Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 49 (Friday, March 14, 2025)

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 49 (Friday, March 14, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1768-S1772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND EXTENSIONS ACT, 2025

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will
report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

A bill (H.R. 1968) making further continuing appropriations
and other extensions for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2025, and for other purposes.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before we finish today, I would like to
say that soon, the Senate will vote on a bipartisan piece of
legislation that will make an important DC funding fix.
This legislation will make sure that we take care of the residents of
the District; that we will support law enforcement and firefighters and
teachers and city services. The legislation is very good news for the
residents of the District of Columbia. I am happy we are passing the
bill today.
I thank my colleagues for working quickly to bring this bill to the
floor. Once the Senate acts, we urge the House to act quickly.
Government funding expires at midnight tonight, and the vote before
us is a Hobson's choice. The CR bill is a bad bill, but as bad as the
CR is, I believe that allowing Donald Trump to take even more power via
a government shutdown is a far worse option.
A shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. It would give
Donald Trump and DOGE the keys to the city, the State, and country, and
that is a far worse alternative.
I want to remind everyone that it was Republicans who pushed this
false shutdown choice. Their inability to govern has led us to this
precipice. Our caucus Members have two bad choices. Different Senators
will come down on different sides of the question, but that does not
mean that any Senate Democrat supports a shutdown.
Whatever the outcome, our caucus will be united in our determination
to continue the long-term fight to stop Donald Trump's dangerous war on
our democracy and on America's working families.
Now, I want to be clear about what this bill does and does not do.
The full-year CR is a law that sets funding levels for the full year.
The President and executive branch have a legal and constitutional duty
to faithfully execute the CR. The CR does not change the underlying law
making the Trump administration's impoundments and mass firings
illegal. This is true as a matter of law.
Nothing in the CR changes the Impoundment Control Act, the foundation
of Congress's appropriations authority, and the authorization laws that
require USAID and other Agencies to exist and to operate the programs
as Congress has assigned to them. Nothing changes title 5, governing
the civil service, the Administrative Procedure Act, and so on.
One of the reasons I am voting for cloture is for the very reason
that these actions are illegal and no new law is needed to declare
that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

Cloture Motion

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Calendar No. 26,
H.R. 1968, a bill making further continuing appropriations
and other extensions for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2025, and for other purposes.
John Thune, Markwayne Mullin, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Tom
Cotton, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Pete Ricketts,
Shelley Moore Capito, James E. Risch, Joni Ernst, Katie
Britt, John Kennedy, Todd Young, Tim Sheehy, Kevin
Cramer, Jon A. Husted, John Barrasso, Bernie Moreno.

Waiving Quorum Call

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory
quorum call be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, for information of all Senators, there will
be up to nine rollcall votes. I will ask unanimous consent that all
votes following the first vote be 10 minutes in length, and that if
Senators will stay in their seats, we should be able to get them done
even more quickly than that. Everybody be here after this first vote.
These are going to be 10-minute votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture.

Cloture Motion

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on H.R.
1968, a bill making further continuing appropriations and other
extensions for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other
purposes, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 62, nays 38, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 128 Leg.]

YEAS--62

Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton

[[Page S1769]]

Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hassan
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Peters
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schatz
Schmitt
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young

NAYS--38

Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Duckworth
Gallego
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schiff
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 62, the nays are
38.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
The majority leader.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we have already locked in 10-minute votes
for the balance of the number of votes, but if people stay here in
their seats, we can execute that a lot more quickly.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

Amendment No. 1273

Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1273 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Merkley] proposes an amendment
numbered 1273.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To except the application of certain rescissions)

On page 6, line 11, strike ``and 639'' and insert ``639,
and 640''.
On page 7, line 15, strike ``and''.
On page 7, line 18, insert ``, and except section 530''
before the period at the end.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate, equally
divided.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, colleagues, let me keep this very simple.
We provided a lot of funding in the Inflation Reduction Act so that
those who have very sophisticated finances and very powerful advisers
that try to avoid ever paying their taxes don't get away with it,
because it is a fundamental fairness all across America.
Ordinary working people have the money taken out of their paychecks
every week. Just because people have enormous paychecks and fancy
consultants, it shouldn't mean that they get a license to cheat.
And all of that money went to make sure that those upper income folks
knew that somebody might be taking a look at their finances.
If this amendment fails, it will increase the deficit by $46 billion.
So I hope all of you who are fiscally responsible and care about
fundamental fairness to workers across America will vote for this
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, this isn't about spending $46 billion; it
is about saving $20 billion.
The Democrats' partisan supersized IRS funding is something we have
been battling over for a couple of years now. It is a textbook example
of the type of out-of-control spending that President Trump and
Republicans have rightly opposed.
Rather than working together to help the IRS solve its massive
taxpayer service and IT shortcomings, the misnamed Inflation Reduction
Act went to fund untargeted and heavily handed enforcement improvement.
As I had mentioned at the time, the last thing hard-working Americans
need is an IRS funding bloat that disproportionately hurts them.
I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment to provide the
IRS nearly two times its entire annual budget in unaccountable
enforcement dollars.

