Chris Van Hollen

“I am voting against this bill. It will not actually lower electric bills, because it only asks states to look at the high energy costs caused by data centers without requiring them to do anything. I want the Senate to vote on my plan instead. My plan holds data centers accountable, protects families from higher bills, and protects the environment.”

“Mr. President, I cannot vote for a bill that promises protection but lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to deliver on lowering Americans’ electric bills. To add insult to injury, Republicans pushed for a vote on this without even taking the opportunity to consider real solutions, like my Power for the People Act. The Ratepayer Protection Act relies solely on a process that would ask States to consider implementing data center-specific rate classes, without any guarantee that these rate classes would be implemented and without any of the additional measures needed to ensure that consumers are protected from rising electric bills caused by skyrocketing energy demand from data centers. Americans are facing an affordability crisis from the grocery store to the gas pump, and they deserve real solutions, which is why I filed my bill, the Power for the People Act, as an amendment to this bill. The Power for the People Act includes meaningful reforms that would actually hold data centers accountable for driving up energy prices, something that the Ratepayer Protection Act purports to do but cannot achieve on its own. Unfortunately, Republicans have provided no guarantees that we would consider amendments to the Ratepayer Protection Act. This body has repeatedly failed to address the real concerns of Americans struggling to make ends meet, with Republicans prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations and Trump’s golden age for billionaires. Now the majority is claiming to address a real problem with the bill before us, with a solution that falls far short. The energy demand of data centers is unlike anything we have dealt with in recent history and our solutions need to meet the moment. My Power for the People Act protects consumers, creates good-paying jobs, and mitigates harm to the environment, but we have no assurance that it could be considered. Without the opportunity to provide amendments, the bill before us today is an empty gesture, leaving Americans shouldering Big Tech’s costs with no relief.”

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“I oppose this bill. I want to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, but this bill is too weak and leaves big loopholes. It also adds unrelated rules that make it harder for people to vote.”

“Mr. President, I want to be clear: We should ban congressional stock trading. But H.R. 7008, the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act, is a political scam. It is a disingenuous attempt to use figleaf new ethics rules to pass a sweeping, unrelated voter suppression law, while not even adequately addressing congressional stock trading. Americans are rightly concerned that lawmakers’ stock portfolios can create conflicts of interest and opportunities to cash in on inside information. But instead of resolving those issues, this bill creates superficial changes to ethics standards while undermining the right to vote. Americans will not be fooled by this charade. It is long past time that we gave Americans confidence that lawmakers are not profiting from positions of public trust. That is why we should impose a real and effective ban on congressional stock trading. This bill, however, fails to clean up these ethics issues. For example, it would allow Members of Congress to sell stock during their term in office, transactions that could appear to be based on nonpublic information, like a heads up that a company would face regulatory action. It also would permit members to own stock in industries they oversee through their committee assignments. Loopholes like these create too many opportunities for corruption and self-dealing. And under the pretext of cleaning up Congress, this legislation would enact photo voter ID requirements like those in the so-called SAVE America Act, making it harder for Americans to exercise their right to vote. Specifically, the bill would require voters to present one form of ID from an overly restrictive list of identification documents in order to vote, excluding other reliable forms of ID such as a student ID, which would disproportionately harm eligible young voters and communities of color. It also imposes onerous new requirements on vote by mail. Congress should not be creating more unnecessary barriers for eligible voters to exercise their foundational right to have their voices heard and votes counted in our elections. The Senate should be passing a genuine ban on stock trading by lawmakers. But I cannot support this bill, which is clearly just another attempt by Republicans in Congress to pick their voters--which have repeatedly failed--under the guise of ethics reform. I remain committed to working with my colleagues on real legislation to clean up these ethics concerns.”

“I want the Senate to vote now and pass this resolution. Nine American citizens have been killed in the West Bank over the last four years, and others are in Israeli military prisons. This measure asks for a report on what our government is doing to protect American citizens and review human rights abuses in the West Bank.”

“Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Vermont Senator Welch, thank Senator Sanders, who was here earlier, Senator Kaine, and all of our colleagues who have cosponsored a very important resolution demanding accountability--demanding accountability in the killings of nine American citizens on the West Bank in just the last 4 years. And as both the Biden administration and the Trump administration have said, if we don’t get accountability, then these killings will continue with impunity. So this is about saving American citizens’ lives. It is also a recognition that if we can’t get accountability for American citizens, imagine how hard it is for a Palestinian to get accountability for human rights abuses committed against them--and about the Americans being currently detained in Israeli military prisons and the hundreds of Palestinian kids being detained as we speak. So this is a resolution that simply requires a report--a report on what the U.S. Government is doing to protect its own citizens. I would hope that every Member of this body would support a resolution that does that and calls for a review of the human rights situation and conditions on the West Bank. So with that, Mr. President, I would ask that the previously scheduled vote begin immediately.”

