[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 171 (Thursday, October 16, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7144-S7148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND EXTENSIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed
Government Funding
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this morning, we will offer my Democrat
colleagues yet another opportunity to vote to reopen the government--to
vote to reopen the government with a clean, nonpartisan CR.
That is right. We are not asking Democrats to swallow any new
Republican policies. We are not asking them to swallow any partisan
policy riders. We are simply asking them to extend current funding
levels for a few weeks, while we work on full-year appropriations.
And you don't have to take my word for it. Everyone from the
President of the Teamsters Union to mainstream media outlets has
confirmed that the CR Republicans have put forward is a clean CR. But
Senate Democrats chose to shut down the government anyway.
Now, Democrats' ostensible reason for their 16-day shutdown is
because they want Republicans to agree to bail out the healthcare mess
that Democrats created--first with Obamacare and then passing and
sunsetting enhanced Obamacare tax credits that were put in place for
the COVID emergency, which I think, as we all know, is long behind us.
Despite the fact that we are only in this position because of
Democrats' poor policy choices, Republicans are ready for that
discussion. I am ready. My colleagues are ready. The Speaker and the
President are ready--but only once we have reopened the government.
We are not conducting negotiations in a hostage situation, and we are
not going to pay a $1.5 trillion ransom to get Democrats to reopen
government operations.
That is right--$1.5 trillion. That is what Democrats are demanding.
Between their Obamacare bailout and the other partisan policies that
they have included, they want a $1.5 trillion ransom to reopen the
government for a handful of weeks.
Now, to put that number in perspective, that is equivalent to almost
one quarter of the entire 2024 Federal budget--again, just to reopen
the Federal Government for a handful of weeks.
Now, think about that. Their proposal: $1.5 trillion of new spending,
free healthcare benefits for noncitizens to open the government until
October 31. That is what their proposal is.
So, literally, the American taxpayer is supposed to pay $1.5 trillion
so that the Democrats can open the government until Halloween, 2 weeks
from now--$1.5 trillion for 2 weeks. That is what we are talking about
here.
Now, just imagine this for a minute, what might happen if we pay that
ransom and agree to the Democrats' $1.5 trillion demand. Well, what is
going to happen the next time we need a continuing resolution? How much
are Democrats going to demand then? Will we have to add another $1.5
trillion every time we want to fund the government?
And they want to do it for 2 weeks--$1.5 trillion for 2 weeks. I
mean, where does this end?
When taxpayers and our economy have been totally destroyed by
Democrats' profligate spending, is that where it ends?
No. While I am more than happy to discuss ways to alleviate
Democrats' healthcare mess, we are not paying $1.5 trillion or a $1.5
trillion ransom to reopen the Federal Government.
As frustrated as I am with their continued refusal to reopen the
government, I do have to say that I have some sympathy for Senate
Democrats. While they may claim healthcare is the driver of what they
are doing, we all know that the primary reason we are in this mess is
because Democrats' far-left base demanded a showdown with President
Trump.
Just 7 months ago, the Democrat leader voted with Republicans to keep
the government open because he said, while he didn't like the CR, a
government shutdown would be much worse--``far worse.'' But he caught a
whole lot of flak for that decision from the far left, and so now, he
is leading the shutdown charge.
He is not the only Democrat who voted to fund the government in March
who is now a member of the shutdown brigade. But no matter how much
pressure their far-left base is exerting, we still need some Democrats
to do the right thing.
It would take just a handful of Democrats to reopen the government--
just a handful of Democrats to enable us to resume paying air traffic
controllers, law enforcement officers, and all of the other Federal
workers; just a handful of Democrats to get the Federal Government
working again for the American people.
Later today, Democrats are going to have another opportunity to make
the right decision--two opportunities, in fact. They are going to have
a chance to vote on the clean, nonpartisan CR which, as I said in the
past, sits right there at the desk, which has passed the House of
Representatives. We can pick this up, with five more Democrat votes,
pass it today and send it to the President. The President signs it into
law, and the government reopens.
