Senate
Republicans voted for more border agents, more detention beds, more
deportation flights. Every Democrat, when having an opportunity to vote
for those things, voted no.
Securing the border is why I introduced a bill called the Build the
Wall Act. My legislation finishes building the wall along the southern
border, and it was paid for with unspent COVID money. The money is
still there. Stopping the killer cartels is why the Senate needs to now
pass the HALT Fentanyl Act. Lives are on the line. Fentanyl is the No.
1 killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
Permanently listing deadly illicit fentanyl as a schedule I drug, I
believe, will save lives. The HALT Fentanyl Act is bipartisan. It
passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, 16 to 5. It passed the House of
Representatives with the support of 98 Democrats, and I am grateful
that Leader Thune is preparing to bring it to the floor.
The Senate is going to deliver a secure border and safer communities.
That is what the American people demand, and it is what the American
people deserve.
Waiving Quorum Call
I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with
respect to the Blanche nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
I yield the floor.
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