“I want the Senate to pass this resolution. Over the last four years, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed nine American citizens in the West Bank, and other Americans have been beaten and locked in military prisons. No one has been held responsible. We give billions of dollars to Israel every year, so Congress has a right to the facts. This resolution makes the State Department report on these deaths, on jailed Americans, and on the abuse of Palestinian children.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to call up S. Res. 852, a resolution to require the State Department to provide Congress with information on the growing violence and human rights abuses taking place in the West Bank, including against American citizens. I want to thank Senator Sanders, Senator Kaine, and 23 of our fellow Senators who are cosponsoring this effort; and I want to thank Senator Sanders for bringing that 502B resolution to the floor of the Senate back in January of 2024. In just over 4 years, nine American citizens have been killed in the West Bank by violent Israeli settlers or members of the Israeli security forces, and there has been zero--zero--accountability, with no justice for their families and no one held accountable. The U.S. Government has repeatedly said that our No. 1 priority overseas is to protect American citizens. Yet, as violent Israeli settlers continue to terrorize civilians in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again--in many cases with the complicity of the Government of Israel, the Netanyahu government. It is long past time that we shined a light on these killings and all of the human rights abuses taking place in the West Bank to get answers. We need to get answers because we need accountability, and we need accountability to make sure that these killings end. They will continue so long as nobody is held to account. I want to take a few minutes to tell my colleagues about these nine American citizens who have been killed by Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in just over the last 4 years. In January 2022, 70-year-old American citizen Omar, who ran a grocery store in Milwaukee for 40 years, was stopped at a checkpoint in the West Bank when Israeli soldiers dragged him from his car. They bound his hands behind his back, they gagged him, they blindfolded him, and they left him lying on the ground outside. He died of a stress-induced heart attack. No one has been held accountable. In May 2022, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who lived in New Jersey as a child, was reporting near the Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the head and killed by Israeli security forces. Shireen was known to millions as the ``voice of a generation.’’ When she was killed, she was wearing a bright blue vest, clearly identifying her as a journalist. No one has been held accountable. In January 2024, a 17-year-old American citizen named Tawfic, who was born and raised in Louisiana, was shot in the head and killed while driving east of Ramallah. Reports indicate that an Israeli settler, an off-duty Israeli police officer, and an Israeli soldier were involved in the shooting. Nobody has been held accountable. Just weeks later, another 17-year-old American boy, Mohammed, who was born in Florida, was shot twice in the head while driving near the town of Biddu. Israeli forces were reportedly responsible for his killing. No one has been held accountable. In September 2024, 26-year-old American citizen Aysenur Eygi, who was raised in Seattle, was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier from approximately 200 meters. No one has been held accountable. In April 2025, 14-year-old Amer from New Jersey was shot and killed by Israeli security forces at the entrance to the village of Turmus Ayya. Reports indicate that, when he was shot, he was shot 11 times by two different weapons. No one has been held accountable. In July 2025, 20-year-old American citizen Saif, who was born and raised in Florida, was visiting family in the West Bank when he was beaten to death by violent Israeli settlers during an attack on the town. Eyewitnesses reported that settlers and Israeli security forces blocked an ambulance from reaching him for more than 2 hours. Ambassador Huckabee called Saif’s killing a ``criminal and terrorist act.’’ He even said: ``There must be accountability.’’ So why has there been no accountability? In August 2025, Khamis, who was a 40-year-old American citizen who lived in Chicago with his five children, died of smoke inhalation after violent Israeli settlers set fire to homes and cars during an attack in Silwad. No one has been held accountable. And, in February of this year, Nasrallah, who was a 19-year-old American boy born in Philadelphia, was shot and killed by violent Israeli settlers during an attack on Palestinian farmers near Ramallah. No one has been held accountable. Omar, Shireen, Tawfic, Mohammed, Aysenur, Amer, Saif, Khamis, and Nasrallah--nine American citizens dead and no accountability. Their families have waited months and years for answers. Many of us have been calling for action from the executive branch and for accountability from the Netanyahu government, year after year, with no results. In March of this year, 30 Senators and I wrote to Secretary Rubio following some of the killings I just talked about. That was the second letter we had sent to this administration in 7 months regarding the killing of an American citizen in the West Bank. In response to our earlier letter, the State Department told us: ``To help prevent future tragedies,’’ we call for accountability--no accountability in any of these nine cases. It is clear that these calls for accountability are empty promises because what we are seeing is a consistent pattern in which Americans are being killed by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces, with no justice and no accountability from any party, despite promises to take action by American officials. This failure is not limited to the current administration. Many of us called upon the Biden administration for answers, just as we have pushed the Trump administration for answers and action. Back then, as now, we were met with statements of concern and told that the United States supports accountability. It just never insists on it, because concern is not enough when nine Americans are dead and not one person-- not one--has been held accountable. How many more Americans must die in the West Bank before this administration takes serious, credible steps to secure accountability? before the U.S. Government does its job and follows through when it says its top priority is to protect American citizens overseas? Last year, Senator Merkley and I traveled to the region, where we met with families of American citizens--most of them under 18--who had been killed by violent settlers or the Israeli military. We sat across from parents and family members who had lost their children and loved ones. None of them--not one--had received any meaningful answers about what had happened to their loved ones who had been killed. We also met the father of Mohammed, who was the 16-year-old American boy from Florida who had been jailed without charges for more than 6 months at the time of our meeting. Mohammed was ultimately held in pretrial detention for 9 months, where he was beaten, tortured, and denied contact with his family. He was finally released on Thanksgiving Day last year, but the mistreatment and detention of American citizens continue to this moment. In June, 20-year-old Palestinian-American student Sama, whose family lives in Florida and Massachusetts, was detained during a series of raids targeting students at Birzeit University. She remains in an Israeli military prison. In July, Adam, a 16-year-old Palestinian American whose family lives in Chicago, was arrested. His family paid his bail, and he was moments away from being released when Israeli authorities decided to hold him under an entirely new case. He remains in an Israeli military prison. There are other cases of American citizens being held in Israeli