[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 23, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4577-S4581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 3944, which the
clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 121, H.R. 3944, a bill
making appropriations for military construction, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other
purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Medicare Trustees Report
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, every year, we get what is called
Medicare's ``Trustees Report.'' I come to the floor to comment on that.
We all know that Medicare is very much a part of America's social
fabric. For decades, Medicare has provided seniors and people with
disabilities access to routine and lifesaving care at their local
hospital, doctor's office, and pharmacy.
The trustees reported, as they do every year, that the Medicare Part
A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is expected to be depleted by 2033.
This is 3 years ahead of the projections that came out in last year's
report.
This results from higher than expected expenditures, the growth in
inpatient hospital and hospice spending.
Also, for now, the eighth year in a row, the Trustees have issued
what they call a funding warning. This is because Medicare's outlays
for its two trust funds are expected to exceed its dedicated revenue by
45 percent.
When Congress established this combined funding warning report in the
2003 Medicare Modernization Act, we intended--here in the Senate--for
Congress and the President to respond with solutions.
We should listen to this actuarial report, get on the job, and do
something to preserve the Medicare program. Now, we all know that we
talk more often about Social Security running out of money.
I want to preserve and strengthen the Medicare program for future
generations, just like I would say the same thing about the Social
Security program. The only way to make these critical programs
sustainable is to follow the Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill model.
This goes back to 1983, when the Social Security system was running
out of money. Ronald Reagan--a Republican--Tip O'Neill, Speaker of the
House--a Democrat--got together and said: We can't let that happen.
And they made sure it didn't happen. And what they devised that I had
a chance to vote for in 1983 or 1984--whenever it was--they fixed it
for 50 years because that is 50 years coming to 2033 when Social
Security, likewise, will run out of money.
Now, I have come to the conclusion that when you have a President
Biden and a Candidate Trump both running in 2024, that they aren't
going to do anything to fix Social Security.
Why isn't it being done? I have come to the conclusion that it is not
being done because we don't have any Ronald Reagans or Tip O'Neills in
Washington, DC, or in our government anymore.
So they did it in a bipartisan way, and Congress should step up the
same way to deal with this Medicare issue that I am talking about. But
there is no reason to leave Social Security out of that debate as well.
So I get back to some role that I played in the Medicare issues of
2003 when I led the effort to modernize Medicare by establishing the
prescription drug program, because prior to
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2003--since 1965--Medicare never covered prescription drugs. So since
2003, we have had a prescription drug program under Medicare.
In the first decade of the Medicare Part D program, the Federal
Government spent--can you believe it--36 percent less than what was
projected to be spent as we wrote this legislation. And it also
improved access to prescription drugs for millions of seniors.
Separately, Senate Republicans, through the One Big Beautiful Bill,
strengthened Medicare. We did that by ensuring that Medicare resources
are going to Americans instead of illegal immigrants and those not here
permanently.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that we will
save the Medicare system $5 billion. Now, that is a spit in the ocean
compared to what we face with this 45-percent overrun that the trustees
talked about.
A step in the right direction, of course it is, but it is no
substitute for what is really needed in this town--a bipartisan
cooperation and Presidential leadership, either Republican or Democrat,
that is needed to address our long-term Medicare funding challenges.
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. THUNE. Madam 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 Majority Leader
The majority leader is recognized.
Border Security
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, during the month of June, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection recorded a total of 9,306 encounters at our
southern border--9,306 for the entire month of June.
It is difficult to overstate just how much progress this reflects.
Under President Biden, monthly encounters at our southern border were
often well over 200,000 per month. During December of 2023, Customs and
Border Protection recorded a staggering 301,981 encounters at our
southern border or 32 times as many as were encountered last month.
The previous three Junes under President Biden saw more than 130,000,
more than 140,000, and more than 200,000 encounters. And now we are at
9,306--9,306--fewer individuals than the Biden administration sometimes
saw in a day.
It is really incredible, and this isn't a one-off. During President
Trump's first full 5 months in office, monthly numbers at the southern
border have never exceeded 12,500 encounters.
