[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3181-S3182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Trump Administration

  Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, as a former English major, one of 
the great tales in Greek mythology was the legend of King Midas.
  As the story goes, Midas was granted a wish. He wished that 
everything he touched would turn to gold.
  At first, it seemed like a blessing. Twigs became gold. Stones became 
gold.
  Midas thought he had found true wealth. But he soon realized it 
wasn't much of a blessing. It was more of a curse.
  Midas' food turned to gold. His water turned to gold. And, 
eventually, even his daughter turned to gold.
  The lesson is simple: A man who mistakes gold for greatness will end 
up with neither.
  President Trump never learned that lesson, and he corrupts pretty 
much whatever he touches.
  Take his gold-plated ballroom. The President promised it wouldn't 
cost taxpayers a nickel, but those promises turned out to be fool's 
gold.
  The cost has skyrocketed and President Trump now wants to spend $300 
million of your taxpayer money to pay for it. He is not building 
affordable housing in Denver, Durango; he is building a ballroom for 
himself and his rich friends to enjoy.
  President Trump promised to drain the swamp; instead he has turned 
the Reflecting Pool into an algae-infested bird killer. The 
administration awarded a no-bid contract for this project to President 
Trump's neighbor, one of his donors. The renovation was supposed to 
cost $1.5 million. It is now estimated at $16 million, and the job 
still isn't done.
  President Trump isn't working to extend the Affordable Care Act 
subsidies or reverse the Medicaid cuts that will kick 240,000 
Coloradans off of their healthcare. His Reflecting Pool got a makeover 
while our insurance pool was gutted.
  Now President Trump wants to build an enormous arch near Arlington 
Cemetery. While planning this project, he unilaterally, on his own 
volition, went to war with Iran, promising immediate victory, total and 
complete.
  What he has delivered is one of the great failures in our Nation's 
history. He made America less safe and less secure.
  He made America's economy weaker, and 14 American servicemembers lost 
their lives. When asked about the tragic casualties, President Trump 
said:

       [T]here will likely be more before it ends. That's the way 
     it is.
       That's the way it is.

  Our heroes deserve a Commander in Chief who looks out for them, not a

[[Page S3182]]

monument looking down on them. This administration seems to believe the 
key to making America great again is more bouillon and more branding, 
like King Midas. They don't seem to understand where true wealth comes 
from.
  America's prosperity isn't measured in monuments; it is defined by 
dreams, dreams that are only made possible here in this country. Those 
dreams are what brought me to Colorado as a geologist 20 years ago--or 
I should take that back--45 years ago, and they are what inspired me to 
enter public service, so one day my sons and your daughters will 
inherit a country where everyone has an equal shot at life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness.
  But right now the American dream is slipping out of reach because the 
deck is stacked against working people. Whether your biggest worry is 
fuel or fertilizer or gas or groceries, whether you live in a mountain 
community or an inner city, whether you are surrounded by cows or 
concrete, this administration's misplaced priorities are making life 
harder for you. And I don't think it has to be this way.
  First, we have got to stop the bleeding from this administration. We 
have got to end the illegal war, end the disastrous tariffs. We must 
curb ICE's lawlessness and repair our social safety net, reversing the 
administration's cuts to healthcare, to SNAP, to student aid. But then 
we have got to get back to making your life better once again.
  We need to lower the cost of living. We need to create more and 
better jobs and protect our public lands. This work is not going to be 
easy as we mark America's 250th anniversary--our 250th anniversary. 
Many are questioning whether we are still capable of meeting the 
magnitude of this moment, a moment where a technological revolution 
promises unbelievable innovation at unprecedented speed like a runaway 
train.
  It also leaves us more isolated and struggling to discern fact from 
fiction. A moment when the consequences of climate change are 
increasingly impossible to ignore with unprecedented wildfires, 
drought, destruction; a moment when wealth is flowing to the wealthiest 
Americans at an unprecedented rate. I am not immune to skepticism, 
frustration, despair, but a better and a brighter future requires that 
we work harder and harder and harder. It requires us to giddyap.
  Progress is possible because we have seen it, we have done it. This 
week Congress passed the biggest housing reform bill in decades.
  We worked with Senator Warren to diminish Wall Street from buying 
single-family homes and to limit their influence in disturbing the 
housing markets. This matters to every Coloradan because home ownership 
is one of the single best paths to economic stability and upward 
mobility.
  It is a reminder that our government works best when it works for 
working people. When it does, good policy reflects our highest values; 
and the values that made this country have always been about 
opportunities for all, not wealth at all costs.
  Earlier this morning right as the bill was about to be signed, 
President Trump decided to hold the legislation hostage. Instead of 
passing this commonsense bill, he wants to peddle a voter suppression 
bill that has literally nothing to do with housing.
  This is a clear choice before us. Speaker Johnson and Senator 
Grassley and Senator Thune should sign this housing bill and send it to 
the White House, or they should not adjourn Congress for the July 4th 
recess; it is as simple as that.
  This saga is exactly why so many Americans have lost so much faith in 
our President. He has had every opportunity to lower costs, but he 
chooses not to. The Coloradans I meet on the Front Range or the West 
Slope aren't looking for more attacks on mail-in voting; they aren't 
looking for more ballrooms, bombs, and billionaires. They are looking 
for help, all the while looking out and helping each other.
  I see it across Colorado, people showing up for their neighbors, 
families sharing what they can: Meals, clothing, rides to school. 
America's wealth has never been found in monuments, reflecting pools, 
or arches. It is found in our families. It is found in our communities. 
It is found in you. Our charge has always been to help each other and 
to keep the American dream alive for the next generation. That is what 
it has always meant to be a Coloradan. That is what it has meant to be 
an American. And that is worth more than gold.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.