military prisons as we speak. Reports from these prisons have revealed abusive and traumatic conditions for those detained, including children and teenagers. In fact, under the Israeli military court system, 16- and 17-year-olds are sentenced under provisions written for adults, while Israeli citizens and children living in those same territories are tried in Israeli civilian courts and under Israeli juvenile law. Beyond those detained, many Americans continue to face violence and destruction throughout the West Bank, as Israeli settlers and soldiers act with impunity. Just in August, 82-year-old Palestinian-American Khamis was hospitalized after Israeli soldiers attacked him. After the attack, the soldiers then confiscated bystander footage of the incident to cover up their violent actions. You can see the video for yourself. Just this week, Israeli settlers attacked the home and destroyed the vehicles of a 78-year-old Palestinian American, Mustafa, and his wife. Even those who have not been attacked or detained are living in fear, like Loui, a 46-year-old Palestinian-American businessman who traveled from Ohio to visit his family members in the West Bank after their home was surrounded and besieged by Israeli settlers. The American Government has absolutely failed in its duty to secure any kind of accountability for the killings of and the arbitrary detention of and ongoing violence against these American citizens. If nothing changes, more American citizens will die. After all, the administration told us that one reason for accountability is to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Yet there is no accountability, and without accountability, it will happen again. The failure of the United States and Israeli Governments to hold anyone responsible for these abuses has only paved the way for more abuses and more killings to follow. If American citizens can be killed, harmed, or locked up with impunity, imagine what the conditions are for Palestinians in the West Bank who don’t hold an American passport, including Palestinian children. Hundreds of Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted through the Israeli military court system every year. Those imprisoned can be as young as 12 years old, which is the age of criminal responsibility in the Israeli military legal system, but children as young as 5 years old have been temporarily detained, and a child as young as 3 years old was once arrested. As of December 2025, the Israel Prison Service reported that it was holding 351 Palestinian children. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have continued to bar the Red Cross from visiting Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention facilities, despite the fact that international humanitarian law requires--requires--that the ICRC have access to Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody. Human rights organizations have documented widespread reports of physical beatings, sexual violence, harassment, threats, and other cruel and degrading actions toward these children. We have seen violent Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian civilians with impunity. They are pushing Palestinians off their land, burning cars and buildings and mosques, destroying crops and water systems, and assaulting residents in their own communities. Many members of the extremist Netanyahu government have encouraged this activity. When Senator Merkley and I visited the West Bank last year, it was clear that the situation had worsened considerably, just since our previous trip in 2023. We saw more trailers and illegal settler outposts springing up across the West Bank. We saw more checkpoints and gates and walls imprisoning Palestinian communities. In the mostly Christian town of Taybeh, we heard directly from residents about settler attacks and harassment, including an attack that happened on the day of our visit. We visited the historic church that settlers had attempted to damage. These are not isolated incidents. According to the United Nations, last year alone, there were 1,828 settler attacks against Palestinian residents resulting in bodily injury or property damage. In 2025, the Netanyahu government approved a record high 54 new official settlements, established 86 new outposts, and advanced plans for nearly 28,000 illegal settlement housing units. The question is: When will the U.S. Government--whether the previous White House or the current White House--stop giving Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government a blank check to let this continue? Secretary Rubio has said the United States is ``concerned’’ about escalating settler violence in the West Bank. Concern is not enough when nine American citizens have been killed. Concerns are not enough when we have American citizens in military detention. Concern is not enough when violent settlers are attacking Palestinian communities with impunity. Just last night, violent settlers attacked a village of Palestinians, setting their homes on fire and destroying their property. The State Department’s response today? Babble. Meaningless, empty statements when they are not accompanied by any demand for real accountability. They continue to call for accountability, but we never see it. And that brings us to the resolution today because this resolution requires the Secretary of State to provide a report with all credible information available to the State Department concerning the killing of nine American citizens, who are named in the resolution and whose stories I share today. It also requires an accounting of American citizens currently held in Israeli military prisons, including why they are being held, whether the American Embassy officials have visited them, the conditions of their detention, and whether there are credible reports that they have been mistreated. Basic information, that is what we are demanding in this resolution. The resolution requires they examine the detention of Palestinian children, including how many are held, the charges against them, whether they have access to legal counsel, whether they have experienced torture or other mistreatment, and how the standards governing their detention compare with American juvenile detention standards. And above all, the resolution requires that the State Department tell Congress what the United States has actually done to protect U.S. citizens, to prevent further violence, to promote respect for human rights, and hold the perpetrators of these abuses accountable. These are basic questions that Congress has both the right and the responsibility to ask of the executive branch. The United States provides billions of American taxpayer dollars to the government of Israel every year. We have a duty to make sure that those funds are being used in accordance with our laws and our values. Some of my colleagues may disagree with my assessment of the Netanyahu government’s policies, although the record is clear regarding the fact that they have engaged in complicity in what is happening in the West Bank. And some may disagree about other aspects of what is happening here. But what this vote is about--what this vote is about there should be no disagreement about because it just requires the State Department to provide facts. That is what this administration does. And if the State Department believes that everything is just OK, that their investigations that are being conducted by the Government of Israel and that their expressions of concern are actually being acted upon, the administration should have no problem answering those basic facts and demanding the kind of accountability they say that we should call for. So if the killing of nine Americans does not justify a report from our own State Department, I would ask my colleagues: What would? How many more Americans must be killed before the executive branch does its job? These families deserve answers. The American people deserve answers. And the Palestinians who face these attacks every single day deserve an end to the violence and impunity once and for all. I urge my colleagues to support S. Res. 852. I yield the floor.”

