“Social Security will run out of extra money in about six years. If Congress does not fix this, retirees will see their benefits cut by 22 percent in 2032. Both parties need to work together now to protect Social Security and prevent a major economic crisis.”

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security, and to remind everybody--because everybody knows or better know--that the Social Security primary trust fund will be depleted in just 6 years. As a result, come late 2032, the program will only have enough income from the payroll taxes to pay 78 percent of benefits due. That surplus was built up since a Republican, President Reagan, and a Democrat, then-Speaker Tip O’Neill, sat down and said: We can’t let anything bad happen to Social Security. So they put a plan together that passed almost unanimously in this U.S. Senate. I presume those two gentlemen--bipartisan they were--they thought it may only extend the program for 20 years or something. But as we see now, they had a plan that built up the surplus for the next 50 years, and that runs out in 2032. In other words, to emphasize, unless Congress acts quickly, retirees will see a 22-percent cut in their benefits, about the same as what Reagan and O’Neill saw happening in 1983. So this statistic alone should motivate the Congress to act expeditiously to ensure no disruption of benefits occur. Unfortunately, Congress has a tendency to put off action until too late and at the last moment. This is never the best approach. But with respect to addressing the Social Security funding shortfall, it poses a serious risk not only to the tens of millions of retirees but also a risk to the national economy. As a recent Mercatus Center paper documents, waiting until the last minute to act on Social Security puts this vital program on a collision course with the Nation’s growing fiscal crisis. The longer Congress waits to act, the more likely it is that any solution to Social Security will lean heavily on debt financing to bridge the funding gap. And that is how it is tied to the entire national economy. So come 2032, the Nation will already have outstanding debt larger than at any time in the Nation’s history relative to the size of our economy. Flooding the bond market with trillions of dollars in new debt, in short order, then risks setting off a chain of events leading to a fiscal crisis. Bond markets are likely to demand higher interest rates to absorb all the national debt. In other words, Congress needs to act in the same way that Reagan and Tip O’Neill acted in a bipartisan fashion, in 1983, to preserve Social Security. A bigger problem faces us today, and we should have a bipartisan agreement in this town, including a President who wants to get Social Security on a financially sound basis. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”

“I want the Senate to pass the sanctions bill named after our late colleague, Lindsey Graham. Russia pays for its war against Ukraine by selling oil and gas, especially to China. This bill gives the President the power to place high taxes on countries buying Russian energy and to punish the banks and people who help sell it. It also keeps sanctions in place against Iran. Cutting off this money will force Russia to negotiate and help end the war.”

“Mr. President, yesterday, we said goodbye to our friend and colleague Lindsey Graham. But though we said farewell, Lindsey’s work continues. Last night, we began consideration of the bill to which he devoted so much of his time and energy over the last year. He had worked on it with world leaders and Members of both parties here in Congress, and he was working on it on the day he died. That bill is now known as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. It will give the President important tools to hopefully end the war between Russia and Ukraine and bring peace where there has been war for too long. Russia invaded Ukraine 4\1/2\ years ago. Back then, many believed Ukraine would fall in less than a week. But Ukraine has denied the Russians the quick victory that they had expected. This war continues because Vladimir Putin wants it to continue. Over the course of the war, Russia has suffered 1.4 million casualties. By one estimate, Russian casualties are now 30,000 per month. Ukraine has slowed Russia’s advance. They have gone on the offensive within Russia’s borders. And with the war reportedly taking up a significant share of Russia’s budget, Putin is seeking to quash the opposition to it in his own country. But the war continues, as I said, because Putin wants it to continue and because he is able to keep it going. Russia funds its war effort in no small part through oil and gas sales facilitated by its so-called shadow fleet of ships flying under false flags. What the Graham Russia sanctions bill does is go after that source of funding. It gives the President authority to levy tariffs of up to 100 percent against the largest purchasers of Russian energy, of which China is the largest. You might recall that before the Russian invasion in 2022, the leaders of China and Russia declared a ``no limits’’ partnership between their two countries. Today, that partnership is most evident in China’s financing of the war by purchasing Russian oil and gas. This bill doesn’t stop with the purchasers of Russian energy, however; it also sanctions the government officials, private individuals, and banks and other enterprises that facilitate the sale of Russian gas and oil. In short, it takes direct aim at a key source of funding for Russia’s war effort because this war will not end until Putin is forced to come to the negotiating table in a real way. This bill is about denying Putin the ability to continue to prolong this war. President Trump has made his commitment to ending this war and bringing peace to Ukraine very clear. This bill will help him do that. They say you can know a man by the enemies