[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 22 (Friday, January 30, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S411-S417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 7148) making further consolidated
appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026,
and for other purposes.
Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Amendment No. 4272
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4272 and ask that
it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul], for himself and Mr.
Lee, proposes an amendment numbered 4272.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To eliminate funding for refugee and entrant assistance)
In title II of division B, under the heading ``refugee and
entrant assistance (including transfer of funds)'' under the
heading ``Administration for Children and Families'', strike
``$5,163,956,000'' and all that follows through ``sections
462 and 235.'' and insert ``$0.''
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, a freelance journalist discovered recently
that billions of dollars had been stolen from welfare programs in
Minnesota. Congress didn't discover this theft; a member of the public
did. How did Congress respond? Did Congress open an investigation? Did
Congress claw back the money from Minnesota? No. Congress simply
decided to give another $5 billion in refugee welfare.
My amendment says: Stop. No more welfare for refugees until there is
a nationwide investigation of the level of this fraud. No more welfare
for refugees until Congress balances the budget.
America can't be the world's sugar daddy when we can't even afford
welfare for our own citizens.
[[Page S412]]
Many refugees are good people--frankly, some of the best Americans
just got here--but our welcome mat should not be a welfare check.
Anyone who sponsors immigrants or refugees should be responsible for
their welfare. Charity is when you give your money. Any groups
assisting immigrants or refugees should themselves be responsible for
the welfare of the refugees.
So my amendment will remove from the bill a little over $5 billion
from the refugee welfare programs. I ask for a ``yes'' vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to amendment
No. 4272. This amendment would completely eliminate funding for an
office that helps some of the most vulnerable in our country. This
office helps shelter and care for children who are seeking safety. It
makes sure that these children aren't being trafficked. It makes sure
these children aren't stuck in cages in Border Patrol facilities for
extended periods of time. This office also supports refugees who are
victims of torture and human trafficking and who have been admitted to
the United States by this administration, by the Trump administration.
Lastly, I will note that this program and its funding are supported
by President Trump and were passed out of our Appropriations Committee
with near unanimous support.
This amendment is ill-advised, and I urge my colleagues to vote no.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise to join my ranking member on the
subcommittee that we share leadership on. I do thank Senator Paul, but
I rise in opposition to his amendment. As she has stated, this
amendment would eliminate HHS funding provided in the bill--which the
Trump administration actually requested in their budget--that will
allow the Agency to drastically improve sponsor vetting for
unaccompanied children, ensuring that they are no longer released to
human traffickers.
The Biden administration spent 4 years creating this problem, and
while the Trump administration is making good progress in remediating
the damage, this funding is necessary to continue the work of improving
the safety and security of unaccompanied children. Thus, this funding
will help to reimburse States, like Texas and Florida, for the cost of
statutorily required assistance to certain legal refugees and to
support victims of trafficking and victims of torture.
I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, all week, Democrats have made clear that
there is a simple, commonsense path forward.
First, pass these five critical funding bills that we all
overwhelmingly agree on and prevent a serious shutdown. Secondly, split
off the DHS bill so we can negotiate reforms to rein in ICE and the
CBP. It is what the vast majority of Americans want Congress to do.
It is good news that we have a deal to fund these key programs that
families count on while work continues on serious DHS accountability
over the next 2 weeks. It could not be more clear that ICE and the CBP
are out of control and that we cannot just wait for the same President
who caused this mess to address it.
Congress cannot pass a Homeland Security bill until real restraints
are in place. It is that simple.
Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for this package.
Let's pay our troops, fund clinical trials right now, work to rein in
DHS, and end the chaos that is happening on America's streets.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I yield back all time on Paul amendment No.
4272.
Vote on Amendment No. 4272
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on adoption of the
amendment.
Mr. PAUL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the
Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy).
The result was announced--yeas 32, nays 67, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 14 Leg.]
YEAS--32
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Britt
Budd
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McCormick
Moody
Moreno
Paul
Risch
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Tuberville
NAYS--67
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Boozman
Cantwell
Capito
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hyde-Smith
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lujan
Markey
McConnell
Merkley
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Ricketts
Rosen
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NOT VOTING--1
Cassidy
The amendment (No. 4272) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Amendment No. 4241
Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4241 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Missouri [Mr. Schmitt] proposes an
amendment numbered 4241.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To eliminate National Endowment for Democracy funding)
In title I of division F, under ``RELATED PROGRAMS'',
strike the heading ``National Endowment for Democracy'' and
everything that follows under such heading.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes equally divided.
Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, we are at an inflection point right now
in America's role in the world. As we reassess how we deploy our time,
money, and political capital abroad, Congress has an obligation to
ensure that taxpayer-funded organizations operate within the mission
and guardrails Congress has established.
The National Endowment for Democracy was created to support
democratic norms overseas, not to engage in domestic political advocacy
or to amplify one side of America's internal debates. That distinction
is essential to its legitimacy.
Yet there is ample evidence that NED has drifted from its statutory
mission. Senior leadership and staff have used official positions to
engage in domestic political advocacy, and NED funded a foreign
organization that created ideological blacklists of conservative
American media outlets.
These concerns go directly to whether NED is fulfilling the role
Congress intended. That is why the President's budget included no
funding for NED this year.
I requested the State Department inspector general investigate NED's
leadership conduct and the use of taxpayer dollars. Until that
investigation is complete--
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. SCHMITT. I would argue that if we are true to advocating the
democratic norms, accountability must come first in our own democracy.
I urge adoption of the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, President Ronald Reagan founded the
National Endowment for Democracy, in 1983, as an independent, nonprofit
foundation with a bipartisan board, and since then, it has been the
main way that the United States has helped to strengthen democratic
institutions around the world.
[[Page S413]]
NED exposes Russian propaganda, counters Chinese Communist Party
censorship, circumvents the Iranian regime's efforts to silence
critics, and highlights corruption and drug trafficking in Venezuela.
And it does all of that for a fraction of a penny on the dollar.
Let's be perfectly clear. Letting authoritarians go unchecked
directly undermines our interests and our safety, and these attacks
against NED, led by a small group of people, have been repeatedly
proven to be lies. It is why the House defeated the same amendment
resoundingly.
I urge my colleagues to vote no.
Vote on Amendment No. 4241
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on adoption of the
amendment.
The amendment (No. 4241) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
Amendment No. 4236
Mr. LEE. I call up my amendment No. 4236 and ask that it be reported
by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Utah [Mr. Lee] proposes an amendment
numbered 4236.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To strike all earmarks)
At the appropriate place in the matter preceding division
A, insert the following:
SEC. __. STRIKE OF EARMARKS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, none of
the funds provided under any division of this Act may be used
for any Congressionally Directed Spending project specified
in any provision of any such division.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes equally divided.
The Senator from Utah.
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, this amendment would strike the earmarks from
this bill. In this bill package, there is about $7 billion in earmark
spending.
Now, a lot of people like to say: I don't like those other earmarks,
but I like my own. So I am going to vote for all of it so they can all
stay in there.
Remember, the Republican conference, back in 2010, adopted an earmark
moratorium. This was converted into a permanent earmark ban, in 2019,
that is still in effect, which shouldn't be ignored.
What do these $7 billion do? Well, among other things, they do a lot,
including a whole lot of them in spending on ``woke, wasteful, and
unjustified'' spending: for recipients to fund housing and legal aid
for illegal aliens; puberty blockers for kids; building EV charging
stations, part of the ``green new scam''; subsidize California's
disaster rail system; fund infrastructure and renovation projects at
the wealthy Met Museum and the Michigan AFL-CIO; a dance festival in
Massachusetts; DEI initiatives.
Look, we don't need this. We don't want this. This is what is driving
the train toward the $38.5 trillion debt that we are adding to at a
rate of $2 trillion a year. It is unacceptable. It must end.
Support my amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
The Senator from Maine.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, Members of Congress understand the needs
of our constituents far better than any well-intentioned Federal
employee located here in Washington.
The CDS projects provide funding for States, communities, and
nonprofit organizations. The process is completely open and
transparent. Senators who submit such requests are required to post
their requests on their official websites, along with a certification
that neither they nor their immediate family members have any financial
interest in the items requested.
All of the fiscal year 2026 CDS requests submitted to the
Appropriations Committee can be found in a searchable table that has
been posted on the committee's website.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Motion to Table
Ms. COLLINS. I urge our colleagues to defeat this amendment, and I
move to table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on agreeing to the
motion.
Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 67, nays 33, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 15 Leg.]
YEAS--67
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Boozman
Britt
Cantwell
Capito
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Fischer
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Kaine
Kelly
Kennedy
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
McConnell
Merkley
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Sheehy
Slotkin
Smith
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--33
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Budd
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Johnson
Justice
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McCormick
Moody
Moreno
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Tuberville
Young
The motion was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Amendment No. 4234
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I call up Lee amendment No. 4234
and ask that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Florida [Mr. Scott of Florida], for Mr.