So they are going to have a chance to vote on that yet again, and
they are going to have a chance to vote to advance full-year Defense
appropriations legislation, so that if we can't reopen the entire
government, we can at least make some progress toward securing
paychecks for our troops and for defending our country.
Just last week, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization
Act, which is essential legislation, something that we do every year to
authorize defense spending and to authorize a pay raise for our troops.
So this is the Democrats' chance to make good on that promise by
funding the raise. The authorization bill authorized it. The Defense
appropriations bill that we will vote on here later today will actually
fund that raise so our troops can get paid.
Now, again, I realize that Democrats' far-left base is rallying in DC
this weekend, which puts extra pressure on Democrats, but I hope that
they will do the right thing anyway and vote to reopen the government.
All we need is five. The bill is right there. It goes to the President,
he signs it into law, and the government reopens.
The American people are depending on some--I am hoping--Democrats who
are willing to put the interests of the American people ahead of the
interests of their far-left base.
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.
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The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Government Funding
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, another week has passed, and the Trump
shutdown drags on because Republicans refuse to work with or even
negotiate with Democrats in a serious way to fix the healthcare crisis
in America.
Let's be clear. Republicans are demanding something that hasn't
happened in previous negotiations. They are saying: Our way or the
highway. No negotiation. No Democratic input.
This is a highly partisan bill, and they want us to pass this
partisan CR that has zero bipartisan input, zero conversation, and,
frankly, zero relief for so many Americans who are afflicted by the
healthcare crisis, which grows deeper and deeper, that crisis, each
day.
For the last month, the Republican leader's favorite number has been
13. He keeps citing 13 CRs that we passed when I was majority leader.
Of course we did. What he fails to mention--I am not sure if he forgets
or he is deliberately trying to ignore it--is that those 13 CRs were
the product of bipartisan negotiation, of serious conversation. We had
to make changes in those bills when our Republican colleagues suggested
it. They were in the minority, but they had a right to be heard--a
right that has been completely shut out for Democrats under this new
Republican majority. It is a new way of doing things, and it has led to
the Trump shutdown, aided and abetted by Senate Republicans.
Leader Thune talks about hostages. Yeah. The truth is that the
hostages are the American people that the Republican majority and Trump
are holding hostage because they won't help them with healthcare.
Americans are demanding that we do something, that we address this
healthcare crisis. In terms of extending the ACA tax credits, 90
percent of Americans want them extended, 58 percent of Trump voters
want them extended, and that is who is being held hostage by the
Republican majority. Those are the unfortunate hostages--the American
people and the crisis they face with healthcare.
The ACA crisis is looming over everyone's head. Yet Republicans seem
ready to let people's premiums spike by tens of thousands. That is who
the hostages are--the American people who need healthcare relief, who
are demanding healthcare relief.
I will remind my Republican colleagues that open enrollment is in 2
weeks. That means that in 2 weeks, tens of millions of Americans are
going to have to make life-changing decisions. Imagine getting a notice
that your insurance is going to go up $15,000 each year, as so many of
my constituents and people across America are getting, and having to
make the awful, awful decision whether to have healthcare or not and
then think: What if my kid gets sick, and I won't have healthcare?
Well, what do I do? I can't afford $5- or $10,000 more a year.
That is the position Republicans are putting the American people in.
That is the position Donald Trump is putting the American people in.
And I don't know if Republicans don't comprehend it. I think they do.
Even when we went to the Oval Office, it seemed, when Leader Jeffries
and I told President Trump about it, he was just beginning to
understand the depth of the crisis.
But they either don't understand it or they are brutally callous--so
interested in tax cuts for the very wealthy that they are willing to
just savage healthcare for the American people.