he has made. Lindsey Graham didn’t have many fans in the Kremlin, nor was he liked in Tehran or Beijing, for that matter. I don’t think this bill has many supporters in those places either. This is a bill that aims to shut off a key source of strength for Russia’s war effort. It targets China’s source of cheap energy. It ensures the President can continue putting maximum economic pressure on Iran as well by extending for another 5 years the legislation that underpins many of the sanctions that are in place against the Iranian regime. We may have said farewell to Lindsey yesterday, but his work goes on. He believed in America, and he saw its promise in the hopes of men and women around the world who want their own democracies and freedom in their homelands. There was no greater friend to freedom-loving people than Lindsey Graham, and this bill is a part of that legacy--a legacy that will echo for many years to come. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”

“I want the Senate to pass the bill sanctioning Russia and Iran to honor the late Senator Lindsey Graham. This bill punishes countries that buy oil, gas, and uranium from Russia and Iran. Cutting off this energy money will stop them from funding their wars and attacks.”

“Mr. President, yesterday the Senate honored the life of our dear friend Lindsey Graham. It was a remarkable gathering of people from around the world, people who came to honor a man who really has done so very much for this body, for his home State of South Carolina, and for the Nation. I believe that today it is time to honor his tremendous legacy as well right here with a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I think the way to do that is to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act. It truly is a ``peace through strength’’ bill. No tribute I think would be more fitting to our friend Lindsey or be more forceful. This bill strengthens America’s national security while pressuring our adversaries to pursue peace; and that is what Lindsey was doing-- pursuing peace. This sanctions bill is a historic piece of legislation. They target Russia’s largest oil importers, target Russia’s leadership, target Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. Russia uses that shadow fleet to evade sanctions on its illegal oil. Most importantly, it targets other nations that buy Russian oil, that buy Russian natural gas, that buy Russian uranium. This is the way Russia is financing its brutal killing war in Ukraine. The penalties are swift; the penalties are severe. We know that energy is a cash cow of Putin’s war machine. It is also Russia’s Achilles’ heel. You cut it off, and Russia cannot continue to fight. Russia’s biggest customer, we know, is communist China. Next is India, and they are going to be hit hard by this. This is the way to cripple Russia’s war machine. Allies of Ukraine can qualify for exemptions. Those exemptions come from taking serious steps to end their own dependency on Russian energy products. For many years--and you and I have talked about this--Europe has spent more money on Russian energy than it has sent in aid to Ukraine. Mr. President, you are a warrior. You know this. You are from an energy State. You know these things are critically important, and they are true. This needs to change. Of course, Russia isn’t fighting Ukraine alone. In Putin’s war of aggression, it is Iran partnering with Russia. Iran has supplied Russia with drones, with missiles, with munitions. Russia has used these weapons to kill Ukrainian civilians and to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure. In return, Russia has shared with Iran--we know what they have shared with their regime: technology, intelligence, military support, all of those things. Iran has used this support to attack American troops. And you have worn the uniform; you have borne the battle. And we have seen the attacks on the American troops that hold the area in terms of how Iran holds the Strait of Hormuz hostage. It is continuing today. There were attacks yesterday. Russia and Iran both employ a shadow fleet of illegal oil tankers. They share sanctions-evading networks. They sell oil to many of the same buyers. They are all working together against us, against freedom-loving people. They both fund murder; they fund terrorism; and they do it with revenue from their energy products. That is why Iran has rightfully been added to this sanctions bill. Lindsey started it about Russia, and now we have added Iran with President Trump’s guidance. Together, Russia and Iran have built an ``axis of aggression,’’ and we know where the aggression is headed. Sanctioning those who buy oil from Russia and Iran disrupts this entire axis all at once. Passing this bill will make our country safer, and it makes our adversaries weaker. Senator Graham visited Ukraine shortly before he died. Lindsey was a friend of freedom in Ukraine. He never stopped working to build support for their cause. Lindsey succeeded. This is a bill that has united a broad coalition of U.S. Senators. The motion yesterday to proceed to the bill, over 80 Senators voted positively, voted for this motion. And I am one of the many cosponsors. Now it is time to pass this bill. Now it is time to push for peace. Today, Russia is at the point of maximum weakness, and so is Iran. Critical pieces of Russia’s energy infrastructure are today in shambles. A significant portion of its oil refinery capacity is no longer operable. Energy shortages are being felt all across Russia today. At the same time, Iran’s military has been severely degraded. Both Russia and Iran still refuse to accept plans for lasting peace. Russia and Iran respond only to strength, not to statements. It is time for the Senate to act and act decisively and to work toward lasting peace. Today is the day to pass the Lindsey Graham sanctions bill. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.”

