[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 129 (Thursday, August 6, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4486-S4487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 5345

  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Cassidy and 
Senator Wyden for the colloquy we just heard because we do need to 
tackle a number of challenges in the Social Security system.
  The most important job of government is, of course, to keep people 
safe. And increasingly, some of the most constant threats that 
Americans face are scams and identity theft.
  There has been a sharp rise in identity theft and online scams, 
including the theft of Social Security numbers. Identity theft is more 
than an annoyance; it can cost people their savings, jeopardize their 
credit, and more.
  This is a danger that we need to take seriously, just as we stopped 
highwaymen from menacing people on our streets, we similarly must stop 
the outlaws of the digital age from preying on our people.
  Unfortunately, even as criminals steal Social Security numbers, their 
victims, ordinary Americans, feel as if they have no one to turn to for 
help. It is not as simple as finding a police officer on the corner to 
retrieve a stolen wallet or purse.
  Criminals have modernized their methods. So the U.S. Government must 
modernize its response too. That is why I have introduced a bipartisan 
bill with Senator Grassley. Our bill would streamline the process for 
victims of identity theft to get help when their Social Security number 
is stolen, giving Americans a single point of contact at the Social 
Security Administration so that they can get the help that they need.
  When someone's Social Security number is stolen, when they are at 
risk of losing their hard-earned Social Security benefits, they deserve 
better than to have to navigate a never-ending maze of hold times and 
transfers as they try to find someone within the government who can 
help.
  This bill is only one step in the work we have to do to fight 
scammers, but it does mark a commonsense step that Americans from 
across the political spectrum can certainly get behind. This 
legislation will help keep more Americans safe, combat fraud and abuse, 
and makes our government work better for the American people.
  Families are already struggling enough right now with high costs. 
They deserve to be able to keep the money and benefits that they have 
earned without being threatened by online criminals. And when they are 
threatened, they should have access to a straightforward and prompt 
process to get help.
  Now, the House has already passed this bill on a strong bipartisan 
basis. So I hope that we can send this legislation to the President 
today.
  Mr. President, therefore, as if in legislative session and 
notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Finance be discharged from further consideration of

[[Page S4487]]

H.R. 5345 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that 
the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the 
motion to reconsider be considered made laid and upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, on the 
merits, there are no substantive objections to this legislation. 
However, we do have a challenge between the two Chambers of Congress.
  The Senate is doing its work. The Senate is taking up important 
pieces of legislation, reaching bipartisan agreement, and passing them; 
and they are going to the House of Representatives where right now they 
are simply sitting and languishing.
  House leadership has decided to adopt a strategy that is, frankly, 
indefensible. It is a strategy where they pass bills that originate in 
the House; they ignore bills that originate in the Senate, and they let 
them die.
  More than two-thirds of the bills to date that are passed into law 
have been bills that originated in the House of Representatives. There 
are numerous bills that this body has passed, often unanimously, 100 to 
nothing, that arrive in the House that no House Member has any 
substantive objections to them at all, and they simply put them in the 
freezer and do nothing.
  My colleague knows sometimes if you want to change the behavior of 
another Chamber, the only way to do so is to exercise leverage. And so, 
I have placed holds on all House bills coming over here unless and 
until they start taking up and passing Senate bills. Both Chambers need 
to do their work.
  Our Congress does not work if one of the two Chambers refuses to even 
consider legislation that has passed the other Chamber. I am in active 
negotiation with House leadership for them to start picking up and 
passing legislation here.
  One of those bills is a bill I authored called TREY'S Law. TREY'S Law 
was named for a young man in Texas just outside the Dallas area who was 
a little boy that was sexually assaulted at a summer camp repeatedly.
  He brought litigation. That litigation was settled, but as part of 
the settlement, he signed an NDA. He signed a contractual commitment to 
never tell anybody about the horrible sexual assault that he suffered.
  He lived with that grief, with that sorrow for the rest of what 
turned out to be his very short life. At age 28, Trey took his own 
life. TREY'S Law, which is named for him, is passed in the State of 
Texas; it has passed in numerous other States like Missouri and 
Alabama.
  It very simply says that NDAs are not enforceable to silence a victim 
of child sexual assault, that you cannot enforce contractual right to 
tell a child who has experienced that assault: You may not speak; you 
have no voice.
  This legislation in the Senate was bipartisan. I authored it with 
Senator Gillibrand. It passed the Senate 100 to nothing. It is sitting 
in the House, and they have declined to move.
  I say to my friend from New Hampshire, I am confident your 
legislation will pass and will pass the Senate as soon as the House 
ends its unreasonable blockade against Senate bills. I am in active 
negotiation with their leadership to get that result. We will get that 
result before the end of the year.
  I hope we get that result soon. I would very much like to lift all 
these holds and pass important legislation the Senate has already 
passed.
  However, because the House has not yet made that agreement, I have no 
choice but to object.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I appreciate the efforts of the Senator 
from Texas to get legislation that we have passed here passed through 
the House of Representatives.
  But I think it is really critically important to understand that 
while he is in these negotiations, people's identities are being 
stolen, people who need their Social Security benefits are going 
without as they try to navigate a complex and outdated Social Security 
system.
  It is high time that we pass this bill. I am disappointed that we 
weren't able to send this bill to the President today. I understand the 
concerns of the Senator from Texas, but I really do think this is 
urgent for our people. I hope that my colleague from Texas and I can 
work together in a bipartisan way to get this over the finish line 
soon.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.