[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2679-S2682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5,
UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
RELATING TO ``ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM FOR APPLIANCE STANDARDS:
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, LABELING REQUIREMENTS, AND ENFORCEMENT
PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will resume consideration of H.J.
Res. 42, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 42), providing for
congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United
States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of
Energy relating to ``Energy Conservation Program for
Appliance Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling
Requirements, and Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer
Products and Commercial Equipment''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
National Donate Life Month
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, April is National Donate Life Month.
This is a month to raise awareness about the lifesaving importance of
organ donation.
There happen to be over 103,000 Americans on the national organ
transplant waiting list. We should have confidence that our organ
transplant system is efficient and that the system is also fair.
Sadly, my oversight, dating back as far as 2005, has uncovered
decades of corruption and mismanagement in that system. It has left
vulnerable patients to die. They are on the waiting list while unused
organs from generous American donors go to waste.
Speaking of waiting lists, I have been concerned about reports of
those on the wait-list being skipped over. This furthers the distrust
in the organ donation system.
Through my bipartisan oversight and the 2023 Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network law that we passed, the Federal Government is
making long overdue changes. The law improved the management and the
oversight of our organ transplant system and encouraged participation
from competent and transparent contractors.
To build on those reforms, in March, the President signed a
continuing resolution that provided authority for the Department of
Health and Human Services to collect registration fees from organ
transplant member institutions. This action by our President ensures
the 2023 law can be implemented properly.
I encourage all Americans to consider being organ donors and to
understand the impact it can have on saving lives. So when you get your
driver's license, you can tell them you want to be an organ donor.
It says ``donor'' right there on my driver's license.
And, of course, besides encouraging people to be organ donors, I am
keeping a close eye on how the Federal Government is implementing this
new law that we passed in a bipartisan measure to give people the
chance at a lifesaving transplant.
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.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Trump Administration First 100 Days
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Americans woke up this morning to some
[[Page S2680]]
very troubling news. The economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025 by
0.3 percent. It shrank. It was growing until now. It shrank. It is the
worst quarter in years. Businesses, families, and consumers are bracing
themselves for the hammer blow of Donald Trump's tariffs, and it is
sending the economy into a tailspin.
Today's GDP numbers show that Donald Trump is running America the
same way he ran his businesses--into the ground. Before our very eyes,
Donald Trump's policies of tariffs and tax hikes are strangling the
economy. Donald Trump's first 100 days have been defined by one big
``f'' word: ``failure.'' Donald Trump's first 100 days have been
defined by the ``f'' word: ``failure''--failure on the economy, failure
to lower costs, failure on foreign policy, failure on democracy,
failure everywhere you look.
Donald Trump must admit his failure and reverse course and
immediately fire his economic team. Otherwise, we will see more of the
same: failure and chaos and total incompetence.
His tariff strategy?--total failure. China is not coming to the
table. Manufacturing is not racing back to our shores. There is no
strategy--only chaos. Every day, he changes his mind. One day, he says
yes to tariffs; the next day, no. One day, this country is on the list;
the next day, that country is on the list. No tariffs. Double the
tariffs. On and on and on. As he is doing this, his policy advisers
have different explanations for what he is doing and why he is doing
it.
Businesses pay the price for Donald Trump's failed policies. When
businesses don't know what the President will do next, they can't plan
for the future. They are not going to hire workers. I have talked to
business leaders--small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and big
businesses--in New York, and I am sure this is true around the country.
They are holding off on any new spending because they don't know what
Donald Trump will do next. His chaos is just totally impeding our
economy. We are seeing it happen in real time.
Because the tariff policy has been such a mess, such a failure,
today, later today, Senators Wyden, Kaine, and I will force a vote here
in the Senate to stop Donald Trump's trade wars. Our Republican
colleagues have an opportunity to stop Donald Trump. Our resolution
presents Republicans with a choice: Stand with Donald Trump or stand
with American families.
The GDP number today should be a wake-up call to Republican Senators
now more than ever. Four voted with us the last time on tariffs about
Canada. Many more should vote with us this time given the new numbers
and given that this resolution covers all of the countries that Donald
Trump has so failed on with tariffs.
Senate Republicans know deep down that Donald Trump's tariff policies
are awful for their States, so they have to choose today: Stick with
Trump or stand with your States.
