[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 77 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2823-S2824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               GENIUS ACT

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, let me just say that the Democrats have 
just used the filibuster for the fourth time this year. Why? Well, in 
this case, no one really knows.
  This is a bipartisan issue. It is a bipartisan bill, and it had a 
bipartisan process from the very beginning. And if Democrats were 
interested in further changes, as they claim, they would have had the 
chance to make those changes on the floor. All they had to do was vote 
for cloture.
  Not every bill that comes to the floor is a final bill. Now, that may 
be how it

[[Page S2824]]

worked when they were in control, but Republicans are doing it 
differently. We are determined to restore the Senate to what it was 
meant to be.
  The floor is where every Senator gets a chance to give his or her 
input on legislation. That is what would have happened today if cloture 
had been invoked, the motion the Democrats just voted against. It would 
have meant open debate, further deliberations, further modifications. 
But the Democrats refused to even begin that debate.
  I don't know what Democrats would change about the process this bill 
has gone through. It had a 3-hour markup in the Banking Committee that 
considered 40 amendments. That is what we used to call regular order 
around here.
  It was reported out of the Banking Committee by a vote of 18 to 6, 
with 5 Democrats supporting the bill. And since the markup, Senators 
have been meeting nonstop to modify the bill on both sides of the 
aisle, Democrats and Republicans--countless meetings.
  In fact, there have been fully six versions of this bill and numerous 
modifications made, many of them to satisfy the Democrats' demands--six 
versions of this bill based on feedback and input from Members on both 
sides and, in many cases, modifications made that were done in response 
to demands made by Democrats in the bill--six versions.
  I don't know how you can have any more process than that. Democrats 
have been accommodated every step of the way, up to and including long 
sessions yesterday and late into the night last night.
  Mr. President, I just have to say, frankly, I just don't get it. I 
don't know what more they want. I don't know why you vote against 
proceeding to a bill on the floor after you voted to refer that same 
bill to the floor, as a number of Democrats, as I just said, did coming 
out of the Banking Committee, which, of course, makes you wonder if 
this is about the bill at all or if it is simply Democrats obstructing 
because they want to deny Republicans or President Trump a bipartisan 
win. Given the fact that the Democrats keep moving the goalposts, it is 
hard not to suspect that is the case, and I have to say that is deeply 
disappointing.
  I strongly support this bill, but I have now changed my vote to no 
today so that we can bring this legislation up again if and when 
Democrats are ready to get serious. Clearly, today, they are not.

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