[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2462-S2463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TARIFFS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I would like to begin by reading a quote 
from Bill Ackman, the billionaire well known for his support of Donald 
Trump. He said:

       We are headed for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, 
     and we should start hunkering down.

  Preston Caldwell, a senior economist from Morningstar Research, 
likewise, said:

       If they're maintained, the tariff hikes announced April 2 
     represents a self-inflicted economic catastrophe for the 
     United States.

  Meanwhile, Larry Fink of BlackRock says, most CEOs he has spoken to 
would say we have already entered a recession. The damage of Donald 
Trump's tariff tax has already been done. And regardless of what the 
markets say from one hour to the next, there are no signs that the 
chaos is changing at any time soon.
  Americans are anxious. Nobody, looking at their retirement accounts 
today is feeling anything close to liberated. It has been a hellacious 
few days for people worried about their 401(k)s and their savings and 
their kids' future. And that is not changing anytime soon.
  Before things get worse, Donald Trump should immediately reverse his 
reckless trade war. He should halt his tariff tax at once, and he 
should start focusing more on America's actual trade adversaries, like 
China, instead of picking a fight with the entire world and causing 
chaos and steering us toward a recession in the process.
  The chaos within the Trump administration was shown a few minutes 
ago, when Elon Musk called Peter Navarro--the chief architect of these 
tariffs--a moron. That is Musk's word. He called him a ``moron.'' Their 
plan is so crazy, so controversial that this administration cannot get 
its act together--with them calling each other names--regarding this 
tariff plan.
  This is perhaps the most significant task for the Republican 
congressional leadership since Donald Trump became President. The 
choice in front of Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson is simple: Choose 
Donald Trump or choose American families. Stand up to Donald Trump or 
watch him trigger a recession.
  So this morning, I am writing to Speaker Johnson, urging him to put 
the Senate-passed resolution undoing Donald Trump's tariffs for a vote 
in the House.
  Let me quote from the letter:

       Plain and simple, the Trump Trade War is a Trump Tax on 
     families, raising their costs by nearly $4,000 per year and 
     devastating small businesses, forcing them to raise prices or 
     lay off staff. It is a dangerous, foolish exercise that is 
     wreaking havoc on the American economy and could very well 
     tee up a recession. If the president doesn't back off, 
     Congress must take action--the Senate has already taken 
     action to provide relief from tariffs on Canada, and the 
     House should follow immediately.

  Remember, this resolution affects Canada. Nobody understands what the 
heck the President is doing with Canada. It was bipartisan. It got four 
Republican votes and passed the Senate.

[[Page S2463]]

So the Senate has done its part. Now the Speaker must act if he cares 
about avoiding a recession, if he cares about American families.
  I am confident that if Speaker Johnson were to put the Senate's 
Canada resolution on the floor, the bipartisan resolution we passed, 
that it would pass the House as well.

                          ____________________