What we are seeing here is a President committed to fulfilling his
responsibilities; namely, enforcing the law. It is too bad the previous
administration didn't see fit to try it.
But it is a new day. And Republicans in Congress are committed to
supporting and continuing the administration's good work, and that
starts with a generational investment in border security that we made
this July in the One Big Beautiful Bill. That includes funding for
border barriers and technology, including finishing the border wall. It
includes funding for additional patrol agents, for additional detention
space, for additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The Acting ICE Director was on ``Face the Nation'' the other day, and
he had this to say:
Our ranks have really shrunk, and we really don't have
enough to do the law enforcement mission. One of the big
hampers for us is with the increase in sanctuary cities and
sanctuary policies, we have to send more officers and agents
out into the community, out on the street. Where it would
only take us two agents, say, going into a secure facility or
a police station, county jail to arrest a public safety
threat, well, [now] we have to send out four to five agents,
and with the increase of assaults on officers, we sometimes
have to send out eight to ten just to provide security for
those officers that are making the arrest.
Leaving aside the intolerable fact that ICE agents are facing such
hostility for carrying out their essential public safety mission, it is
not acceptable that we don't have enough ICE officers to do the job
that they need to be doing, and our bill goes a long way toward ending
that problem.
We also included Department of Justice funding to hire more
immigration judges to address the massive backlog in immigration
cases--a backlog made exponentially worse by the Biden administration's
policies.
Immigration cases should be decided in weeks or months--not years,
and our bill will help move toward that goal. One of the most basic
responsibilities of the Federal Government is providing for our
Nation's security, and border security is an essential part of national
security.
The chaos at our southern border under the Biden administration was
an invitation to terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals
to enter our country. It placed an incredible burden on our Border
Patrol agents, many of whom were pulled off the essential work of
guarding the border to process the flood of illegal immigrants. And it
placed a big burden on border cities and nonborder cities as well who
struggled to deal with an influx of migrants.
President Trump has turned the situation around, and the One Big
Beautiful Bill will ensure that his administration has the resources it
needs to continue its work of enforcing the law and protecting our
country. It will also ensure permanent improvements in our immigration
system and border enforcement that will, I hope, last for long after
President Trump leaves office.
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. Madam 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.
Government Funding
Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Madam President, we have a little over 20
legislative days left for Republicans to get serious about funding the
government. That is not very much time. As always, the best way forward
is this: bipartisan cooperation.
Senate Democrats, for our part, are working in good faith to counter
the devastating actions of the Trump administration on the American
people, and in this case, the bill reverses DOGE cuts to veterans. That
is a very good thing. These DOGE cuts were so cruel to our veterans.
Ultimately, Senate Republicans will have to join us to save all of
our constituents from the proposals we have seen from the
administration and from the House Republicans.
Now, yesterday, the Senate took the first vote on the MILCON-VA bill.
This bill is not perfect, but it is a good step forward. It reverses
some of the terrible cuts from DOGE against our veterans--our veterans
who defend us, who risk their lives for us, who volunteer to serve
their country, and, then, when they need help, cut, cut, cut--cruel,
mean, un-American. The Senate version, thank God, is significantly
stronger than the House version in protecting our members.
My colleague from Georgia has done good work shepherding this
legislation on the Democratic side. We hope to have a good process for
this bill on the floor. Republicans should allow amendments and a
robust floor process. This bill shows the process can still work, but
much, much more needs to be considered.
But Senate Democrats know we can't take anything for granted and will
expect our colleagues to show their commitment to bipartisanship on all
future appropriations bills, because for weeks--for weeks--they have
tainted the Senate with their partisan reconciliation tax bill and the
rescissions package.
This process won't work if they listen more to Donald Trump and
Russell Vought than to the needs of the American people back home.
Jeffrey Epstein
Mr. President, now, meanwhile, yesterday was truly a sorry sight in
the House of Representatives. The ghost of the disgraced Jeffrey
Epstein is haunting our Republican colleagues, so much so that Speaker
Johnson decided to cut bait and send the House home to escape
discussions about Epstein, instead of doing their jobs like grownups
and making progress on appropriations.