“I missed the vote to confirm Kasdin Miller Mitchell as a federal judge. If I had been here, I would have voted no.”

“Madam President, this afternoon, I missed rollcall vote No. 238, confirmation of the nomination of Kasdin Miller Mitchell to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. Had I been present, I would have voted no.”

“I oppose Todd Blanche to be Attorney General. He was Donald Trump's personal lawyer, and he still acts like it at the Justice Department. He uses the department to punish the President's enemies, protect the President's family from taxes, and put the President's interests ahead of the Constitution.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is supposed to be the people’s lawyer, someone whose loyalty is to the Constitution and to the rule of law, not to any one person--even the President of the United States. But in this administration, the Attorney General and the Department of Justice are focused solely on pleasing one person, one man, no matter the cost to our country. Lest anybody forget, huge banners like the one displayed here hang outside the Department of Justice, the front door, as pictured here, and the other entrance to the Department of Justice. Every single day, the folks who are supposed to uphold our Constitution and the rule of law walk beneath these banners, reminding them that in this administration, their loyalty is to Donald Trump, not to the people of the United States. One of the people who do that every day and who have demonstrated loyalty to the President over the Constitution is the person whose nomination is pending on this floor today to be the Attorney General. It is crystal clear from Mr. Blanche’s record as Acting Attorney General and before that as Deputy Attorney General that he is still acting like Donald Trump’s personal lawyer--a position he held before going to the Justice Department. His record has shown us very clearly that he will continue to put the President’s personal interests above the interests of the American people; that when he walks through that door to the great Department of Justice that is supposed to serve justice for the American people, he looks up and he sees Donald Trump. He was formerly the personal lawyer to Donald Trump, and even now, at the Justice Department, he continues to demonstrate that he puts the President’s interests above those in the Constitution and the rule of law. The Department of Justice has used taxpayer dollars to punish the President’s adversaries, to reward his friends, and to pursue the President’s personal vendettas. In a case that I am very familiar with, a Federal judge found that Mr. Blanche’s statements about the Department’s case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia showed clear evidence of a vindictive prosecution. In other words, the judge found that Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice brought a case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in a Federal court because he had exercised his due process rights, to punish him for exercising his rights, so that judge threw out those charges. Under Mr. Blanche’s leadership, Department lawyers have resigned rather than participate in blatant prosecutions, like the prosecutions of James Comey and others. Career, professional lawyers have resigned rather than participate in abuses of power, like the Department’s criminal investigation against Renee Good’s partner after the shooting in Minneapolis instead of holding accountable or pursuing accountability for those who killed Renee Good. Think about that. This Department of Justice launched an investigation into the partner of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by DHS agents, instead of investigating the shooting itself--again, to please the dear leader in the White House, not to uphold the rule of law. We also know that the Department of Justice has lost 10,000 employees since the beginning of fiscal year 2025 and nearly one quarter of its lawyers--lawyers who signed up to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution, not serve the dear leader acting through the dear leader’s former personal attorney Todd Blanche. Now they are hiring prosecutors with no prior legal experience and asking many of them to sign a pledge supporting not the Constitution but the President of the United States. We have seen how Mr. Blanche has acted as the President’s personal lawyer since he has been at the Justice Department. We know, of course, of the outrageous $1.8 billion slush fund that was created to make payments to the President’s political allies. When I asked Mr. Blanche at a hearing if those who assaulted police officers here on Capitol Hill on January 6 would be eligible for those payouts, taxpayer-funded payouts, he wouldn’t rule it out. He wouldn’t rule that out. At the same time, he and the Department entered into a sweetheart settlement providing extraordinary tax liability protections to the President and his family and his businesses--essentially a get-out-of- jail-free card for nonpayment of taxes due if that was what had been ultimately found. Now, after Republican Senators and only after Republican Senators threatened to block his nomination did Mr. Blanche issue an order supposedly rescinding the slush fund and narrowing the scope of those tax protections. By the way, even if you narrow the scope the way it is supposed to there, the President and his family get essentially a get-out-of-jail- free card for past tax liabilities that may be due. So this deal is a sham. It is not worth the paper it is written on. It is not written into the law, and nothing prevents the Department from restarting the slush fund once Mr. Blanche is confirmed. That is not the only example of Mr. Blanche continuing to serve as the President’s personal attorney while having the title of ``Acting Attorney General.’’ We also see that in his handling of the Epstein files. During his time at the Justice Department, Mr. Blanche has withheld critical information regarding those files rather than seek justice for the brave survivors who have shared their stories of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. When Mr. Blanche appeared before the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Justice, Senator Murray and I both asked him that if we connected him with the Epstein survivors, would he meet with them and hear them out? His answer: He promised he would do so if we connected the survivors to him. Well, we followed up multiple times. Nearly 2 months later, he had not fulfilled the promise he made in that Senate committee hearing. He had still not met with the survivors. So Senator Murray and I wrote him a letter demanding that he fulfill the promise he made because that should be a bare minimum for someone seeking this post. And it is pretty clear he had zero intent on keeping the promise made in public at that committee hearing until Senator Tillis said that he would not vote to move his nomination out of the committee until Mr. Blanche met with the survivors. After that threat was made, the meeting happened, but it was clear from reports about the meeting by the survivors that Mr. Blanche did not do so out of respect for them and out of a genuine interest to hear what they had to say but simply to preserve chances of his confirmation, because according to the survivors, it was nothing more than a check-the-box exercise. In fact, they said Mr. Blanche was condescending, that he was rude, and that he was dismissive. They were interrupted and told to ``get to the point.’’ Well, someone who can tell the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes to ``get to the point’’ is not a person we want defending the American people because a nominee for Attorney General should demonstrate that their loyalty will be to the Constitution and the rule of law and getting justice for everybody in America, including the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, not to the President of the United States. So I hope we will recognize that if we look at the conduct and actions and record of the Acting Attorney General, we will recognize that he is not suited for this position because his record shows he has not been upholding the rule of law and the Constitution. Instead, he has been doing the business of this one man. This photo was taken today--taken today. These big banners of Donald Trump have been hanging outside the Department of Justice for a long time, and they send an unmistakable message to people who work inside that they better serve the interests of this one person. If, instead, there is a conflict between the interests of the people of the United States and this person, this tells them: Serve the interests of the President of the United States. That is not the job of the Department of Justice, and it is not the job of the Attorney General. I urge my colleagues to oppose the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General of the United States. I yield the floor.”