“We should honor the late Senator Lindsey Graham by passing the sanctions bill he worked on. Democrats should also stop blocking the annual defense bill and work with us on extra funding for our military. Senator Graham cared deeply about our troops, and we need to pass these defense bills to protect our national security.”

“Mr. President, I would like to echo and reinforce the words of my good friend Senator Barrasso, the majority whip, Senator from Wyoming, who was doing a great job yesterday and the beautiful service that we had here in the Capitol and at the National Cathedral in honor of my very good friend and Senate colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. And, you know, the eulogies were great. It was a beautiful service. He was, as I mentioned, a dear friend, colleague, a patriot, a veteran, a staunch advocate for his State South Carolina, staunch advocate for the Senate, and a staunch advocate for a strong America. As Senator Barrasso just said, peace through strength in the sense of American freedom, not just at home but abroad. He was one of a kind--witty, brilliant. Certainly, Mr. President, as you know, one of our Nation’s most important and influential Senators. He had a great sense of humor. He loved to laugh. And a lot of us here on the Senate floor are talking about his legacy and what we should be doing to honor that legacy. Well, I think one of the things we should be doing--and we are doing it right now, and it is great--is this sanctions bill against Russia, against Iran. And Senator Graham had been leading the efforts on this sanctions bill for a couple years now, and we are passing it here in the Senate in an overwhelming bipartisan fashion. Over 80 Senators voted to get on the bill last night. I know Lindsey is looking down from Heaven very proud he made this happen. I was honored to be an original cosponsor of this bill from the very, very beginning working with him on these issues. And we have got more to do. I have a very analogous sanctions bill with regard to China and Taiwan that Senator Graham was a lead cosponsor of my bill. That is coming next. But it is about honoring him, and this is a bipartisan win. Mr. President, I think there is another way we need to honor Senator Graham, and it is not happening. It is kind of a new thing. We have got the minority whip coming to the floor, and I hope he can maybe respond to this. But it is a new thing that I have seen--I have never seen, actually, in my career, and we need to change it. And what that is, is getting on the National Defense Authorization Act to start debating it and working on a defense supplemental because we need it. Now, we are talking about honoring Lindsey Graham. I knew Lindsey Graham really, really well. I guarantee you Lindsey Graham would be on the Senate floor right now saying: Wait. We are moving our sanctions bill forward? Great. Bipartisan? Great. What about the NDAA--the National Defense Authorization Act--that funds our military, pay raises for our troops. It came out of the Armed Services Committee in a big bipartisan vote and then came to the Senate floor--screeching halt because the minority leader blocked it. By the way, I have been in the Senate almost 12 years. I have never seen that happen in my entire career. The bill that funds our military, that lays out the strategy and top-line number for our military during a dangerous time, is blocked by the Senate Democrats. Lindsey Graham would be on the floor raising hell about that. I have never seen it happen, and I have never had anyone on the other side of the aisle explain to me: Why are you blocking the bill that came out of committee in a strong bipartisan way during these dangerous times? You are blocking the bill to fund our military to take care of our troops? Unprecedented. So if we want to honor Lindsey Graham, which we all do, let’s not just vote for the sanctions bill, but let’s get on the NDAA and start debating it. I haven’t heard one Democrat Senator give a reason why they are blocking it. I have never seen this happen. This