Lee, proposes an amendment numbered 4234.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To strike the earmark for the Community and Training Center
by the New Immigrant Community Empowerment)
At the appropriate place in the matter preceding division
A, insert the following:
SEC. __. STRIKE OF NEW IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
EARMARK.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, none of
the funds provided under any division of this Act may be used
for the Community and Training Center by the New Immigrant
Community Empowerment.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I would like to thank my
colleague Senator Lee for working with me to stop Democrats' wasteful
spending in this package and bring accountability for the American
people.
Our Nation is nearly $39 trillion in debt, running $2 trillion
deficits, and spending billions of dollars--up to 10 percent of our
Federal spending--on fraud and abuse.
This waste is fueled, in part, by billions upon billions of wasteful
earmark spending by Democrats who treat taxpayers' cash like candy. We
should be looking at each dollar to make sure it is spent wisely.
I did that as Governor of Florida, and I was able to balance our
budget.
Let's start by looking at one earmark, $500,000 for new immigrant
community empowerment in New York City. This is an organization that
serves immigrants who are here illegally. Why should the American
taxpayer foot the bill to support illegals in sanctuary cities when so
many American citizens are struggling themselves?
We will never get inflation under control and interest rates down
until we balance the Federal budget. I ask my colleagues to support my
amendment to stop wasteful spending and wasteful earmarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time is expired.
The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this amendment would strike funding for
one Member's project simply because the Senator offering the amendment
doesn't like the project. That is not how this process should work.
Every Senator has the opportunity to submit requests to have projects
in their State funded in our appropriations bills.
[[Page S414]]
Those requests are vetted for compliance with critical guardrails,
and Senators must attest they have no financial stake in the project.
If a project meets that criteria, it is eligible for funding. And if
eligible projects are funded in a bill, we need to respect each
Senator's ability to fund the projects that are important to them and
their State. Full stop.
This amendment completely overrules another Senator on a project they
have secured funding for and threatens to really derail a carefully
negotiated bill.
Motion to Table
Mr. President, I oppose this amendment. I move to table the Lee
amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
table.
Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 58, nays 42, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 16 Leg.]
YEAS--58
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Boozman
Cantwell
Capito
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hyde-Smith
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
McConnell
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--42
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Britt
Budd
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McCormick
Moody
Moreno
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tuberville
Young
The motion was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
Amendment No. 4286
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4286 and ask that
it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Utah [Mr. Lee] proposes an amendment
numbered 4286.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To eliminate funding for the United States African
Development Foundation)
In title III of division F, under ``BILATERAL ECONOMIC
ASSISTANCE'', strike the heading ``united states african
development foundation'' and everything that follows under
such heading.
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, something happened very significant this
morning. This morning, it was announced that the Chief Financial
Officer of this Agency, USADF, has been charged and simultaneously pled
guilty to corruption charges this morning. The Department of Justice
just announced it.
Also, we have received word from the Acting Chairman and CEO of USADF
a request that we defund this entity because, as he put it, it is trash
and, as he put it, it is a corrupt culture of waste, fraud, and abuse.
So when the Acting Chairman and CEO of an entity that is getting all
this public funding--all these millions of dollars--says defund it
because we have a problem here--meanwhile, the DOGE office at the
Department of War, today, echoed that and agreed with his assessment--
please, colleagues, join me. This one is not an earmark. This is
spending within the bill--spending within the bill where the head of
the entity asked us to defund it because the culture within that entity
is impossibly corrupt. We must end it. Please support my amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. COONS. The CEO of the U.S. African Development Foundation is one
Peter Marocco, known to all of us, who watched how DOGE came in and
tore up most of our foreign assistance organizations.
Yes, an individual pled guilty today to a $12,000 bribe. No, that is
not the reason to shut down abruptly and end the process that has gone
on since 1980, by which this organization--which has long enjoyed
bipartisan support--makes grants at a very modest level to dozens of
African organizations and countries using matching funds from private
donors and other countries.
The SFOPS bill, of which this is a part, already addresses concerns
about the ongoing investigation. This organization, which I have
visited in the field over the last decade, has a long and strong record
of delivering results. This one event today being misrepresented by
this entity leader, who is a DOGE individual who has locked out all of
the employees of this foundation and prevented it from functioning,
should not lead to its closure.
Motion to Table
I move that it be tabled, that this amendment, Lee No. 4286, be
tabled.
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 10 seconds to
respond.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, the fact that the acting president and CEO is
a DOGE individual doesn't disqualify him from making this statement. It
is corruption. Sure, it has been going on since the eighties, but so
have a lot of things that are corrupt. We must defund this now.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant executive clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 58, nays 42, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 17 Leg.]