But the failures don't stop there, just at tariffs. What about his
promise to bring down costs? Again, failure--failure to bring down
costs. Grocery prices are up. Housing is up. Rental housing is up. The
price of a new car is up. Household appliances are up. Big retailers
are warning that Donald Trump's trade war will make the problem far,
far worse.
Foreign policy? Total failure. Putin is emboldened. China is not
coming to the table. Our allies are all losing trust. He is ready to
break up the European alliance over Ukraine.
DOGE? Total failure. Elon Musk talked a big game on cutting waste and
reducing fraud, but DOGE is attacking Social Security, attacking
veterans' care, attacking cancer research.
That is not cutting waste, Mr. Musk. That doesn't make the government
more efficient. That puts a dagger to the programs that America needs
and which make our country strong.
The list goes on. Rooting out corruption? Failure. Transparency?
Failure. The rule of law? Failure. Economic optimism? Failure. It is
one big ``f'' word: ``failure.''
While our economy sinks in real time, while consumers get saddled
with Donald Trump's tariffs, Republicans are complicit. They are
coconspirators. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump as he cuts
taxes for billionaires. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump as he
wants to obliterate Medicaid. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump
as he wants to add $52 trillion to the national debt. They want to help
the richest of the rich while telling the working people to get lost.
The Republican agenda boils down to five dismal words: ``Billionaires
win; American families lose.'' This is a recipe for failure if there
ever has been one.
Finally, as Donald Trump destroys our economy, the American people
cannot and will not stand by as he also tries to destroy our democracy.
Donald Trump is everything the Founding Fathers worried about when they
wrote the Constitution. They feared a man who would see the rule of law
as a nuisance, who would consider the truth as an inconvenience, and
who would regard his fellow citizens as little more than subjects.
Either kiss the ring, bow before the throne, or watch your back--that
is the ethos of Donald J. Trump.
Republicans howled at the Moon for years about weaponizing
government, but no President in American history has weaponized the
government like Donald Trump has in 100 days. The Department of Justice
has become his personal henchman. He is assaulting the freedom of the
press. He is assaulting our education system and institutions of higher
learning. His deportation force is expelling American citizens with no
due process. Let me repeat that. Donald Trump is deporting American
citizens with no due process, and the American people don't like it.
One of the traits of a dictator is someone hostile to all forms of
accountability, to all forms of criticism. That is Donald Trump to a
tee. He is scared of debate. He is scared of opposition. He can't stand
the idea of others disagreeing with him. So, instead, he tries to crush
anything he views as opposition. That is not strength; that is a sign
of deep, deep, deep insecurity.
The more Donald Trump tries to take America down this ominous road,
the more he will face resistance. Democrats will oppose his agenda. The
courts will oppose his attacks. Most of all, the American people will
resist his hostile takeover of our democracy.
I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
Business Before the Senate
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the last 4 years, the Biden
administration subjected Americans to an onslaught of regulations.
Altogether, the Biden regulatory agenda cost $1.8 trillion. He heaped
thousands of hours of paperwork on business owners, energy producers,
and other hard-working Americans. And to what end? Well, often, these
regulations were part of the Biden administration's radical climate
agenda: efforts to tie up conventional energy production, force the
widespread adoption of electric vehicles, and even go after things like
household appliances.
Those days are over. We are no longer regulating our way to the Green
New Deal. President Trump has moved swiftly to unleash energy
production and remove regulatory barriers, and Republicans in Congress
are joining those efforts. To date, we have passed a number of
resolutions blocking Biden-era regulations through the Congressional
Review Act, and we will continue those efforts this week.
Later today, we will vote on a resolution blocking the Biden
administration's onerous appliance standards regulation--an effort that
is going to be led here in the Senate by Senator Husted.
This rule imposed stricter reporting requirements on a number of
household appliances: dishwashers, dehumidifiers, pool heaters, air-
conditioners, light bulbs, and the list goes on.
Reporting and certification requirements may not sound like much, but
there is a lot of front-end work that has to be done--work that costs
time and money and can place a huge burden on businesses and drive up
prices for consumers.