is new territory. Let me give you another one that I know Lindsey Graham would be on the floor right now advocating with me on. We need a defense supplemental, OK? When President Biden was President and Senator Schumer was majority leader, the Biden White House sent over a defense supplemental on Ukraine. Now, Senators like myself, Senator Graham, others, we said: All right. We will look at that. We will work on that. We will improve it. We will make it better. We think it is important for the national defense of our Nation--which it was. We put a lot in there for the defense industrial base, which we did. We beefed up stuff relating to China and Taiwan, which made it a better bill. We beefed up elements of that bill to make it stronger with regard to Israel and Iran--made it a better bill and then worked on it together. We made it a stronger bill and then Senators like myself and Senator Graham whipped other Republicans to get it passed, and we got it passed. It was a bipartisan defense supplemental, primarily for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and our defense industrial base. Now we need a defense industrial base supplemental for us--for America, for our troops, for our munitions. A couple years ago when the Biden administration with Senator Schumer in the majority, that happened, and a number of us--myself and Senator Graham--were like: All right. We will roll up our sleeves and work with you guys. What is happening on the defense supplemental now? No cooperation. No one on the other side of the aisle wants to help our troops, wants to help our munitions. This is new territory. I have been here two terms and on defense issues with Senator Graham--and, by the way, many other great Senators on the other side of the aisle. We have always locked arms and said: We are going to move forward on the NDAA; we are going to move forward on the defense supplemental, if our troops need it. And what is happening right now is new; it is different; and I think it is really bad for the country. And do you know who would be down on the Senate floor right now with me making the same arguments that I am? Senator Graham would be. So let’s keep talking about honoring Senator Graham. I love that guy. I am going to miss him every day. Such a great leader. So important to the Senate. Mind you, probably most the important Senator here given his work, given his relationship with the President. But let’s not say we are going to honor Senator Graham--and then we are going to block the NDAA? Lindsey Graham wouldn’t be doing that. We are going to not engage at all with the Trump administration on a defense supplemental that our Department of Defense needs? We didn’t do that when you guys were in the majority and President Biden was President. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work to benefit the national security of our Nation, which is what Lindsey Graham was always about. So let’s honor Lindsey Graham. Let’s have a strong vote on the sanctions bill that is named after him. But to my Democratic colleagues: You want to honor Lindsey Graham? Then let’s start debating the NDAA. Quit blocking it. I have never seen that before in my entire time here. That doesn’t help anything. All it does is undermine our national security and our troops. You are doing it. Lindsey wouldn’t be for that. And let’s start engaging on a defense supplemental. We need it. We did it when you were in the majority. We did it when Biden was in the White House. A lot of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know that what they are doing is wrong, and I still haven’t heard a good explanation. I know the far left is driving the energy of the party on the Democratic side right now and they don’t like the military and they don’t like supporting our troops. I know that. But the vast majority of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I know them. Let’s get going on the NDAA. Let’s get going on the defense supplemental bill. That is exactly what Senator Graham would be arguing today. I yield the floor.”