YEAS--58
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Boozman
Cantwell
Capito
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Cramer
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hoeven
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
McConnell
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--42
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Britt
Budd
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McCormick
Moody
Moreno
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tuberville
Young
The motion was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Amendment No. 4290
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4290 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The senior assistant executive clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] proposes an
amendment numbered 4290 to H.R. 7148.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To rescind certain amounts appropriated for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and certain changes to Medicaid)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ____. REPEAL OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR U.S. IMMIGRATION AND
CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Repeal.--Sections 90003 and 100052 of Public Law 119-21
(139 Stat. 358, 387) (commonly known as the ``One Big
Beautiful Bill Act'') are repealed and the unobligated
balances of amounts made available under those
[[Page S415]]
sections (as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act) are rescinded.
(b) Repeal of Changes to Eligibility Determinations.--
(1) Repeal.--Section 71107 of the Act titled ``An Act to
provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con.
Res. 14'' (Public Law 119-21) is repealed and title XIX of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) shall be
applied as if such section and the amendments made by such
section had not been enacted.
(2) Rescission.--The amounts appropriated under section
71107(c) of the Act titled ``An Act to provide for
reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14''
(Public Law 119-21) are hereby rescinded.
(c) Repeal of Changes to Medicaid Cost Sharing
Requirements.--
(1) Repeal.--Section 71120 of the Act titled ``An Act to
provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con.
Res. 14'' (Public Law 119-21) is repealed and title XIX of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) shall be
applied as if such section and the amendments made by such
section had not been enacted.
(2) Rescission.--The amounts appropriated under section
71120(c) of the Act titled ``An Act to provide for
reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14''
(Public Law 119-21) are hereby rescinded.
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, as part of the so-called Big Beautiful
Bill, President Trump and Republicans threw 15 million Americans off of
Medicaid through massive cuts to that program. At the same time, they
did something even more dangerous. That legislation appropriated $75
billion for ICE over a 4-year period on top of the previously
appropriated 10 billion a year.
When you give ICE that huge amount of money, you are not talking
about an agency for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You are
talking about a domestic army, which is now terrorizing and killing
people in Minneapolis and other communities around this country. That
must end.
This amendment rescinds the 75 billion appropriation for ICE and
transfers that money to Medicaid. We don't need a domestic army in
America to terrorize people. We need to guarantee healthcare to all
Americans.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, I rise today in objection to the amendment
from the Senator from Vermont.
I would say the most dangerous thing that we have seen is the Biden
administration letting countless numbers of individuals illegally enter
our country.
I think if you were to ask Laken Riley's mother or Jocelyn Nungary's,
what they would say is we need more immigration enforcement. Our laws
should actually be followed.
And so the fact that this amendment would actually defund ICE and
then also would send taxpayer dollars to illegal immigrants for
Medicaid, which I am pretty sure everybody over here has said they are
not for, I think today will be a day of reckoning, and we will see
actually exactly where you all stand.
I yield the floor.
Vote on Amendment No. 4290
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on adoption of the
amendment.
Mr. SANDERS. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 49, nays 51, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 18 Leg.]
YEAS--49
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--51
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Husted). On this vote, the yeas are 49,
the nays are 51.
The 60-vote threshold having not been achieved, the amendment is not
agreed to.
The amendment (No. 4290) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Amendment No. 4287
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4287 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Merkley] proposes an amendment
numbered 4287.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To prevent the deferral or rescission of appropriations
within 90 days of their expiration)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. PROHIBITION ON LAST-MINUTE RESCISSIONS.
Notwithstanding any provision of the Impoundment Control
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.), a special message
transmitted under section 1012 or 1013 of such Act may not
propose to rescind or defer any budget authority that expires
on or before the date that is 90 days after the date on which
such special message is transmitted.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, article I, section 9 of our Constitution
puts the power of the purse here in Congress. Our Founders considered
this the difference between a democratic republic where the people's
representatives design and choose the programs and fund them and an
authoritarian state where a King decides what the programs are.
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that vision multiple times,
including in 1975 when it said a President could not impound funds and
in 1996 where it said Congress could not delegate the power of the
purse because it is given to us.