Then a few Republicans, if they want to act on healthcare at all--
many of them don't want to do anything, particularly in the House,
where they seem to hold Speaker Johnson in a frightened situation. He
is so afraid to do anything about healthcare because his rightwing will
attack him. But for those who want to act on healthcare, they think we
can wait until the very, very last minute, but the reality is, it will
be far too late for the American people, and many of them will be stuck
paying outrageous amounts of money.
The vast majority of Americans who have healthcare, who have ACA
healthcare and other healthcare, are going to have to make their
decisions by November 1, not January 1. Yet, despite this crisis,
despite the enormity of the increase in costs that Americans will have
to pay for their healthcare, Republicans continue to dig in. They
continue to say: We don't want to help on healthcare. We don't want to
negotiate with Democrats on healthcare.
They say there is nothing to negotiate.
That has to change soon. It has to for the sake of the American
people. Democrats want to reopen the government as soon as possible so
people can get back to work, so government services are not
interrupted, but we need to fix the ACA premiums right now.
If Republicans fail to act now to lower premiums, the American people
will, correctly--wish it didn't have to happen, wish we could solve
this--the American people will have to hold the Republicans responsible
when they face financial ruin.
No Kings Rallies
Mr. President, now on the No Kings rallies, in a few days, millions
of Americans in cities and towns, villages, rural areas across the
country will exercise one of the most fundamental rights under the
Constitution, one of the greatest things about America: exercising the
right to peacefully protest, exercising the right to free speech.
This weekend's No Kings rallies will be an affirmation about what
America is all about. We are a democracy in America. We have no Kings
despite the fact that Trump has even said he wants to become one and is
acting in ways that are a threat to our democracy. In America, we do
not have dictators, and we cannot allow Presidents to transform the
Presidency into some form of dictatorship.
Now more than ever, for that reason, it is vital Americans from one
end of the country to the other stand up for our basic freedoms because
Donald Trump is eroding our democracy day by day by day.
So this weekend, I encourage Americans everywhere--Americans who love
this country, who care about a democracy--I don't care if you are a
Democrat or a Republican or Independent, a liberal or a moderate or a
conservative--the vast majority of Americans want to preserve this
democracy, and the No Kings rally says that in a very strong way, where
millions of Americans--millions--will come together to say just that--
that we don't want Kings in America.
I will join the marchers to celebrate what makes this country so
great.
I say to my fellow citizens: Do not let Donald Trump or Republicans
intimidate you into silence. That is what they want to do. They are
afraid of the truth.
Republicans are going apoplectic because Americans are exercising
their right to free speech even though some of them--too many of them--
know that Donald Trump is threatening our democracy, and the American
people are seeing just that.
That is the theme--the very appropriate theme--of this weekend's
rallies: No Kings. No Kings.
So I urge Americans: Speak out. Use your voice. Exercise your rights
to free speech.
And, of course, there should be no violence from either side.
I say to Americans: Show the world how much we love this country, how
much we love our values, how much we love our democracy and want to
preserve it, and don't be afraid. Trump and the Republicans want you to
be afraid. They don't like free speech when it is free speech they
don't want to hear. But we are not going to let them intimidate us.
For weeks, Republicans have tried to vilify these rallies. They call
them the most ridiculous of terms--``Hate America'' rallies. These are
love-America rallies. They call them ``terrorist'' rallies. That is
just despicable. They are trying to scare people away from their basic
right to free speech, but we will not be intimidated. These are not
hate rallies, as some of the right wingers try to say; these are save-
America rallies, love-America rallies, care-about-America rallies.
Not only is this a right to protest--which we all treasure or have
treasured until recently, with this new administration seeming to not
want rights to protest or even free speech when they don't agree with
it--this is the right thing to do, a necessity when Donald Trump
weaponizes the Justice Department to become his attack dog and go
[[Page S7146]]
after his political enemies; when he attacks the courts; when he
intimidates the free press and tries to tell networks they are going to
lose their licenses if they say things he doesn't agree with; when
people are arrested and put in jail--American citizens--with no real
cause and not even identification of who is making the arrest.