Vote on Amendment No. 1273

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on the adoption of the
amendment.
Mr. MERKLEY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 53, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 129 Leg.]

YEAS--47

Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden

NAYS--53

Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 47, the nays are
53.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this
amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1273) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

Amendment No. 1274

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1274 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Illinois [Ms. Duckworth] proposes an
amendment numbered 1274.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To make veteran Federal employees who were involuntarily
dismissed without cause eligible for reinstatement and to require
reports from Executive agencies on the number of veteran employees
fired from such agencies)

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. REINSTATEMENT ELIGIBILITY FOR VETERAN FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES; EXECUTIVE AGENCY REPORTS ON REMOVAL
OF VETERANS.

(a) Eligibility for Reinstatement.--Any individual who is a
veteran and who was involuntarily removed or otherwise
dismissed without cause from a position in the civil service
during the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending
on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be eligible
for reinstatement to such position or any other position in
the civil service for which the individual is qualified.
(b) Reports Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until
January 20, 2029, the head of each Executive agency shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on former employees of such agency who are veterans and were
removed or otherwise dismissed from the agency.
(2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) The total number of former employees of the agency who
are veterans and were removed or otherwise dismissed from the
agency during the period covered by the report.
(B) The reason for each such removal or dismissal.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate;
and
(B) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Civil service.--The term ``civil service'' has the
meaning given that term in section 2101 of title 5, United
States Code.
(3) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given that term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
(4) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given
that term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

[[Page S1770]]

The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally
divided.
Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, what Trump and Musk have done to our
veterans in just 8 weeks since Trump has been back in office amounts to
a total betrayal. He has already fired more veterans than any other
President in modern history--6,000 and counting--for no apparent
reason, forcing the bravest people you and I could ever meet to have to
worry about how they are going to put food on their family's table next
week or keep a roof over their heads next month.
These are folks who did one, two, six, seven tours and then came home
and chose to continue serving their Nation by joining Federal service.
These are heroes who deserve our utmost gratitude. Instead, Trump and
Musk are giving them the middle finger.
Cadet Bone Spurs may like to wrap himself in the flag with one hand,
but with the other, he is signing off on the orders that sell out our
veterans to line billionaires' pockets, and our warriors deserve
better.
That is one reason I am urging my colleagues to vote yes on my
Protect Veteran Jobs Act--a simple amendment that would reinstate every
veteran who has been fired because of Trump and Musk's betrayal.
If Republicans actually care about our veterans like they claim to on
FOX News--
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Ms. DUCKWORTH.--then they will vote yes on this bill and help give
our veterans their jobs back. Otherwise, they are making it clear that
they would rather bow down at the altar of Donald Trump than stand up
for our heroes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. SHEEHY. Mr. President, where was the Democrat outrage when 8,000
Active-Duty Reserve troops were unceremoniously and with no due process
fired out of the military without benefits? Where was the outrage when
thousands of first responders and police officers, firefighters,
nurses, and doctors lost their employment because they had COVID
vaccine hesitancy? There was no outrage, there was no call of betrayal
under President Biden when all that happened.
The truth is, this bill is pro-veteran. It adds $6 billion to our
veteran spending. It adds the largest pay increase for our warfighters
in a generation. This is a pro-veteran bill.
Let's stop using veterans as political pawns and keep the government
funded.

Vote on Amendment No. 1274

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on the adoption of the
amendment.
Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 53, as follows:
The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 53, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 130 Leg.]

YEAS--47

NAYS--53

Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 47, the nays are
53.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this
amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1274) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

Amendment No. 1272

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, together with my Maryland and Virginia
Senate colleagues, I call up my amendment No. 1272 and ask that it be
reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Maryland [Mr. Van Hollen] proposes an
amendment numbered 1272.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To prohibit the use of appropriated amounts by DOGE)

At the appropriate place in division A, insert the
following:

SEC. ___. LIMITATION ON USE OF AMOUNTS FOR DOGE.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
appropriations and funds made available and authority granted
pursuant to this Act may not be used by--
(1) the United States DOGE Service, or any successor
agency;
(2) the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, or any
successor agency; or
(3) a detailee of an agency described in paragraph (1) or
(2) working at any other agency.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, this amendment shuts down the illegal
Musk DOGE operation, which has nothing to do with government efficiency
and everything--could I have order, please, Mr. President
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Order.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, this amendment shuts down the illegal
Elon Musk operation, which has nothing to do with government efficiency
and everything to do with rigging the government for people like Elon
Musk and powerful special interests.
That is why they started by firing all the independent inspectors
general in the U.S. Government, which just opens the door to more
corruption. And they have lied and lied to the American people.
They illegally fired over 200,000 patriotic Federal employees,
including 6,000 veterans, and added insult to injury by lying that they
were fired for poor performance. That was untrue, and this is why
judges are ordering the Trump administration to return them to their
jobs.
They gained access illegally to highly sensitive personal information
on Americans, and just today we learned--
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I ask unanimous consent for 10 seconds.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No objection.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Finally, they also have essentially tried to clear
the way--clear the way--for tax cuts for very wealthy Americans.
And I will end with this. They have also lied about their savings.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator, your time has expired.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I say it is time to delete DOGE. Please adopt the
amendment.
Thank you, my colleagues.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, since January, DOGE has saved $115 billion.
That amounts to--order, please.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Order.
Ms. ERNST. That amounts to $714 per taxpayer.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Order.
Ms. ERNST. Some of DOGE's findings include that the Small Business
Administration gave out more than $300 million in loans to thousands of
children 11 years and younger; Agencies were paying for tens of
thousands of unused software licenses; and the Department of Veterans
Affairs was paying $56,000 to water eight plants for 5 years.
Thanks to DOGE, that contract was canceled. Now the plants will
actually be watered for free.
While DOGE keeps delivering more savings every day, Democrats are
more upset by the effort to stop wasteful spending than by the misuse
of tax dollars.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Ms. ERNST. As I always say, if you can't find waste in Washington,
you are not looking.