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“I want the Senate to pass this bill. It protects immigrants with temporary protected status from being deported back to dangerous countries. These people are here legally, pass background checks, pay taxes, and help our communities.”

“Mr. President, just to make a couple things very clear, the President has a mass-deportation agenda even though what the President says is that he is focused on going after the worst of the worst. We had a vote on a resolution here in the Senate not that long ago about going after the worst of the worst, and it passed unanimously. It was a voice vote. There is no argument there. The issue with these TPS holders is that they are here legally, with work permits. In fact, they are among the most vetted people in the country. Every year, they go through security and background checks in order to renew their work permits. The reason we provide them with the opportunity to stay here is because there has been a determination that their countries of origin are such dangerous places that their lives would be put at risk--places like Haiti, places like Syria, where our own government has determined it is too dangerous to go, and they warn people about going to those countries. Yet what this Trump administration action would do is force people back into danger in those countries. That is what the Trump administration wants to do, and that is what this Supreme Court, on a 6-to-3 vote, allows them to do. It allows them not even to have to make that determination in any serious way about what the circumstances are in the country these people would be forced back into. So there is a whole lot of misinformation that was put out there about this piece of legislation. I will just say that in my State of Maryland, many of these folks on TPS have become very important and valuable members of our community. As I have said, many have been here for years and years and in some cases, for decades. By the way, they are paying taxes. They are paying Federal and State taxes. They are paying into the Social Security trust fund. In many cases, they have started small businesses that actually create more economic opportunities for everybody in the community and the State. Go look it up. A lot of these TPS holders are small business men and women. They are hiring people in our communities and our State. Yet these are the people--some of the most vetted individuals in the country, people who pay State and local and Federal taxes--that the Trump administration wants to send back to countries where we say it is dangerous to go. So that is why we are here on the floor right now, because the first wave of this is about to happen, and the Trump administration is about to deport folks who came here from Haiti who have been here under TPS, this protected status, and now they want to force them back into harm’s way. We want to uphold what had been a bipartisan position, which is that we as a country should not do that. We should not send people who have this legal status now back to countries where they will face certain danger. So it is disappointing to hear that our Republican colleagues don’t want to move forward on this piece of legislation, but this debate is not over--not here in the Senate, not in the House, and not in communities across the United States. And with that, I yield the floor. I see my colleague from California, who has been such an important, strong voice on these issues on the floor. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts). The Senator from California.”

“I want the Senate to pass this resolution to end the war against Iran. The Constitution says only Congress can declare war, but President Trump started this conflict without our approval. American troops and civilians are dying, the war is expanding, and gas prices are going up. If lawmakers support this war, they should vote to authorize it. If not, we must vote to stop it.”