[[Page S4579]]
By shutting Congress down early, Speaker Johnson has assured that
August has become the ``Epstein recess,'' because this issue is going
to grow and grow and grow the longer House Republicans dodge this
issue. Now, maybe they declared the ``Epstein recess'' to give Trump
time to prepare papers for the pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell. Speaker
Johnson shouldn't be skedaddling out of town early. If the Speaker
thinks he can make the Epstein escapade disappear by sending folks home
early, he has got another thing coming. So, again, the Speaker should
not send people home early to avoid dealing with the Epstein issue.
The American people have a right to know what happened, but, instead,
Speaker Johnson created the ``Epstein recess.'' Speaker Johnson created
that ``Epstein recess.'' It is an awful decision. It is derelict of
their job in terms of keeping the government funded.
FEMA
Mr. President, now, on FEMA, after the heartbreaking tragedy in
Texas, I called for accountability to determine if Donald Trump's cuts
played any role in hindering the rescue effort. The White House reacted
by calling us liars. They said it was a ``depraved lie''--Trump's
words--to question if Donald Trump's actions harmed rescue efforts.
But, sadly, the more we learn, the more we see that Donald Trump and
Kristi Noem are the liars, and there is very little doubt DOGE cuts
made things worse at FEMA and affected what happened in Texas.
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the head of FEMA's urban
search and rescue unit resigned. The reason he stated is that Donald
Trump has created chaos at the Agency. The former worker said Donald
Trump's cuts, bureaucratic obstacles, and abysmal response to the
flooding in FEMA influenced his decision. He specifically cites, as
have many others, Kristi Noem's decision requiring her personal
approval on every purchase of more than $100,000.
Remember, experts have said that this stupid policy was responsible
for getting rid of hundreds of call center staff for 5 days after the
Texas flood. Thousands of calls to FEMA from flood survivors went
unanswered, according to internal documents. That is unacceptable. That
is incompetent. But this is the consequence of Donald Trump's terrible
policies.
So Donald Trump may have called those of us who criticized FEMA's
cuts--FEMA's DOGE cuts and their effect on Texas--he may have called
those of us who did that liars to avoid responsibility, but, in fact,
he is the liar here. His actions at FEMA have caused chaos, staff
shortages, delayed response. It puts people's lives in danger moving
forward.
And, unfortunately, these DOGE cuts are going to have many other dire
consequences for the American people. Donald Trump may try to deflect
blame, but he is the one who implemented these horrible cuts across the
board.
President Trump
Mr. President, let's get to a more general subject about how Trump
operates.
By now, it is obvious that what Donald Trump uses as his MO, whenever
he points the finger, whenever he launches insults at others--what he
is really doing--is deflecting from something he knows he is guilty of
himself.
I just said Donald Trump called us liars for asking about his role in
cutting FEMA funding. It turns out he is the liar here.
And, yesterday, Donald Trump accused President Obama of treason,
without any evidence, saying he tried to steal the 2016 election and
tried to use the issue of Russia to smear him. This is delusional.
Trump sounds unwell when he accuses Obama of treason.
But not only that, who was the one who we know tried to blackmail a
foreign head of state to gain dirt against a political opponent? Who is
the one? Donald Trump.
Who incited the violent insurrection against the U.S. Capitol to try
and prevent the certification of the 2020 election? Donald Trump.
So when Donald Trump says President Obama tried to steal an election,
we know Trump is lying. We know Trump is the one guilty of the crime,
and he is trying to deflect from his own lawlessness by inciting a
violent insurrection in the Capitol.
To accuse others of what he is guilty of doing is how Donald Trump
operates. He has for decades. But the American people are seeing
through it now that he is in the high position of President.
What he did with President Obama is not an isolated example. As I
mentioned, Donald Trump recently called some of us liars for demanding
transparency after the tragedy in Texas. But who spent months calling
for the elimination of FEMA? Who has run thousands of FEMA staffers out
the door? Who cut FEMA call center staff in the name of DOGE cuts?