I am so proud of Americans who will stand up peacefully. There is
nothing--nothing--more American than exercising the right to free
speech, especially the right to dissent, especially when our democracy
is at risk because of what Trump and his Republican cronies are trying
to do.
Remember the last No Kings rally. We saw millions of people--all
backgrounds, all corners of the country--gathering peacefully. We saw
American flags as far as the eye can see, and that is natural. The
American flag stands for free speech. The American flag stands for the
right to peacefully protest even if Trump and his cronies don't even
understand that or don't want to understand that.
At these rallies, we saw people who love this country; we saw people
who want to stand up for American values; we saw people who want to
preserve our precious democracy. That, sadly, is what many Republicans
want to silence. We will not be silenced.
Donald Trump and many Republicans in Congress are using intimidation,
lies, and bully tactics to prevent people from standing up, speaking
out, exercising our precious constitutional rights. But I say again to
every American out there who wants to participate in these weekend
rallies: Do not let Donald Trump or Republicans intimidate you into
silence. That is what they want.
That is how dictators evolve--when good people of all different
beliefs and backgrounds stay silent. No Kings day says: We will not
stay silent.
I say to the American people: Do not be afraid to exercise your right
to free speech. Be proud that you are doing it. Do not be afraid to
peacefully protest against Donald Trump's eroding of our democracy, and
do not be afraid to show how much you love this beautiful democracy--as
the Founding Fathers called it, ``God's noble experiment.'' We have to
keep this precious democracy.
Young Republicans
Mr. President, now on the Young Republicans--another sad chapter in
how the Republican Party has devolved over the last few years. It has
been 2 days since POLITICO published a horrifying story revealing
thousands--thousands--of private messages containing racist, sexist,
and violent comments from prominent members of the Young Republicans
organization. Yet President Trump and the Republican leadership have
remained silent. There is nothing but radio silence from Republican
leaders who seem to claim they worry about combating politically
violent rhetoric.
The silence from Republican leaders in the face of Hitler jokes and
gas chamber jokes is deafening. Where are they? When they don't like
somebody who says something on the left, they are the first to
criticize. Well, this is one of the nastiest, most vicious things that
we have ever seen written--by Young Republicans, no less--and the
Republican leadership, including President Trump, is silent.
As I said, Republicans never miss a chance to preach about violent
rhetoric when it comes from the other side, and, of course, that should
be condemned, but now that it is coming from their own ranks, they are
silent.
Some Republicans seem to even excuse this vile behavior. This is
amazing. The Vice President of the United States, no less, JD Vance,
dismissed the messages as just a college group chat. Can you imagine if
it was a group of people on the left saying some things, if he would
say the same thing? A college group chat? Does JD Vance really think
glorifying Hitler and gas chambers is just a silly joke? Imagine--
imagine--if it came from the other side. We all know that Vance would
be losing his mind right now. He would be all over FOX News decrying
it. But now, since it is coming from his own ranks, he is just
excusing. Despicable. Disgraceful. Shameful.
No matter if you are a Republican or Democrat or in the middle, we
all must condemn this nasty behavior and make it clear that this type
of vicious rhetoric is unacceptable in America.
Gateway
Mr. President, on Gateway, yesterday, President Trump and his
administration ``terminated'' funding for Gateway. Gateway is the most
important infrastructure project in America, period. It will keep our
economy moving, our region connected, tens of thousands of union
workers on the job. Donald Trump is trying to kill it again in pure
spite and with sheer stupidity. It is petty revenge politics.
Who gets hurt? It is going to screw over hundreds of thousands of New
York and New Jersey commuters, choke off our economy, and kill good-
paying jobs.
It affects New Jersey. More people use it to commute from New Jersey
than from New York. What Trump has done on Gateway is vindictive,
reckless, and foolish. And if Donald Trump thinks he can use New
Yorkers, use New Jerseyans, commuters, small businesses, union
construction workers, and the first responders as political pawns, it
will backfire on him spectacularly.