“Mr. President, I want to start by thanking Senator Sheehy for his service to our country in our Armed Forces and thank every single soldier who serves our country in uniform and mourn the deaths of every single American servicemember who has been lost in this war and any other war. I listened carefully to the Senator from Montana. He is right that the Iranian regime doesn’t care about what is happening in the United States; doesn’t care about politics of the United States. You know what else they don’t care about? They don’t care about the Constitution of the United States of America. They don’t care about that either, but we--we, in the Senate--we should care about the Constitution of the United States of America because the Framers of our Constitution deliberately vested the power to declare war in Congress because they understood the enormous consequences of sending Americans into harm’s way. So if our Republican colleagues have the strength of their convictions, they should bring an authorization to use military force in Iran to this floor. We have not seen that. In 140 days, we have seen nothing. If you want to be true to the Constitution of the United States, that is what Republicans would do. And the Iranians don’t give a damn about our Constitution, but I would hope that those in this body have been sworn to uphold it would give a damn about our Constitution because the Framers understood--they understood that decisions involving war and peace should not rest with any one individual. You can glorify President Trump all you want, but the Founders--the Founders, those who helped write the Constitution--understood that that power should not vest with one person, whoever that person may be regardless of party. That is what the Founders said. The Constitution entrusted that solemn responsibility to the Congress where the elected representatives could openly debate and vote on those questions before any President sent our sons and daughters to fight and die in foreign lands. We may disagree about whether this is a good idea or a bad idea, but we should not disagree that that is what the Constitution requires, and that is what our oath requires. So, yes, I rise to urge my colleagues to support my War Powers Resolution to end this disastrous and illegal war against Iran that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu launched over 140 days ago. The Constitution is unambiguous. This is not a close call. And yet, right now--right now--we are finding ourselves confronting exactly the circumstances that the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 were designed to prevent. They were designed to prevent one person from taking this country to war. They were actually designed in the hopes that this Senate and this Congress would do their constitutional duty and vote yes or no but take responsibility for decisions that send our men and women into harm’s way--take responsibility. Nearly 5 months ago, President Trump launched this illegal war. He launched it against Iran. And as I said, he launched it without any authorization. Since then, Senate Democrats and some Republicans have tried to reassert the constitutional role of Congress. We have voted 11 times on resolutions to end the war. And finally last month, both Chambers passed H. Con. Res. 86, directing the President to terminate hostilities against Iran. It was a historic vote. It marked the first time since the War Powers Resolution was enacted in 1973 that Congress successfully used this mechanism that was designed to halt the unauthorized use of force by the President, by any President. That resolution was not a suggestion; it is legally binding. The Iranian regime may not care about that resolution, but we should care and the Constitution requires that we care. The passage of that resolution should have marked the end of this disastrous war, but time and again, President Trump has shown he has no respect for the Constitution. He was asked months ago whether he had to abide by the Constitution. His answer: I don’t know. That is a President who has no respect for the rule of law, but we should. Instead, what the Trump administration has done is steadily expanded this conflict, moved further away from diplomacy and further away from a durable peace. When the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran was signed in June, I stood on this floor and said I hoped it would become the foundation for a broader diplomatic settlement. Many Republicans opposed that memorandum of understanding. I hoped that it would finally begin the long task of climbing out of a big hole this illegal war has created. That hope is gone now. This moment--this moment we are in now--is a pivotal one in the war and for our role in it. Just this morning, the House of Representatives passed another resolution to end the war. That is how democracy works. The Iranian regime doesn’t care about our democracy, but we should, and the Senate should pass this resolution just as the House passed a War Powers Resolution. This is the first War Powers Resolution since the United States resumed daily strikes against Iran and the first since we reimposed a full naval blockade. It is the first resolution since another four American soldiers were killed. It is the first resolution since shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has once again been ground to a halt. And I think all of us here in the Senate know the Strait of Hormuz was open before President Trump launched this war. In the weeks since the last vote, more civilians have been killed as well, and the United States and Iran are now deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. President Trump said that he will destroy a bridge or a powerplant in Iran for every ship attacked in the strait. It did not have to be this way. Many of us warned before this war began that military force would not achieve the vague, constantly shifting objectives its advocates promised. We warned that abandoning diplomacy would make the region more dangerous, not less. We warned that military action would strengthen the most hardline voices inside of Iran rather than weaken them. We warned that this conflict would destabilize the region, threaten the global economy, drive up costs for American families, and ultimately leave the United States worse off. And since then, every single one of those warnings has come true. I wish they hadn’t, but they have. We have heard the arguments warmongers have used to justify this stupid war before. The promises of quick victories, that just one more bombing campaign would finally produce lasting peace. We have heard that regime change is just around the corner. We have heard repeated calls for military adventurism while diplomacy was dismissed as some kind of weakness. Those arguments were wrong before, and they are wrong today. This is the same kind of delusional thinking that sucked the United States into endless wars in the past, the kind of endless wars that this President promised he would keep us out of. When he promised he would focus on bringing down prices, he has done the opposite. So we must make better choices, and we cannot allow the past to repeat itself. But that is what happens when your objectives keep changing. That is what happens when you convince yourself against all available evidence, that just 1 more week or 1 more month of fighting will bring victory. You know, on March 1, the day after starting the war, President Trump was asked how long the war would go on. Does anybody remember what he said? ``Four to five weeks.’’ It will be over in ``four to five weeks,’’ he said. Well, the President said that about 20 weeks ago, and it was all a lot of nonsense. In late March, he repeatedly claimed victory. President Trump said ``We won.’’ Go look it up. It is all over his social media channels. ``We won.’’ ``We won.’’ Colleagues, I have some questions. If we won back in March, why are more Americans getting killed in July? If we won back in March, why is the Strait of Hormuz closed? If we won back in March, why is the war expanding as Houthis attack ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the Red Sea? If we won back in March, why are oil and gas prices and diesel prices shooting through the roof again, imposing costs on every American family? Is that their definition of winning? Well, I wondered what their answer to that question was. So earlier this week, I asked Secretary of Defense Hegseth what his definition of winning looks like. And there was no clear answer. That is because their objectives keep changing. He finally settled on the objective of making sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. But colleagues, remember this: Last year--just last year--shortly after Operation Midnight Hammer, the 12-day war, here is what Secretary Hegseth told the country ``our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.’’ The President told us the same thing, and the President’s Director of National Intelligence testified in this Senate just months ago that it was the assessment of the United States Government that Iran did not intend to start any enrichment program. The President, during the time the memorandum of understanding was in place, hailed the fact that the Iranians said they had no plans and would not build a nuclear weapon. Apparently, the President had not been informed that they had made that commitment over a period of years. The whole purpose of the JCPOA was to hold them to that commitment to make sure that we could identify immediately if they were violating that commitment. Of course, that is the agreement that President Trump tore up in his first administration. So when I pointed all this out to Secretary Hegseth, all he could go back to was tired, old talking points that has gotten us in this mess and keeps us in this mess. In fact, it clarified the reality of what we have known since day one, that the Iran war is a war in search of a mission. Colleagues, that is how forever wars begin. Eighteen American servicemembers have lost their lives. Hundreds more have been wounded, including over a 100 just from the last 2 weeks, and the civilian death toll continues to rise. At the start of the war, an American Tomahawk missile strike killed more than 150 Iranian civilians in Minab, more than 100 of them children. On top of those killings of schoolkids, thousands of other civilians have been killed or injured across Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and the rest of the region. On top of all that, oil prices jumped; then they settled a little bit during the memorandum of understanding; and now they are jumping again. They have risen back to a national average of around $4 a gallon and rising. Diesel prices have surged above $5 a gallon. All of us understand that when gas and diesel prices go up, those increased costs filter throughout the economy. Trucks that are trucking food from one place to another: higher diesel prices, higher food prices, higher grocery prices throughout our economy, imposed on families already struggling with the costs of groceries and housing and healthcare and childcare and other necessities. And, again, this is the President who said that he was going to end wars and focus on bringing down costs. This is a strategic blunder on a massive scale. It is a self- inflicted wound on our country and all for what? That is the question every one of us should be asking as we vote shortly on this War Powers Resolution. How has continuing this war made the American people safer? How has it made the Middle East more stable? How has it strengthened America’s national security? I have yet to hear a credible answer to that question, and that is because there isn’t one. You know, these are the kind of questions that should be asked before a war is started, before we put American troops at risk. Colleagues, there is no good way out of a bad war. But as I have said repeatedly, when you are digging yourself a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging, and that is what this resolution seeks to do. Let us stop pretending that Congress has no role to play while American servicemembers remain in harm’s way. Many of the people who enthusiastically supported launching this war have been unwilling to take responsibility for authorizing it. That should concern every Member of this body. It should concern every American, regardless of party, because if a Member of the Senate truly believes that this war is justified and the right thing to do, put it up for a vote. Put it up for a vote for an authorization to use military force. I disagreed with the decision to go to war in Iraq. And President Bush asked for an authorization for military force, and this Congress acted on it. In my view, they made the wrong decision, but at least they took responsibility for their actions as the Constitution requires. So this is an opportunity, as the war escalates even further, as more American servicemembers are killed, as more civilians are killed, as oil and gas prices and other prices go up--this is an opportunity for this Congress to finally take responsibility. We passed the concurrent resolution in the past. We know the President has no respect for the law, but we have an obligation to our constituents. We should not duck that responsibility. We should not simply allow this war to go on without up-or-down votes on an authorization to use military force. And today, we have a chance to take accountability and send a message by supporting this War Powers Resolution. I urge all my colleagues to adopt it. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The minority leader.”