Donald Trump.
Donald Trump even recently called a Democratic Member of this Chamber
a fraud and a crook and has threatened him with prosecution without any
merit. But who was it that was found in court to have unlawfully
inflated the value of his own properties? Who was the fraud? Who is the
crook?
Who launched a fake university that was accused in multiple States of
defrauding students with false claims about educational services? Who
has built a reputation as a liar, a swindler, someone who always talks
a big game but never seems to follow through? That is, of course,
Donald Trump.
So we know the game here. When Trump points the finger, he is telling
on himself for something he has been guilty of. That is his MO. This
meritless accusation against President Obama is just another pathetic
example.
Tariffs
Mr. President, on tariffs, last night President Trump announced
another trade ``deal,'' this time with Japan. Like most of the deals
announced over the past month, it was big on promises, short on
details, and, crucially, provided zero relief for American families and
small businesses. Whether it is this agreement with Japan, where
tariffs are increasing to 15 percent, or earlier ones with Indonesia or
Vietnam, where tariffs are increasing to 19 to 20 percent, the Trump
tariff taxes are going up, not down. That means one thing: higher costs
for the American family. Ask an American family if increasing their
costs by ``only'' 15 percent is OK.
In the meantime--and, by the way, the media, oh, they say: Well, it
is a great deal because it wasn't as bad as Trump originally proposed
but is still very bad for the American people and raises costs 15
percent.
American people aren't going to buy that this is a good deal at all--
a good deal at all.
In the meantime, the Trump administration is granting greater access
to advanced semiconductor technology, surrendering to China. Higher
costs for families and small businesses--Trump's trade war has been and
continues to be a huge failure.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The majority whip.
National Security
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about
something critical to our Nation, and that is our Nation's security.
And for me, national security demands and starts with border security.
We were through 4 years of open borders, high prices, pain for the
American people. Well, with the signing of this Big Beautiful Bill into
law, we are securing the border, we are finishing the wall, and we are
supporting Federal law enforcement officers.
You know, we also passed, and President Trump signed into law, the
HALT Fentanyl Act. It is now the law of the land, and, today, law
enforcement finally has the tools that they need to crack down on drug
traffickers. These policies are what will save lives here in America.
These policies will make our Nation safer.
For 4 long years, Joe Biden and the Democrats flung open the border
walls, and over 10 million illegal immigrants flooded into our country
as a result of their irresponsible behavior. This invasion raised costs
for American families. People saw it all throughout their lives. They
saw it when they went to the doctor's office. They found it at the
grocery store, and they found it in the housing market.
This invasion made our communities less safe. Innocent Americans are
still suffering the consequences. Just this week, in New York City, an
off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer was ambushed--ambushed--
by two illegal immigrant criminals. They shot him in the throat.
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Both of these illegal immigrant criminals had long criminal records.
You say: How can that be, in America, that somebody with a long
criminal record is out there on the street, shooting an officer of the
law?
Well, both of these illegal immigrant criminals entered the country
illegally under Joe Biden. They were arrested multiple times in New
York City, the minority leader's home city--arrested multiple times.
Immigration judges ordered deportations, but what happens in New York
City, in the minority leader's home city? They were released due to
sanctuary city policies in his hometown.
President Trump and Republicans have now made it a priority to
enforce the law. Since taking office, President Trump has deported
hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant criminals. ICE arrests in my
home State of Wyoming as well as my neighboring State of Colorado are
now five times higher than they were during the same time period under
Joe Biden.
A July poll by Harvard-Harris shows that three out of four Americans
support President Trump's efforts to deport illegal immigrant
criminals. The message is clear: Keep making our communities safer.
Illegal border crossings are now at their lowest level ever recorded.
Zero--zero--illegal immigrants were released into our country over the
past 2 months. Hard to believe but true--the number is zero. President
Trump has successfully ended catch-and-release. By contrast, under Joe
Biden and the Democrats, 10,000 illegal immigrants crossed our southern
border on a daily basis.
Republicans promised the American people we would secure the border,
and we are keeping our word.