In its public comments on the Biden administration's appliance
standards, Carrier, an appliance manufacturer, said that the Department
of Energy failed to adequately account for the ``cost and burden . . .
to comply with updated requirements.'' A manufacturers association said
that the proposed
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reporting standards had ``no practical utility.'' Another objected to
what they called ``burden without benefit.''
The same could be said of another Biden-era regulation we will be
voting to overturn later this week.
Last year, the Biden administration finalized a rule setting stricter
standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers. These are the
refrigerators and freezers that we see at convenience stores, in
restaurants, and at grocery stores. In other words, it impacts a lot of
small operators. These stricter standards threaten to drive up costs
and reduce choice for the owners of these businesses--costs, I might
add, that will inevitably be passed on to consumers in the form of
higher prices.
Proponents of this rule claim that more efficient appliances will
save businesses money in the long run, but in the case of at least one
new standard, the Department of Energy estimates that it will take more
than 90 years--90 years--for a business to see those savings--in other
words, longer than any business owner will survive at the head of his
or her business.
I thank Senator Moody for leading this effort to eliminate an
unnecessary burden on America's small businesses.
This week, the Senate is also taking up Senator Curtis's resolution
to overturn the Biden administration's major source rule.
This rule isn't just burdensome; it is backward. The Clean Air Act
has two categories of pollutants: major source and area source. Major
source pollutants are more heavily regulated, but the Biden
administration's rule says that even if you reduce potential emissions
below the threshold established in law for classification as major
source pollutants, it doesn't matter; you are still subject to the
stricter major source rules. Once in, always in. That is wrong. Worse,
it removes an incentive to reduce emissions, undermining the very
purpose of the Clean Air Act. So this week, the Senate will vote to
eliminate this backward regulation.
We have made progress on reining in excessive regulation, and the
American people can count on Republicans to continue our efforts. We
know that rules out of Washington can frequently have very negative
consequences in the real world. Complying with a new rule costs money
that could otherwise go toward innovation, improvements, or investing
in employees. For small business owners, a new regulation can mean late
nights trying to figure out what it means and how to make the business
work while following the rules. Regulations can lead to higher costs
and less choice for consumers. That is why we believe that regulatory
power should be used judiciously, and it is why we are committed to
eliminating rules that impose unjustified burdens.
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. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the
junior Senator from Ohio be allowed to complete his remarks before we
go to the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
China
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about America's
future. It is a future that must be secure. It is a future that must be
prosperous, and it is, most importantly, a future that must be free of
all dependency from communist China.
For decades, weak policies allowed China to exploit our workers,
exploit our innovation, and exploit our markets. Under Republican
leadership, America is once again reclaiming our strength.
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed David Perdue to be the Ambassador to
China. He is a proven leader, former Senator, extensive experience
dealing with China that he has had in the past equips him to represent
American interests abroad, and he will do it firmly. His confirmation
shows Beijing that under President Trump, America will put our workers,
our families, and our security first.
The United States seeks a relationship with China, one that is fair,
one that is respectful, and one that is reciprocal. Yet China's
predatory actions demand a robust response. China's economic abuses are
outrageous. What we are seeing is a predatory playbook. And using it in
the past, China has gained an unfair advantage over global trade. China
rigged the game with subsidies from the state, with currency
manipulation, with market access barriers, and forced technology
transfers. China abused our free enterprise and our open markets. At
the same time, they slammed the door on American businesses. This came
at the expense of American jobs, American innovation, and American
security.
The risks of dependency are serious. Just this year, China banned
exports on several critical minerals that came to the United States.
These critical minerals are vital for our technology as well as our
national defense. So what is next? medical supplies? Today, 90 percent
of U.S. antibiotics are stamped with ``Made in China.'' We can't forget
the lessons learned during the COVID pandemic.
We saw how dangerous it is to depend upon communist China for
anything but certainly for lifesaving medicines and supplies.
Every American agreed that the United States needed to work
aggressively to bring these critical supply chains home. We said never
again would we find ourselves in this dependent position. The costs of
inaction are real. Since China joined the World Trade Organization back
in 2001, more than 2 million American jobs vanished--jobs that our
Republicans in Congress and in the White House are working to bring
back with our economic policies.
China's intellectual property theft alone costs America $600 billion
a year. The Department of Justice links China to four out of five
economic espionage cases. China is infiltrating our culture, our skies,
and our farmland. They do this because they see us as weak.
