[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 24, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3503-S3504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         One Big Beautiful Bill

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today because for 
the last few years, I think we can best describe the time in America as 
a time of record high prices and wide-open borders. Prices soared by 
over 20 percent, which was a 40-year high; 10 million illegal 
immigrants flooded across our Nation's borders; American families 
struggled; and communities were unsafe.
  So in November of this past year, the American people said: Enough. 
They rejected the chaos and the extremism of the Democratic Party and 
the Democratic leadership, and they chose Republicans in order to get 
the country back on track.
  So the bill that we are voting on this week is the Republican plan: a 
plan for a safer and more prosperous America. It is a plan to cut 
taxes, lower prices, secure the border, and, of course, to strengthen 
our Nation. It is the blueprint to renew, to rebuild, and to restore 
our Nation. Here is how.
  First, our bill stops a $4 trillion tax increase. Now, that would be 
the biggest tax increase in the history of the country. Every Senate 
Democrat has vowed to stop the bill. That is because the Democrats are 
the party of record high taxes. They want people's taxes to go up to a 
tune of $4 trillion. If the Democrats have their way, every working 
family in America will pay more in taxes. They will see a higher tax 
bill next year.
  So if you make between $30,000 and $80,000 a year, when our bill 
passes, you are going to get a 15 percent tax cut. We cut taxes on 
overtime, on Social Security, and on tips. If you are a waiter or a 
police officer or a nurse, you are going to keep more of what you earn. 
If you are on Social Security, you will see more money at the end of 
each month through a larger deduction. Now, this is real relief for the 
American people who have been suffering through 4 years of record high 
prices.
  Additionally--and, as a doctor, I think this is critically 
important--our bill strengthens Medicaid. Medicaid exists for the 
vulnerable: for children, for pregnant women, for the disabled. That is 
who it was set up and established for. But, right now, Medicaid is 
failing them. And the problem, of course, is the waste and the fraud 
and the abuse and the corruption that has been allowed to get into that 
system as a result of the last 4 years of liberal leadership in 
Washington.
  Experts tell us that over the past number of years, over $1.1 
trillion has been wasted on improper payments alone. And Washington was 
happy to shovel the money out of this city to big States and big 
cities. In States such as California, money meant for the vulnerable 
was siphoned off; it was diverted for free healthcare for illegal 
immigrants. Well, our bill stops all of that.
  We also believe and add the fact that there needs to be work 
requirements--work requirements for able-bodied, working-age people. If 
people can work, they should work. That is how you move people from 
poverty to a paycheck.
  Additionally, our bill secures the border and deports illegal 
immigrants. The border has been wide open for the last 4 years. Over 10 
million illegal immigrants have come into the country. We have seen the 
numbers. We have seen the videos, the crime, the chaos allowed by the 
previous administration, and we have seen how quickly things can change 
with real leadership in the White House. It is dramatic. It is the 
improvement that the American people have wanted.
  Our bill invests $160 billion in public safety--hiring 10,000 new 
Immigration and Customs agents, hiring 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, 
finishing the wall, giving our officers a well-deserved bonus for 
keeping our communities safe.
  Additionally, the bill we have unleashes American energy. Under Joe 
Biden, energy prices rose 31 percent in 4 years. We fix that by 
producing more energy right here at home in America. We open up energy 
production onshore, offshore, and in Alaska. That means affordable gas 
prices, lower energy bills, good-paying American jobs. It powers 
innovation here at home. America is an energy superpower, and once 
again, we are going to act like it.
  Additionally, our bill restores American strength. For 4 years under 
Joe Biden, the world saw American weakness. This bill, as well as our 
actions last weekend, sent a clear message: America is strong again. We 
invest $150 billion in our military, we build 13 new warships, and we 
boost shipbuilding capacities.
  Remember, strength deters. Weakness invites aggression. A ready 
America is a safe and strong America. That is what Americans want, it 
is what they need, and it is what Americans voted for in November: 
lower taxes, safer communities, secure borders, a strong economy, 
leaders who put common sense ahead of chaos. And that is exactly what 
this bill delivers.
  This bill keeps the promises that we made to the American people, 
while a vote against the bill--and that is what the Democrats are 
coming to the floor and they are promising, saying: We have to beat 
this thing. That would saddle hard-working Americans with the largest 
tax increase ever, with open borders, with a weaker economy, a weaker 
country. And that is what they come to the floor and say they are 
fighting for.
  I ask the American people: Whose side do you stand on? What is it 
that

[[Page S3504]]

you want for your future and your country? Because we know what works. 
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan tamed inflation, cut taxes, and 
stood strong. It was morning in America. And then in the 1990s, in a 
bipartisan effort, Republicans worked with President Bill Clinton to 
reform welfare. Millions moved from poverty to paycheck. We need to do 
that again.
  In 2017, we cut taxes, we rolled back redtape, we unleashed American 
energy, and it created the best economy in my lifetime. Middle-class 
incomes rose by nearly $6,000 across the board. Energy was much more 
affordable. We did it before. With this bill, we will do it again.
  So, today, Senate Republicans stand united: united to deliver lower 
prices, higher wages, and more jobs here at home. This bill that we 
will vote on this week opens the next chapter in our great American 
comeback story. Republicans are ready to get America back on track.
  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. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.