But an aberration has occurred--an aberration in which a President
can slow up funds, ask for Congress to undo the law that funded a
program at the end of a fiscal year, utilize a grace period, and then
the program reaches the end of the year and poof, like Cinderella's
carriage, it turns into a pumpkin, and the work we passed by law and
authorized by law is undone with no vote of Congress.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. MERKLEY. That is a violation of the Constitution. We have the
responsibility to defend the power of the purse. Let's honor our oath
to a democratic republic.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. MERKLEY. We are not an authoritarian state as long as we hold
onto the responsibilities assigned to us by the Constitution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
The Senator from Wyoming.
Point of Order
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the pending amendment No. 4287 contains
matter within the Budget Committee's jurisdiction. I, therefore, raise
a point of order against the amendment pursuant to section 306 of the
Congressional Budget Act and ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Motion to Waive
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the waiver provisions of the
applicable budget resolution, I move to waive applicable sections of
the act and applicable budget points of order for the purposes of the
pending measure because it is our responsibility to defend Congress and
the Constitution and preserve a democratic republic.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
waive.
Mr. MERKLEY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
[[Page S416]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty).
Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Hagerty) would have voted ``nay.''
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 47, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 19 Leg.]
YEAS--47
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--52
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
NOT VOTING--1
Hagerty
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 47, the nays are
52.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative. The motion is rejected.
The point of order is sustained and the amendment falls.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
Amendment No. 4273
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4273 and ask
that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Maine [Ms. Collins] proposes an amendment
numbered 4273.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To provide continuing appropriations for the Department of
Homeland Security)
(1) In section 2 in the matter preceding division A, strike
the matter relating to division H and insert: ``Division H--
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026''.
(2) On page 4, strike lines 17 through 25.
(3) Beginning on page 1132, strike line 9 and all that
follows through ``Sec. 554.'' on page 1235, line 16, and
insert:
``DIVISION H--FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026
``Sec. 101. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026
(division A of Public Law 119-37) is amended by striking the
date specified in section 106(3) and inserting `February 13,
2026'.
``Sec. 102. For the purposes of the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37),
the time covered by such division shall be considered to
include the period which began on or about January 31, 2026,
during which there occurred a lapse in appropriations.
``Sec. 103. Amounts made available in the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37)
and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 for personnel
pay, allowances, and benefits in each department and agency
shall be available for payments pursuant to subsection (c) of
section 1341 of title 31, United States Code and such
payments shall be made.
``Sec. 104. All obligations incurred and in anticipation
of the appropriations made and authority granted by the
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law
119-37) and by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 for
the purposes of maintaining the essential level of activity
to protect life and property and bringing about orderly
termination of Government function, and for purposes as
otherwise authorized by law, are hereby ratified and approved
if otherwise in accord with the provisions of such Act.
``Sec. 105. ''.
(4) On page 1235, strike lines 22 and 23 and insert:
``This division may be cited as the `Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2026'.''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Collins
amendment No. 4273 is agreed to.
The amendment (No. 4273) was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill by title for the
third time.
The amendments were ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support the
funding package that is before us. It includes full-year funding for
the following bills: the Department of Defense; Financial Services and
General Government; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education;
National Security; Department of Defense; Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development.
Colleagues, when we pass this package and when it is signed into law
on top of the previous packages, we will have funded 96 percent of all
of government.
(Applause.)
Mr. President, the package also continues funding for the Department
of Homeland Security for 2 weeks to allow us additional time to
evaluate further changes in ICE procedures beyond those that we have
already included in this bill.
Let me end by thanking our Appropriations Committee members for the
tremendous efforts that they put into getting us to this wonderful
achievement. These are fiscally responsible bills that reflect months
of hard work and deliberation from Members from both parties and both
sides of the Capitol.
Enacting this package will represent a major milestone and show that
Congress can work together in a bipartisan manner to carry out our
article I responsibilities and deliver real results for the people that
we are honored to represent.
Again, my thanks to the leadership and to the committee members and,
of course, to our great staff. I urge my colleagues to support this
important package.
Vote on H.R. 7148
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. PAUL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 71, nays 29, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 20 Leg.]
YEAS--71
Baldwin
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Cantwell
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Curtis
Daines
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hassan
Hawley
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Justice
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Murray
Ossoff
Peters
Ricketts
Risch
Rosen
Rounds
Schatz
Schmitt
Schumer
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Warner
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NAYS--29
Alsobrooks
Bennet
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cruz
Duckworth
Gallego
Heinrich
Johnson
Kelly
Kim
Klobuchar
Lee
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Padilla
Paul
Reed
Sanders
Schiff
Scott (FL)
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warnock
Warren
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas are 71, the nays are 29.
The bill, as amended, is passed.
The bill (H.R. 7148), as amended, was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.
The majority leader.
[[Page S417]]
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