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“I want the Senate to protect people from Haiti living here legally under temporary protected status. Republicans just blocked a vote to do that. Haiti is too dangerous for them to be forced to return, and they should be allowed to stay and work here.”

“Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Blunt Rochester for bringing this motion to the floor. I do want to thank Congresswoman Pressley--who I know had to leave the floor--for her leadership in the House. And like my colleagues, I am extremely disappointed that Republican Senators today blocked our ability to move forward and have a vote on this matter and pass this very important matter, which is to extend temporary protected status for Haiti. As my colleagues have said, temporary protected status--TPS--was established decades ago with bipartisan support because Congress understood then a very basic truth: When people cannot safely return to their countries of origin, we do not put their lives at risk by forcing them to go back. That is the essence of the protection in TPS, and that principle is worth defending today. For years, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have lived and worked legally in the United States of America under TPS. They built their lives here. They have paid taxes here, including Social Security taxes. They started small businesses here. They are our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues. They are our community members. They are deeply rooted in communities all over the country, including in my State of Maryland. Some have lived here for decades--again, legally--with this status. To rip all of that away, while the danger in Haiti persists, is wrong and it is cruel. And it does not align with the values that the United States claims to stand for, and yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing. And, sadly, it is what our Republican Senate colleagues just did in their motion. And I do want to underscore what Senator Blunt Rochester and Senator Markey have said. They may be able to block it today in the U.S. Senate, but we will keep working on this matter because it is a matter of important American principles. You know, last year, the administration moved to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation, and that action was challenged in court. And the Federal courts temporarily blocked that termination. Then it went to the Supreme Court, and on a devastating 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and sided with the Trump administration. It was another--in my view--very bad decision from this Supreme Court that will have very harmful consequences for the Haitian community but, really, for all of our communities because now TPS holders face imminent loss of their legal status and of their work authorizations, the latter of which is slated to happen as soon as the end of this week. So let’s be clear about what that means. Let’s just be clear about the harm that we are forcing these individuals to face. It means hundreds of thousands of our community members who followed the rules, worked legally, paid taxes, and built lives in this country will lose their ability to work legally and be forced to return to a country where it is not safe to return. That is the reality right now. Anyone following the situation in Haiti knows it remains very dangerous. Indeed, as my colleagues have said, the State Department continues to warn Americans not to travel to Haiti because of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and other factors. The country remains under a state of emergency, and the U.S. Government has extremely limited ability to provide any emergency assistance, even to our own citizens who are there now. And the humanitarian situation there continues to deteriorate. When you are evaluating whether it is safe to force anybody back to their country of origin, we are supposed to look at whether the situation is getting better or worse. It is getting worse over a long period of time in Haiti. While there are some small signs of hope right now, the reality is, it is a very, very dangerous place In fact, 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. More than half the population needs humanitarian assistance. More than 5.8 million people are expected to face hunger this year. Meanwhile, armed gangs continue to control large parts of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country. A lot of these gangs are responsible for killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and forced displacements of entire communities. And yet, by the decision the Republican Senator took to the floor, blocking this action, they are forcing people who have been members of our community for a long time--again, working here legally--forcing them back into imminent danger and harm. You know, we shouldn’t be doing this, colleagues. We should not be forcing anybody back into a situation of imminent harm, especially people who have been here and working legally and playing by all of the rules. And now we are changing the rules on them midstream because what had been a bipartisan law of the temporary protected status program is now having the ``protected status’’ part of it ripped out by our colleagues. So this is really part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy. You know, the President told Americans that they were going to go after the ``worst of the worst.’’ You know, we had a vote on this floor weeks back. I think it was a unanimous vote that, you know, folks who have committed crimes--people who are dangerous to our communities-- yes, the worst of the worst should be essentially held accountable and deported. But folks under TPS? These are people who are working legally in our country. These are people paying taxes. These are not the worst of the worst. In fact, they have to check in every single year and make sure that they continue to meet the requirements of the law. And yet these are the people--these are the people--that the President and now our Republican colleagues seek to uproot and send into certain danger. Sadly, the Supreme Court--the Trump-stacked Supreme Court--went along with these decisions, but we have a chance in this body to fix that. And that was what we tried to do today with Senator Markey’s motion. Again, it was blocked by our Republican colleagues, but this will not be the end of this debate. It will not be the end of this discussion because the essence of TPS was, at least at one time in our country, a bipartisan effort. On a bipartisan basis, we agreed that it was wrong to send people back to their home country if they faced certain danger. And that is why we allowed these individuals to stay here. And many of them have made really successful lives here in our communities, working--again legally--paying taxes. And so it is a very sad day when what once was a bipartisan consensus to stand by important principles that had made this country stronger are shredded by this White House and where we now have a rubberstamped Congress to go along with the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. So I regret the action that was taken today. I, again, thank my colleague Senator Markey for his efforts, and we will keep at it together. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Armstrong). The Senator from Iowa.”