“I object to this bill. It gives green cards to people who were only supposed to stay here temporarily, and it even lets people who were already deported return. It also stops officers from using application details to enforce immigration laws, which harms American workers and communities.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I object to this mass amnesty bill. Last week, Democrats asked the Senate to extend Haitian temporary protected status. Today, they have dropped the quotation marks. Instead of extending temporary status, this legislation would convert temporary status into permanent status--green cards, permanent settlement. At least the bill last week continued the same old Washington lie. Today, Democrats finally admit what this scheme was always designed to be. Temporary was always meant to be permanent. It is the final stage of the scam. But that is how Democrats do mass amnesty. First, they declare an emergency. Then, they import hundreds of thousands of people. They then extend the program over and over and over. Then, they unleash activist lawyers against anyone who tries to enforce the deadline. When the American people finally elect a President to end this chaos, to end this abuse, Democrats demand mass amnesty. And when the American people finally elect a President who enforces the law, Democrats change the law and hand out green cards. That is what this bill does. It turns a program created for temporary emergencies into a pipeline for green cards and citizenship not only for people who have temporary status--not only for people who once had TPS; this bill reaches beyond our borders and allows people who were already removed from this country to apply for permanent residency from abroad. Think about how crazy that is. The law was enforced. The alien was removed. The case was closed. Yet Democrats want to erase the removal, reopen the border, and bring that person back with a green card. Under the radical, new Democratic immigration platform, deportation isn’t deportation; it is merely an inconvenience before a green card arrives. This bill does not merely reward those who broke our laws and remained in our country; it reaches around the entire globe to reverse deportations and to restart mass migration. But even that is not enough. This bill also creates an ICE blackout. Information provided in these applications can’t be used for immigration enforcement. The bill even threatens penalties against law enforcement who properly use the information. So Democrats want the information we have about foreigners to be placed behind a legal shield so it cannot be used to enforce immigration law. Republicans want to handcuff illegal criminals; Democrats want to handcuff law enforcement officers so they can’t do their jobs. They are not hiding the choice anymore. They will punish the officer before they punish the illegal alien. Why are illegal aliens more important to them now than protecting American citizens? Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. This bill ensures that any President-- any future President--can’t end TPS. So what is missing from the bill? Americans; American citizens and the impact mass migration is having on our people. This bill has no consideration for American wages; no consideration for American housing; no consideration of schools, hospitals, or communities; no consideration of whether mass migration serves the national interest of the American people. Every question is about what the foreign country needs; no question about what America needs or what American families need. That tells you everything that you need to know. To today’s Democrat Party, immigration policy is written for foreign governments, immigration lawyers, activist groups, and leftwing organizations waiting to file the next lawsuit. The American people are treated as a logistical obstacle. Their votes--our votes--are an inconvenience. Their communities--our communities--are an afterthought. Their country is treated as common property for the rest of the world. Democrats are becoming more and more radical by the day on this issue. Yesterday, they insisted that temporary programs must never end. Today, they demand permanent residency for all--permanent residency for people who already left, legal shields against law enforcement, and more ammunition for activist lawsuits. And they will turn around and call us cruel. You will hear it shortly. It will be said about me blocking this bill. Let me speak clearly to my Democrat colleagues: There is nothing compassionate about betraying your own citizens--the very citizens who put you in office. There is nothing compassionate about flooding the labor market with more foreign workers while Americans struggle for a decent wage. There is nothing compassionate about flooding the housing market and putting young families behind the eight ball. There is nothing compassionate about diluting American citizenship. America is a nation, not a global waiting room, not a refugee camp, not a lifetime stay at a taxpayer-funded hotel. Our immigration laws exist to serve the American people. Foreign nationals do not have a right to permanent settlement here. Today, I speak on behalf of the American people who have been ripped off by this scam for far too long. No more. We had an election on this issue. The Democrats have not gotten the message. They want the United States of America to be a global refugee camp cloaked behind their compassion. There is no compassion for the American people--the guy that swings the hammer, who is working 7 days a week so he can pay for the benefits of an illegal alien who they don’t ever want to leave this country. The American people are a sovereign people who have the right to decide who enters this country, who remains, and who has to leave. This bill reverses that principle. This Democrat bill tells the American people that their elections cannot end a temporary program, that the President cannot enforce the law, that their officers cannot use information in front of them, that their country belongs to everyone but them. Only the migrant’s claim matters. Only the foreign country matters. Only the ambulance-chasing immigration lawyer matters. I reject all of that completely, in public, for the world to see, because I stand by my brothers and sisters of this country. Last week, I objected to the Democrats’ attempt to give 350,000 Haitians extended TPS. Today, I am objecting to this Democrat attempt to give millions of illegal aliens mass amnesty, green cards, and work authorizations. I will always object to this mass amnesty. I will always object to this mass migration. I will always object to putting American workers last. I will always object to tying the hands of our law enforcement. So therefore I object.”