[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 118 (Wednesday, July 9, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we are now at the 6-month mark of the 119th 
Congress, and it has been an incredibly productive 6 months here in the 
Senate.
  We had the longest continuous work period in 15 years. We have taken 
more rollcall votes so far this year than at the same point in any year 
since at least 1989.
  We confirmed the 21 members of the President's Cabinet at the fastest 
pace in more than 20 years. We passed 18 measures to overturn the 
burdensome Biden administration regulations. We confirmed 10 
Ambassadors in the President's first 100 days--the most since at least 
the Reagan administration.
  We passed two budget resolutions to advance President Trump's tax 
relief agenda. We passed multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation. 
That includes the Laken Riley Act, which requires detention for illegal 
immigrants who steal, assault a law enforcement officer, or seriously 
injure or kill a person; the HALT Fentanyl Act, which permanently 
schedules fentanyl-related substances as the most deadly type of drug 
and gives law enforcement a critical tool to prosecute those who bring 
those deadly substances into our country; and the GENIUS Act, which 
will help ensure that the United States can continue to be a leader in 
financial innovation and will allow Americans to exercise financial 
freedom with confidence.
  And then, of course, we passed our reconciliation bill, which the 
President signed into law on July 4. This major piece of legislation 
permanently extends the 2017 tax relief to prevent a $4 trillion tax 
hike on the American people.
  It permanently extends the lower rates. It permanently extends the 
increased standard deduction, and it permanently extends the doubled 
child tax credit. It also makes the 2017 small business tax relief 
permanent to set us up for a future of economic growth.
  And that is not all. It implements additional tax relief for parents, 
seniors, and other hard-working Americans. It includes new pro-growth 
policy to help grow our economy and complement the 2017 pro-growth tax 
policies that we made permanent.
  It implements a program to create savings accounts for newborns, with 
an initial deposit of $1,000 to help parents save and invest for their 
children's future needs--and so much more.
  That is just on the tax front. The bill also makes a generational 
investment in securing our borders. It takes a significant step forward 
on addressing our readiness deficiencies and ensuring that our military 
will be prepared to deter and defeat any threat.
  It unleashes American energy, and it achieves significant savings--
$1.5 trillion in Byrd-compliant savings, to be exact--and that is 
including the first real entitlement reform literally in decades.
  So it has been a great 6 months. But as good as it has been, we still 
have a lot of work to do, and we are getting on it right away. That 
starts with funding the government, and that will start, as it should, 
in committee.
  This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee is marking up 3 of the 
12 fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. And the Senate Armed Services 
Committee is marking up the National Defense Authorization Act, which 
authorizes funding that will later be appropriated in Defense 
appropriations legislation.
  I am hopeful for a robust regular-order process, with full committee 
consideration and debate and amendment on the Senate floor. That will, 
of course, require bipartisan work.
  I was disappointed to see the Democrat leader in his recent ``Dear 
Colleague'' letter implicitly threaten to shut down the government, but 
I am hopeful that that is not the position of the Democrat Party, the 
Democratic conference here in the Senate, and that we can work together 
in the coming weeks to pass bipartisan appropriations bills.
  Funding the government is our chief priority before October, but that 
won't stop us from considering additional measures. We will continue to 
confirm the President's nominees, including his judicial nominees. I 
intend to bring the President's rescissions package to the floor this 
month for debate and amendment to ratify some of the good work the 
administration has done in identifying wasteful and inappropriate uses 
of taxpayer dollars.
  We have also made substantial progress on Senator Graham's 
overwhelmingly bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation to enhance 
President Trump's leverage at the negotiating table and help end the 
bloodshed in Ukraine. I fully expect that that could be ready for floor 
consideration as early as this work period.
  Senate Republicans are committed to working with the House and the 
White House to get this legislation through Congress and onto the 
President's desk.
  It has been a great 6 months of work here in the Senate, and I look 
forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to deliver on our 
commitment to the American people and make our country safer, stronger, 
and more prosperous.
  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.