[[Page S1771]]

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Ms. ERNST. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. We
can't afford the Washington business as usual that gave us $36 trillion
of debt.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Ms. ERNST. I yield.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Would the Senator yield for a question?
Ms. ERNST. No.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired. The Senator's time has
expired.

Vote on Amendment No. 1272

The question now occurs on adoption of the amendment.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 52, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 131 Leg.]

YEAS--48

Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden

NAYS--52

Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 48, the nays are
52.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this
amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1272) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

Amendment No. 1266

Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1266 and ask that
it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. A14MR6.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul] proposes an amendment
numbered 101.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To reduce the amount appropriated for the United States
Agency for International Development)

On page 77, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:
Sec. 11209. (a) Notwithstanding section 1101, the levels
for the following accounts in title II of division F of
Public Law 118-47 shall be as follows:
(1) ``Operating Expenses'', $288,150,000, of which up to
$43,222,500 may remain available until September 30, 2026.
(2) ``Capital Investment Fund'', $44,047,000.
(3) ``Office of Inspector General'', $14,535,000, of which
up to $2,180,250 may remain available until September 30,
2026.
(b) Notwithstanding section 1101, the levels for the
following accounts in title III of division F of Public Law
118-47 shall be as follows:
(1) ``Global Health Programs'', $677,526,500.
(2) ``Development Assistance'', $668,270,000.
(3) ``International Disaster Assistance'', $812,430,000, of
which $127,500,000 is designated by Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
(4) ``Transition Initiatives'', $12,750,000, and up to an
additional $2,550,000 of the funds appropriated to carry out
the provisions of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 if the Secretary of State determines that it is
important to the national interest of the United States to
provide transition assistance in excess of such base amount.
(5) ``Complex Crises Fund'', $9,350,000.
(6) ``Economic Support Fund'', $661,368,000, of which
$51,000,000 is designated by Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
(7) ``Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance'',
$23,800,000.
(8) ``Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia'',
$130,956,780, of which $52,700,000 is designated by Congress
as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I compliment President Trump and DOGE for
exposing waste and abuse in foreign aid spending. It boggles the mind
to think that some in Congress defend spending $2 million on sex
changes in Guatemala, thousands on an LGBT opera in Colombia, and
thousands on a trans comic book in Peru. This is the low-hanging fruit.
If Congress can't vote to cut this egregious, crazy, leftwing lunacy,
will Congress ever have the courage to tackle entitlements?
Yet there does remain a significant constitutional question as to
whether these cuts need a congressional vote to give them permanence.
Today, with my amendment, Congress can make these foreign aid cuts the
law.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the Senator's amendment would
indiscriminately cut $16 billion from State and USAID, including
lifesaving assistance Secretary Rubio said he wants to maintain for the
purchase of food from American farmers, programs to counter the PRC
influence, and efforts to ensure American businesses are more
competitive overseas.
This amendment would cut funding for the USAID inspector general by
83 percent, making any waste, fraud, or abuse hard to uncover.
And it would gut global health programs like Trump, Rubio, and Musk
say they allegedly want to conserve. Not even House Republicans went
this far.
This amendment would undermine American workers, American businesses,
and our national security. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Vote on Amendment No. 1266

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on adoption of the
amendment.
Mr. PAUL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 27, nays 73, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 132 Leg.]

YEAS--27

Banks
Blackburn
Britt
Budd
Cornyn
Cotton
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Hagerty
Hawley
Husted
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
Moody
Moreno
Paul
Risch
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Sheehy
Tuberville

NAYS--73

Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Boozman
Cantwell
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Cramer
Crapo
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Fischer
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lujan
Markey
McConnell
McCormick
Merkley
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Ricketts
Rosen
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
The amendment (No. 1266) was rejected.
The bill was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.

Vote on H.R. 1968

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). Under the previous order, the
bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill
pass?
Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.

[[Page S1772]]

The result was announced--yeas 54, nays 46, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 133 Leg.]

YEAS--54

NAYS--46

Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
The bill (H.R. 1968) was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.

____________________