Today, China owns farmland in 27 States, often near military bases.
My Wyoming colleague Senator Cynthia Lummis has legislation that would
stop China from buying farmland next to Federal lands. This will be a
safeguard to our national security.
China's role in the fentanyl crisis is equally alarming. A recent
report from the House Select Committee on Communist China exposed the
depth of the Chinese Communist Party's involvement.
Ninety-seven percent of the illicit fentanyl ingredients come from
China. The Chinese Government subsidizes these ingredients, and it
shields traffickers from prosecution. This crisis has killed nearly
50,000 Americans last year, and this is a direct result of China
exporting illicit fentanyl. President Trump has rightly acted to stop
this deadly flood of drugs into our country. Ambassador David Perdue
will press China to end its exports of fentanyl.
Militarily, China's rapid buildup is a growing menace. Their military
spending has skyrocketed. Today, China has the world's largest army. It
has the world's largest navy. It has the world's second most advanced
air force.
China has quadrupled their intercontinental ballistic missiles from
100 to 400. China produces 70 percent of the world's drones. China's
shipyards vastly outpace our shipbuilding ability, and as the U.S.
Secretary of Navy put it, one Chinese shipyard ``has more capacity than
all of our [U.S.] shipyards combined.''
China's territorial grabs and provocative actions threaten global
peace. China's purchase of 90 percent of oil sales fuels global
terrorism. To counter China's military aggression, America must
undertake a massive military revival. We must ensure America's strength
is unmatched, now and into the future.
President Trump has long known that the Chinese Communist Party is
the primary threat to peace, to our prosperity, and to the freedom in
the world today. For far too long, previous leaders let China get rich
while Americans got ripped off. President Trump is changing everything.
His bold actions and determination are finally turning the tide.
In his first 100 days, President Trump created over 450,000 American
jobs. His
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economic agenda is sparking an industrial revival. Hundreds of billions
of dollars in private new investments is pouring into the United
States. ``Made in America'' is back stronger than ever.
Seventy-five countries are now lining up for trade talks with the
United States. This is a testament to President Trump's skills as a
dealmaker. More will come.
Republicans are going to continue to champion policies that secure
our supply chains and bring manufacturers home. We will work to end
America's dependence on China for medicine, for minerals, and for
manufacturing. This isn't about isolation; this is about our
independence.
President Trump is working every day to stop China from raiding our
factories, from gutting our industries, and from stealing our jobs.
Other leaders dealt with China from a position of weakness. Never
again. President Trump is dealing with them from a position of
strength.
China must hear us loud and clear: Freedom is a powerful force. We
will never give it away. We will not compromise our safety, our
prosperity, or our liberty. We will never stop standing up for the
American people.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
H.J. Res. 42
Mr. HUSTED. Mr. President, I am proud to stand here and lead this
commonsense legislation to reverse the cumbersome Biden-era regulation
that we are addressing today. This resolution overturns a Biden-era
Department of Energy rule that expands paperwork, testing, and
reporting requirements for home and commercial appliance manufacturers,
without improving performance standards.
In other words, this rule wastes time and money, raising costs
without delivering meaningful energy savings on items like dishwashers,
clothes washers, and HVAC systems--things that people need to live and
thrive every day. These are just everyday products that Ohioans depend
on, and this Biden-era overreach makes it harder to afford them and
leaves consumers with fewer choices and more costs.
While I have been in Washington only a few months, I can see the drag
that the inflationary policies of the last administration have had on
the American people, and it is my priority to make America and Ohio
better places to work, live, and thrive. That is why repeal of
unnecessary regulations is so important.
This bill contributes to the goal of cutting redtape for
manufacturers, which gives consumers more choices and lower costs. This
commonsense bill that has earned bipartisan support in the House is
ready to be passed in the Senate and sent to the President's desk.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this
legislation when we vote today. A vote for this bill is a vote for
making life easier and more affordable for American consumers.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all debate time on
H.J. Res. 42 is expired.
The clerk will read the title of the joint resolution for the third
time.
The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read a
third time.
Vote on H.J. Res. 42
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
Mr. BARRASSO. 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 assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr.
Whitehouse) is necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 46, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 223 Leg.]
YEAS--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
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
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
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
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
McConnell
Whitehouse
The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 42) was passed.
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