The law we passed finishes the wall. It provides $75 billion for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That gives our agents the
resources they need to continue deporting illegal immigrant criminals.
Our law allows and helps them hire, train, and retain Border Patrol
agents. It even gives the agents a bonus. That is what we need to do to
enforce the law.
Republicans are committed to help fight back against child
trafficking. This is why our law funds $300 million to vet those who
sponsor children who show up at the border without an adult. And we
know it happened routinely during the Biden administration. I was there
on the border during the night as children would show up without an
adult.
A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of
Inspector General is clarifying to all of us who have read it. It is
disturbing, and it is frightening. The report found that the Biden
administration lost track of hundreds of thousands of these
unaccompanied children. In over 80 percent of the cases, the report
says, the Biden administration didn't even have accurate contact
information for the sponsors.
In all, our new law is the most comprehensive border security
investment in American history. It has invested in immigration
enforcement and border security. Not a single Democrat supported these
policies.
Democrats continue today to be the party of open borders and unsafe
communities. They made our country weaker, they made our country
poorer, and they made our country less safe. Things have changed now.
Across the country, ICE agents are doing excellent work enforcing the
law and keeping our communities safe.
Earlier this month, ICE conducted a lawful raid of a Los Angeles
facility that produces marijuana. Federal officers arrested 361
criminal illegal immigrants. Many were convicted rapists, kidnappers,
and child predators. Federal agents also rescued 10 children from
forced labor at that marijuana production facility. Eight of them were
unaccompanied minors who had been trafficked into our country and
exploited.
Last month, ICE arrested 1,361 illegal immigrant criminals in
Houston, TX. Those criminals were in our communities because of
Democrats' open border policies. Now they are off the streets thanks to
an administration that is committed to our Nation's security.
As law enforcement does its job, they are increasingly under attack.
They are under attack, amazingly, from criminals, and they are under
attack from the radical left. ICE agents have been demonized, doxed,
and demoralized. Attacks against ICE agents have soared over 800
percent in the last year.
In California, as ICE agents rescued children from forced labor, a
violent mob of leftwing activists threw rocks and even opened fire on
them. Now, some Democrats in Congress downplayed it; they dismissed it;
they defended the violence, as the Democrats tend to do. One Democrat
even said the operation was, in their words, a ``misuse of federal
resources.''
Let me be clear. Rescuing trafficked children is not a misuse--never
a misuse--of taxpayer money. If the Democrats believe otherwise, they
have truly lost their moral compass.
Law enforcement deserves our support, especially as they are
protecting children and when they are getting dangerous criminals off
the street. This is common sense. It is exactly what Immigration and
Customs agents are doing, and they are doing it very well.
The American people have been clear. They want secure borders. They
want safer communities. And that is what Republicans are delivering.
Mr. President, I will assure you, Republicans will continue to
protect our children, protect our communities, and protect our country.
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. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Appropriations
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I am on the Senate floor today as we are
beginning the process for this fiscal year of considering
appropriations bills.
As this process works, there are 12 subcommittees in the
Appropriations Committee. We report out 12 bills, presumably, and we
are doing that. The first four are potentially being considered this
week for consideration by the full Senate.
Sometimes there is criticism about the appropriations process, and
people who are not members of the committee feel left out. I am pleased
that we are on the Senate floor today, where every Member--all 100
Senators--has the opportunity to add their thoughts by offering
amendments, certainly making comments--offering amendments, taking
votes. We ought to make certain that every Senator has the sense that
they are engaged in the process of determining how taxpayer dollars are
spent.
I commend the majority leader Senator Thune for his commitment and
his keeping of a commitment that appropriations bills would be
considered on the Senate floor in his tenure as the majority leader. We
are off to a start today, and I am pleased that is happening.
The subcommittee report--the appropriations bill that I want to speak
just a moment about before we commence a vote at 11 is the Commerce-
Justice-Science appropriations bill. It is one of the bills that fund a
number of segments of the Federal Government.
As the name of the subcommittee suggests, it funds the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Justice, and it has the word ``science'' in
its title--Commerce-Justice-Science. Science is generally thought of as
NASA, NOAA, and NSF, the National Science Foundation.