We will fight the President on this in every way to preserve this
crucial, vital infrastructure project--crucial and vital to New York,
New Jersey, the northeast economy, and the whole American economy.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.
Waiving Quorum Calls
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the
mandatory quorum calls with respect to the following cloture motions:
Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371; Executive Calendar No. 460.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Government Funding
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, today is day 16 of the Schumer shutdown.
Democrats have an opportunity to end the charade today. We will be
voting in the next few moments.
I expect they won't. Why? Well, for starters, the minority leader
believes ``every day gets better for us.'' I am not sure who the ``us''
is, but that is what he believes. He must be talking about Democrat
leadership, Democrat politicians. He can't be talking about people all
across the country--not the people who work every day to keep our
country safe, not the Federal workers who aren't getting paid. Oh, no,
he can't be talking about them when he refers to ``every day gets
better for us.''
What Senator Schumer and Democrats in this body are really saying is
this: Every day of this Schumer shutdown strengthens their alliances
with the far-left activist groups. These radicals hold the reins on
today's Democratic Party. They are driving the stage coach. Schumer is
not leading this. Jeffries isn't leading this. The people that are
driving the stage coach are the leftwing activists, and they are
driving it over the cliff.
Let me give you another reason why I suspect Democrats will, once
again, refuse to reopen the government. It is because the far-left
activist groups are pressuring the Democrats to keep the government
closed until after their radical anti-America rally, which is going to
be held this weekend.
The rally, which some have labeled the ``I Hate America'' rally, is
going to take place Saturday, and there will be rallies in DC and
across the country. We just heard from the minority leader on the
floor, inviting people to attend these rallies, to participate in what
I have referred to and others have as the ``I Hate America'' rally. He
is a cheerleader for these far-left activist groups and their causes.
All these rallies are going to be led by the far-left activists and all
will be calling on the Democrats to keep the government closed.
The Democrats in this body are beholden to every single one of these
far-left activist groups, groups like #ResistTrump and American
Atheists.
Here is a headline from POLITICO:
Chuck Schumer's critics are satisfied--for now.
The article goes on to quote the head of the far-left activist group
called Indivisible. This group is organizing Saturday's radical rally.
The leader of the far-left group says of the minority leader:
He hasn't surrendered yet. I call that progress, and we're
cheering him on now.
[[Page S7147]]
Well, 7 months ago, that same person had a very different message for
the minority leader. That same person said:
Senator Schumer should step aside as leader. Every Democrat
in the Senate should call for him to do so.
So what changed? Well, Senator Schumer started toeing the line of the
far-left group. He shut down the government in spite of the fact that
13 times, when Joe Biden was President, he voted for a clean resolution
to keep the government open.
What changed? Well, the minority leader is now the puppet of the
radical, extremely dangerous, scary wing of his party. He huddled with
the far-left activist group for months before this shutdown. For
months, they orchestrated, organized this shutdown in Senator Schumer's
office. They organized a war room for the shutdown. They are calling
the tune. Senator Schumer even gloated to Punchbowl News:
We thought about this long in advance.
This isn't something that just happened. They had been planning this.
This is premeditated. This is a political game for Senator Schumer and
the Democrats, and it is a dangerous game for every other American.
People aren't receiving paychecks because Senate Democrats want to
prove their allegiance to the far left. Democrats want a standing
ovation this Saturday when they address the radical wing of their
party; the wing that is holding the reins and holding them tightly; the
wing that is extreme, dangerous, and scary; the wing that is pro-crime
and anti-America. That is what we are facing.
Senate Democrats want to be cheered on for holding hostage the
paychecks of the TSA agents and air traffic controllers.