“I want the Senate to vote against moving forward with the defense bill right now. The bill costs too much money and forces us to build weapons and share intelligence with Israel. We need to debate these issues and vote on them before passing the bill.”

“What you will see is at the end of the day the Government of Israel, the Netanyahu government, exercised its veto authority under the coproduction agreement preventing the United States from sending our own Iron Dome batteries to Ukraine to help Ukraine with its air defense system. And now in this NDAA bill that we are about to consider in the United States Senate, there is a provision requiring the United States Government to do more coproduction arrangements with the Netanyahu government and the future governments of Israel. Give me a break. The second provision that I mentioned earlier, section 622 of the fiscal year 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act mandates--and I say mandates--that the United States Government, the executive branch ``expand and enhance intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel.’’ It also states that intelligence sharing with Israel ``shall not be suspended, reduced, or otherwise materially limited.’’ The intent of this provision is clear to not only enhance intelligence sharing with Israel, but also to block the President from limiting such intelligence sharing. Now, colleagues, any time the United States Government wants to or chooses to, of course we can share intelligence with the Government of Israel or any other government we choose for our own interests. Why would we hardwire into the law a requirement that that intelligence be shared with Israel or any other country? And there is a peculiar procedural wrinkle here I want to mention. This provision isn’t in the text of the NDAA yet. As I said, it sits in the fiscal year Intelligence Authorization Act that passed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. But, as my colleagues know, that bill typically--typically--gets added to the NDAA right here on the floor of the Senate before final passage, meaning that the Senate may be asked to adopt this provision that hardwires and requires U.S. intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel with no real debate. And that should concern us all, especially since, according to public reports, this administration recently raised--raised--the counterintelligence threat level from the Government of Israel to its highest level. At the same time, this Senate is talking about adopting a provision mandating intelligence sharing. As I said, any President can share intelligence at their discretion, but this requires it. And we should not be forcing this administration or any other administration to share U.S. intelligence with the Government of Israel or any other government, for that matter. This is also happening, as I said, at a time when we are seeing accelerated violence and expansion of settlements on the West Bank. We have heard outrageous statements from Finance Minister Smotrich and from Ben Gvir, who controls many of Israel’s security forces. It is simply not in our interest to mandate that the U.S. Government enter into coproduction agreements with the Netanyahu government or any other Government of Israel. You can always do this on a case-by-case basis, as we did with the Iron Dome, and not require by law that we do it in a whole range of other areas. And, as I said, this bill also comes before us with a huge proposed increase in funds for the Pentagon, which continues to fail to pass a budget audit, and at a time when it appears that the President of the United States is, again, ramping up the war against Iran--an unauthorized war. And so I urge my colleagues that, when we consider the motion to proceed tomorrow--specifically, the motion for cloture on the motion to proceed; the vote on the cloture for the motion to proceed--that we oppose that and then come together as Senators and say to the American people: We are going to ensure accountability. We are going to ensure that, when that bill comes to the floor of the Senate, we will have votes on all of these issues. We will have a vote to bring down this huge, bloated number for military spending in the NDAA. We will have a vote to require some accountability with respect to military operations. And we will have a vote with respect to these new provisions that currently mandate intelligence sharing and mandate defense procurement cooperation with the Netanyahu government and future Governments of Israel. I hope we will show the American people that we believe in transparency and accountability by having those votes. But to do so, we have to first vote against the motion--the cloture motion on the motion to proceed. With that, I yield my remaining time to my friend and colleague the Senator from Vermont, Senator Welch. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Marshall). The Senator from Vermont.”

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“I am sorry for the loss of Lindsey Graham's family and loved ones. We often disagreed, but we worked together on foreign policy, like supporting the Syrian Kurds against ISIS. Today, we would disagree on the issue before us.”

“Madam President, let me start by expressing my condolences to the family and loved ones of Lindsey Graham on his sudden passing. While we disagreed more often than not, we were able to work together over the years on a number of key foreign policy issues, including our mutual support of the Syrian Kurds or the Syrian Democratic Forces who have been our key partners in the fight against ISIS. And I will discuss our work on that and other matters at another time. On the matter before us today, I am sure we would disagree.”