Our legislation that has been reported out of the subcommittee and
reported now out of the full committee passed with every member of the
committee on the Republican side voting in favor of it and about four--
I think the number is four--members of the minority party, Democrats,
voting for this bill as well.
The attempt has been made to--as it takes 60 votes to pass a piece of
legislation on the Senate floor by our rules--the attempt has been made
to make certain that this is a bill that has bipartisan support, and it
does.
This legislation is important to the country for a number of reasons,
but I would highlight a few.
The Department of Justice in particular is where law enforcement--our
battle against fentanyl, for example, our battle against crime that is
rampant in many cities across the country,
[[Page S4581]]
and our efforts to defeat the battle against violence in our country
are directed at the Federal level by the Department of Justice. They do
so with the various Federal agencies--the DEA, the ATF, U.S. Marshals,
and the FBI. But they often work--and I am glad they do--in conjunction
with our local sheriffs and police departments across our country.
This bill funds law enforcement at the Federal level and continues to
encourage and provide resources for law enforcement--police departments
in our local communities, sheriffs' departments in our local counties--
for their efforts to work together with the Federal Agencies--the DEA,
the FBI. That is the way we fight crime and have success in this
country, is State, local, and Federal law enforcement working together.
This bill also funds the efforts at the Department of Commerce,
particularly in this case related to trade, as President Trump is
negotiating with various countries for resolution of tariff issues. The
Department of Commerce--and we know that Secretary Lutnick has been
engaged in those negotiations--the Department of Commerce houses the
Agencies that are responsible for trade policy and trade legislation in
this country, including the actual trade Ambassador who negotiates
trade agreements on an ongoing basis.
So this bill funds the Department of Commerce in a number of ways,
but I highlight for my colleagues the importance of trade, learning
just this morning--yesterday--that the United States--President Trump--
and Japan have come together in an agreement with regard to tariffs.
It also invests in science. It helps us meet our mission to get to
the Moon, the Artemis Program. We have a goal of making certain the
United States of America is on the Moon before the Chinese--returns to
the Moon before the Chinese. This legislation funds NASA in a way to
continue the efforts to support the Artemis Program and then reach
further, as the President has indicated his desire to see the United
States travel to Mars and explore further regions of outer space.
I highlight and offer my concerns and condolences to my colleagues
from Texas in particular but across the country who have had weather-
related circumstances that have caused tragedy across our Nation.
This Commerce-Justice-Science bill, in the science category, funds
NOAA. We are making certain they have the resources to make certain we
preserve and save life.
This all was done in a way that was designed to make certain that we
met our responsibilities to the American taxpayer and that we were
fiscally responsible.
Overall, with regard to the budget authority--the ability to obligate
funds from the General Fund to the Treasury--what most Americans would
consider to be Federal spending--because of offsetting credits and fee
collections and rescissions--and we removed those. If they were there,
we would have been able to spend at higher levels. But because we
rescinded those opportunities, the decline in--let me say it
differently.
Accordingly, as a result of those things being the case, the real
increase in spending power at the Commerce-Justice-Science-funded
Agencies is only a $270 million increase--or 0.037 percent--above the
fiscal year 2025 levels. Almost all of the increase went to the census.
Commerce-Justice-Science is responsible--the Department of Commerce is
responsible for the decennial census, and we have begun our process of
gearing up for the next census to take place, so we had to appropriate
money for the census.
In addition to that, we found savings--reduced spending--by reducing
bureaucratic and workforce funding at both the Department of Commerce
and the Department of Justice.
My point is that within the allocation that we were provided by the
full committee--by the chairman and vice chairman of the committee--
Commerce-Justice-Science is within its funding levels, of course, that
they allowed us. While we prioritized the things we thought were most
important, we also did so in a way that the increase in spending is
less than 1 percent and certainly way less than last year and certainly
less than the rate of inflation.
I know that the 11 o'clock hour has come. I am pleased to have
conversations with my colleagues about moving this bill forward.
I yield the floor.
____________________