Meanwhile, Americans are sick and tired of Democrats' dangerous
political game. They just want to get back to work. Today, Democrats
are going to have an opportunity to prove they aren't beholden to the
far left of the party. We are going to have a vote. We are going to
vote on a bipartisan appropriations bill to fund the Department of
Defense, to fund the warfighters, the troops, the people who keep our
Nation and our allies safe. This bill has already come through a
bipartisan Appropriations Committee. The vote was 26 to 3. Twenty-six
voted for it, only 3 voted against it. We are bringing that same bill
to the floor today, and we are going to see if the Democrats are going
to work with us on a bipartisan appropriations bill. They claim they
want regular order. They claim they want things to work together. And
it is a bill that they have said themselves is necessary.
Remember, Senator Schumer, last year, didn't bring a single
appropriations bill to this floor of the Senate, in spite of the fact
the 12 bipartisan bills passed out of the committee. He refused to
bring any of them to this floor to fund the government when he was
majority leader.
I wonder whom he is going to side with today. Senate Republicans this
year already approved three appropriations bills to fund the
government. This would be the fourth. Democrats are holding the
government hostage. They are holding the American people hostage.
Republicans are committed to reopening the government.
We are going to vote against that today. We are holding votes on our
bipartisan, clean continuing resolution, one that Democrats have voted
on 13 times in favor of when Joe Biden was in the White House.
I believe that Democrats have an opportunity, as well as an
obligation, to end the Schumer shutdown. We should end it today.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.
Maria Corina Machado
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week we learned that Venezuelan
opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had won this year's Nobel Peace
Prize.
This is a photograph of her. She did so for her steadfast and
courageous fight for democracy in the once-proud Nation of Venezuela
that, unfortunately, now under a man named Maduro, has descended into
chaos and dictatorship.
I had the chance to visit Venezuela in 2018, just before the
country's strongman Nicolas Maduro staged a sham election. The years
that followed were a predictable disaster, bringing further suffering
on the Venezuelan people.
In late 2023, under severe repression, the Venezuelan opposition
organized a primary election that selected Ms. Machado as its candidate
for the July 2024 Presidential election. Using a tired old playbook,
the Maduro regime refused to allow her on the final ballot. Undeterred,
her colleague Edmundo Gonzalez was able to run in her stead. Not
surprisingly, given the country's near-failed state status, he won over
Maduro with two-thirds of the vote in a process meticulously documented
by domestic election observers.
What did the Maduro regime do? It, shamefully, refused to swear him,
as his successor, into office and forced him to flee the country. But
Maria Corina Machado refused to leave. She stayed while the regime
arrested key opposition supporters and threatened her as well.
While she remains in hiding for her own safety, she has continued to
fight for those election results to be respected and a return to
democracy in Venezuela. That steadfast courage in the face of such
cruelty is incredible and certainly worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen and I were on the telephone yesterday with
this brave young lady. She was determined as ever to see a better
future for the people of Venezuela. She has my continued admiration and
support in that effort.
Middle East
Mr. President, I want to say a few words about events in the Middle
East and Ukraine. Over the long weekend, the world saw what is,
hopefully, the beginning of the end of the war in Gaza.
I want to congratulate President Trump for the historic agreement
that made this possible. There are still critical elements to be
negotiated and settled. But the first phase, which included the release
of Israeli hostages and a cease-fire, is a good-faith start to a more
inclusive agreement. It won't be easy. The remaining steps will be
difficult and require sustained attention from President Trump and our
allies that helped make the beginning of this agreement a reality.
As New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wisely wrote this week,
``You don't have a second to rest. As someone who wants you to succeed,
I have to remind you: As hard as the first state was, you have not . .
. seen hard yet.''
I agree. There has been so much pain and suffering sparked 2 years
ago from Hamas's brutal October 7 attack and the ensuing war, and it
will take a long time, if ever, to heal. But this is the best chance in
a long time toward a more hopeful future where both people,
Palestinians and Israelis, can live in peace.
