Legislative Session

Text in the Record

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027--Motion to Proceed

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 436, S. 4784. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows:

Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 436, S. 4784, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the

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Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

Smalltown South Dakota

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the weekend, I headed back to Jones County, South Dakota, for my high school reunion. It has been a few years since high school--just a few--but it is amazing how the years roll away when you head back and see some of the people who shaped your high school years. Some of them are missing now, of course: teachers; coaches; my parents--my dad, who was a teacher at my high school, a coach at my high school, and the busdriver at my high school; and my mom, who served as the school librarian. Needless to say, we Thune kids didn't get away with much in our high school years. My high school reunion this year happened to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the town of Murdo, where I grew up--current population, roughly, 500. And being back in Jones County and in Murdo really got me to reminisce about growing up in smalltown South Dakota, about how blessed I was to grow up in a small town in South Dakota. People discuss the loss of community today that can result from the circumstances of modern life. That was never something we had to worry about in Murdo. In Murdo, you knew you were part of a community. Rural South Dakotans are sturdy, independent people, but they also know from experience that you can't get by in a small town on the prairie without the support of your neighbors. And when someone was in need in Murdo, the whole town rallied around to help, whether it was an unexpected death in the family or the collapse of a barn roof. We celebrated with each other, too, whether it was the harvest, the Fourth of July, or pheasant season. And the whole town swelled with pride at one of its kids' achievements. I carry the sense of community and belonging I had growing up in Murdo with me to this day, and I carry those smalltown South Dakotans with me in a special way in my work here in Washington. When we look at a government regulation, I think about what impact it will have on smalltown South Dakota, on the people in our State, like the ones that I grew up with. Is it going to lighten their burden, or is it going to add new challenges on top of those they already face? Agriculture is the life blood of our State. It was the life blood of Murdo as well. Farmers and ranchers have a tough job: backbreaking work in all weathers--work that can be destroyed in an instant by a storm or a flood. I want to ensure that Washington isn't making their life even tougher than it is already. That is why I fought for things like the elimination of the death tax, so that the farmers and ranchers can hand down the family enterprise to their kids and don't have to spend time and money on costly estate planning. It is also why I fought to ensure that Federal farm programs are actually serving farmers, that they take into account the realities of farm life and keep pace with changes. You can bet that I had smalltown South Dakota in mind when I fought to pass tax relief for hard-working Americans in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and then when we made that new tax relief permanent in the Working Families Tax Cut just last year. I think a lot of my political beliefs have their roots in growing up in Murdo: from the belief that government ought to be limited--and if a matter can be handled at the State or local level, it should be--to my understanding of the importance of freedom, and the individual responsibility that comes with the freedoms we enjoy. I am grateful every day, Mr. President, for the blessings of growing up in a small town, in smalltown South Dakota, and I am proud to be a son of Murdo. 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. SCHUMER. 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 Minority Leader

The Democratic leader is recognized.

War Powers Resolution

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the hole Donald Trump is digging himself into in Iran has turned into a crater. Somehow Trump has convinced himself that the American people are cheering him on on this blunder rather than crying out for him to bring our troops home. Today, Democrats are going to force another vote on our War Powers Resolution to end this war; to get our troops out of harm's way; and to force Trump to face the reality of this catastrophe. Will our Republican colleagues join us, or are they just going to keep their heads in the sand? They know how bad this is. They are hearing it from one end of the country to another, but they are so afraid of speaking truth to power-- of telling Donald Trump he is wrong--that they almost time after time-- the vast majority of them--vote to go along with this war that is not achieving any goals and is raising our gas prices now to above $4. Yesterday, Trump said of the American people ``they're not against the war.'' Trump, wake up. No one wants this war but you and your cronies and the supine Republican Senators and Congressmen who go along. The American people are against this war. They are against seeing our men and women in uniform get killed and wounded for a war that seems to have no direction or purpose. They are against hearing Trump and Hegseth lie about casualties, and they are definitely against paying over 4 bucks for a gallon of gas. In fact, this morning, oil, once again, hit $100 a barrel as the war continues to spiral. Just this week, we saw polling that the war in Iran is America's least popular war since polling began. Let me say that again so Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues can hear it. Just this week, we saw polling that the Iran war is America's least popular war since polling began. So, when Donald Trump says the American people are not against the war, he has got his head deep, deep, deep in the sand. Even Trump's MAGA supporters are starting to sour on the war. No one--no one--wants to watch Donald Trump keep pouring gasoline on a fire he claims to have put out weeks ago. Donald Trump's war is ramping up, not winding down. If Donald Trump won't listen to the American people and end this war, then Congress must. Bipartisan majorities in both Chambers of Congress have already passed legislation to end Trump's aimless, illegal, ruinous war. We will keep demanding Donald Trump end this war with another vote today. We are going to keep the pressure on our Republican colleagues, and that is what we are supposed to be doing here because it is Congress that has the power to bring war; so it is perfectly appropriate and right and part of our obligation as the opposition party to force our Republican colleagues to vote again and again and again until they see the light. Senate Republicans need to stop indulging the President's foreign policy of fantasy and support our War Powers Resolution to bring our troops home. When are Senate Republicans going to stand up? When will they say ``enough''? The American people are watching. Senate Republicans will lose credibility with the American people with every vote they take against ending Trump's war.

Tariffs

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