[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S539-S540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to
Proceed
Mr. GRASSLEY. For the majority leader, I move to proceed to Calendar
No. 311, H.R. 7147.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 311, H.R. 7147, a bill
making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Iran
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on December 28, last year, merchants in
Tehran's Grand Bazaar took to the streets, protesting high inflation,
protesting currency devaluation, and protesting a worsening economy in
Iran. Accompanied by frustrations of constant political repression,
then thousands of Iranian citizens have gone to the streets to protest.
So what would you think is the normal thing in an authoritarian
government? These Iranian government authorities responded with more
repression and violence against their own people--their own Iranian
people.
On January 8, 2026, the regime also implemented a complete internet
blackout. That made it, obviously, harder for Iranians to communicate
with one another and to share evidence of the regime's abuses with the
outside world.
The same internet blackout has made it also more difficult to confirm
how many protesters have been injured or killed. These reports suggest
that thousands of protesters have been killed, and more than 41,000
have been arrested. And that happens to be more than double the number
arrested in previous protests. The latest were in 2022, when Mahsa
Amini was murdered, and the protests that followed that murder.
The violence and lethal force used against Iranian citizens is
alarming, and if you saw it on the streets on our own television, you
would say it is outrageous. That is why I was glad to see President
Trump out in front, speaking out against this violence and supporting
the Iranian citizens who were doing nothing more than fighting for
their freedom and liberty.
It was also encouraging to see the Department of Treasury and the
Department of State announce sanctioning of Iranian individuals who are
involved in the violence against their own people.
So it is obvious the United States is not an enemy of the Iranian
people. I stand with the protesters in Iran and will continue to
support their fight for freedom, for dignity, and for a future free
from fear and repression.
I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.
Appropriations
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the clock is ticking for Republicans to
sit down with Democrats in a serious way to rein in ICE and end the
violence.
Last Saturday, we sent Republican leadership and the White House a
detailed proposal of legislative text for how Congress can put
necessary guardrails on ICE that America, from one end of the country
to the other, is demanding. We got the Republican response last night,
but it included neither details nor legislative text. We need to see
more from Republicans very soon.
As I have said, what Democrats proposed is the definition of common
sense. We simply want ICE to follow
[[Page S540]]
the same standards that most law enforcement agencies across America
already follow. We must end roving patrols. We must have a code of
conduct. We must end secret police who are not identified.
I want to be very clear about something else. These guardrails on ICE
must apply across the board, including to operations funded through the
Republicans' so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. We can't have ICE agents
claiming they don't need to follow the law because they are being
funded by this pot of money instead of that pot of money. That would be
absurd. Our reforms must apply to all ICE operations.
The American people proudly support law enforcement, but most agree
the status quo with ICE cannot continue. What ICE has been doing in
Minneapolis and other cities is the antithesis of law enforcement. It
is intimidation, coercion, and puts people in danger.
Later today, the heads of ICE, Border Patrol, and other enforcement
Agencies will testify in the House for the first time since the killing
of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Today's testimony will make one thing
very clear: For all the administration's talk of lowering the
temperature, little meaningful change has happened in Minneapolis.
Thousands of agents are still roaming the streets. People are still
being assaulted by Federal law enforcement. And it is only a matter of
time before someone else gets seriously hurt or, God forbid, killed.
If heads of ICE and Border Patrol are genuine about lowering the
temperature, they should tell Congress that the only real answer is
commonsense bipartisan legislation. Nothing else will suffice.
In the meantime, here in the Senate, Democrats await the next answer
from our Republican counterparts. We hope they bring us legislative
text very soon, just as we sent legislative text to them on Saturday.
Environmental Protection Agency
Mr. President, in terms of the permit announcement, this week the
Trump administration is set to take one of its most nakedly corrupt
steps since Donald Trump returned to office--and that is saying a lot--
a wholesale reversal of essentially all greenhouse gas regulations.
Specifically, the administration is set to repeal the EPA's
endangerment finding, basically the bedrock scientific determination
that says greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to our public health
and, therefore, should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Trump is making a radical move that will send shock waves across the
economy--uncertainty for manufacturers, States, regulators everywhere--
and it flies in the face, of course, of basic science.
Let's be very clear what this announcement represents. It is a
corrupt giveaway to Big Oil, plain and simple. When Big Oil calls a
tune, the Republican Senators dance. They are just in their pockets, as
we have seen over and over again with clean energy regulations and so
much else. Big Oil has worked tirelessly for decades to undermine rules
that protect against emissions. And now that they have their guy in the
White House, they are taking the biggest swing yet.
Remember, in the spring of 2024, Donald Trump invited top oil
executives to Mar-a-Lago and told them, if you raise me $1 billion to
get elected, I will cut regulations so you can make more money. That
Devil's bargain is now coming true.
I never thought it would be this way in America, in this bald,
disgusting way that so hurts people's health. But there it is.
Who will pay the price for Donald Trump's corruption? Quite
literally, every single community in this country. The repeal will hurt
kids with asthma. The repeal will hurt homeowners and destabilize
insurance markets as extreme weather gets worse and worse.
The blast radius of this reckless decision will span from San Diego
to Portland, ME, and from Seattle to Miami. Never in American history
have we had a President who promised to fight for everyday Americans so
boldly only to betray so nakedly that promise in broad daylight time
and time and time again.
This is quite literally one of the biggest giveaways to Big Oil that
you could come up with. The economic and health consequences for
everyone else will be severe.
Americans are tired of Donald Trump's limitless corruption, and they
will bring a reckoning to all Republicans who stand with Donald Trump
when they go to the ballot box later this fall.
(The remarks of Mr. Schumer pertaining to the introduction of S. 3815
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. 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 PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
____________________