Similarly, I hope President Trump will now focus momentum from these
events and equal attention on seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. I
have said before, I don't begrudge President Trump for trying to engage
Russian President Putin to negotiate an end to this terrible conflict.
But it should be clear to everyone, and I hope it is clear to President
Trump, that Putin isn't interested nor serious. In fact, Putin has only
increased his deadly attacks on Ukraine since such good-faith outreach
by the United States.
Similarly, it is long overdue that the Senate pass bipartisan Russian
sanctions, a bill that now has 80 bipartisan sponsors, a bill I am
happy to support.
Putin only responds to force--military and economic--and it is time
for the President and Congress to stand behind the people of Ukraine
and to increase his pressure on President Putin.
Government Funding
Mr. President, I would like to respond to the comments made by my
colleague and friend Senator Barrasso from Wyoming on the floor this
morning.
Why is this government shut down? Why? What is the reason for it? The
President's party is in control in the White House, in the House, and
in the Senate and yet we stopped and the government shut down. Why?
Because there is a fundamental issue we are trying to resolve for the
good of the American people.
Well, let me give you an illustration.
What if I told you, if you live in Illinois, that, on October 27,
your health insurance company is going to send
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you a notice at your home; that it is going to announce what is going
to happen to your health insurance premiums on your insurance, on
January 1 of this coming year; and that it is also going to tell you,
for many people, that there is going to be a dramatic increase--
dramatic--of 114 percent; that your premium is going to more than
double?
Some people will say: That is all right. I have got plenty of money
in the bank. I am not worried about it a bit.
But most people will say: Doubled? It is already too high. What am I
going to do? How am I going to afford this? What is it going to do to
my family's budget if I have to pay twice as much on January 1 for my
health insurance? How did this happen? Who did this?
It is called the ``Big, Beautiful Budget Bill'' of President Trump.
That is what did it.
There is a tax credit that is available for millions of American
families to help them pay for their health insurance premiums. The
Republicans eliminate it, and when they eliminate it, people are on
their own to come up with money to pay for their health insurance.
Is it important? I think it is critical.
It is one of the most basic questions you are going to ask when you
ask: How is your family doing? Are you doing OK when it comes to health
insurance? If you have an unexpected, large medical bill, do you have
insurance to cover it?
Well, for thousands--maybe millions--of Americans, the new health
insurance plan is going to be too expensive for them to pay the
premiums.
So what do you do?
Well, you look for a plan that has a lot of money in out-of-pocket
expenditures for the people who are covered. It is the skinny policy,
only in catastrophes and calamities. That, unfortunately, is all you
have.
In the meantime, you are in a situation where your family, tomorrow,
may face a medical bill which will break the bank. That is what it
comes down to.
That is what this shutdown is about. We believe the Republicans
should help us in helping the families across America.
As I said, October 27 is the day of reckoning in Illinois for people
who are policyholders there. It is going to happen across the United
States. It is a policy they created on the Republican side, and we
should work with them to change it--the sooner, the better.
I yield the floor.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair
lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will
state.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to
proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371, a bill making
continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year
2026, and for other purposes.
John Thune, Eric Schmitt, Jim Justice, James E. Risch,
Tom Cotton, Steve Daines, Ted Budd, John R. Curtis,
John Boozman, Mike Rounds, Kevin Cramer, Bernie Moreno,
Ron Johnson, John Barrasso, Markwayne Mullin, James
Lankford, Tim Sheehy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
motion to proceed to H.R. 5371, a bill making continuing appropriations
and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, shall be
brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from North Carolina
(Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).
Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
Tillis) would have voted ``yea.''
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth)
is necessarily absent.
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 51, nays 45, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 573 Leg.]
YEAS--51
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Collins
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Wicker
Young
NAYS--45
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Durbin
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Thune
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--4
Cassidy
Duckworth
Tillis
Tuberville
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are
45.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.
The motion was rejected.
Motion to Reconsider
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is entered.
____________________