Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Relating to Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, with June 1 only 21 days away, the most important thing congressional leaders can do to protect the well-being of Americans is to say, loud and clear, default is off the table.

That is the assurance the President gave 2 days ago when he met with congressional leaders. It is the assurance Leader Jeffries and myself gave that day at the meeting, as well. Even Leader McConnell said the United States will not default on the national debt.

Speaker McCarthy, however, continues on a path to drive the country toward disaster. Instead of taking default off the table, Speaker McCarthy is taking default hostage.

Let me say that again because that sums up what is happening right now.

Instead of taking default off the table, Speaker McCarthy is taking default hostage.

The strategy of the hard right remains ``our way or the highway.'' Either Americans accept devastating cuts to veterans, law enforcement, and even cancer research, or the hard right will allow default--what a terrible choice.

And that is what makes this default fight uniquely dangerous: The hard right is dominant in the House, and they seem to be ready--seem to be perfectly willing--to let the United States default.

Speaker McCarthy realizes his hard-right agenda--as embodied in their ``Default on America Act''--cannot win support from the American people on the merits. So he and the hard right are holding the country hostage to default.

And if anyone doubts that the hard right is in control, all they have to do is watch last night's CNN town hall, where former President Donald Trump openly called on Republicans to ``do a default'' if they cannot enact their hard-right agenda.

Never mind that, under Donald Trump's watch, Republicans agreed to avoid default three times without ever getting hung up about unrelated partisan priorities. And never mind that 25 percent--a quarter--of the national debt was actually accumulated while President Trump was in office.

He is openly calling on his party to destroy the economy if they can't pass their radical agenda.

By now, of course, it is old news that Donald Trump is about as qualified to run the country as a broken brick, but the danger here is he holds enormous sway over Speaker McCarthy and the hard right.

If Donald Trump says that it is better for the United States to default than it is for Republicans to compromise, that, unfortunately, only makes default more likely.

Donald Trump's demand for default would cause tens of millions of Americans to suffer.

This isn't difficult: Can we all clearly and unmistakably take default off the table? Will Speaker McCarthy take default off the table? He is the only one of the five of us who met at the White House who has not answered that.

Speaker McCarthy, will you allow the hard right to keep pulling the strings and push our country off a cliff, or will you make it clear that, no matter what, we will preserve the full faith and credit of the United States?

Look, we recognize that Republicans have objections about certain policies, certain spending, certain investments. We do not agree with them, but these discussions are a normal part of the budget process that both sides have engaged in for a long time. This is too important for brinksmanship and reckless ultimatums.

White House staff, along with my office, the Speaker's office, Leader McConnell, and Leader Jeffries, will continue to meet in an attempt to find a constructive way forward on the budget, appropriations priorities.

If Speaker McCarthy is willing to state that, despite what Trump says, default is off the table, there can be real progress on the budget. Obviously, as the Speaker of the House, McCarthy will have some real influence in that. But that progress should not and cannot be tied to default.

I hope Americans take a moment to listen to the dangerous things President Trump has said last night about default, because he exposed just how unfit MAGA Republicans are for governing and how serious they are about their threats.

(Ms. ROSEN assumed the Chair.) Military Nominations

Madam President, now, on military holds, I want to talk about the profane and dangerous things a colleague of ours recently said on the radio. For the past couple of months, hundreds of senior military officers and their families have had their lives unnecessarily put on hold because of a Senator from Alabama.

Senator Tuberville's actions are endangering our military readiness, provoking reaction not just from the current Secretary of Defense but from seven--seven--former Defense Secretaries from both parties.

And, earlier this week, new comments of his came to light where he not only doubled down on his obstruction but also, apparently, bemoaned the military's efforts to root out White nationalism from our Armed Forces.

Let me read the exchange with Senator Tuberville because it is shocking. During the interview, the Senator was asked:

Do you believe [the Defense Department] should allow White nationalists in the military?

The Senator's response:

Well, they call them that. I call them Americans.

Can you believe that? Revolting--utterly revolting. Does Senator Tuberville honestly believe that our military is stronger with White nationalists in its ranks? I cannot believe this needs to be said, but White nationalism has no place in our Armed Forces and no place in any corner of American society. Period. Full stop. End of story.

I urge Senator Tuberville to think about the destructive spectacle he is creating in the Senate. His actions are dangerous. His words are gravely damaging, and his refusal to think about the consequences of his actions on our military personnel and families is a stain upon this Chamber.

Senators are called to a higher standard of conduct, but our colleague from Alabama is dragging all of us down. And for what? To push the hard right's party line on banning freedom of choice.

Senator Tuberville needs to do two things. He needs to come out and state clearly and unequivocally that White nationalism is un-American, and he needs to drop his destructive holds on hundreds of our senior military leaders. This farce is endangering our national security and putting the lives of men and women who have served our country for decades in real trouble, and it needs to end. Business Before the Senate

Madam President, now on Senate business, it has been a very, very busy week on and off the Senate floor. There is so much going on in the country that it may have overshadowed the fact that it has been an extremely busy week and much is being accomplished this week.

On the floor, we confirmed more of President Biden's appointees to important positions across the government. And today, we will vote to advance Bradley Garcia to serve as a circuit court judge for the DC Circuit, one of the most important Federal courts in the country, teeing up his nomination for Monday when the Senate returns.

Off the floor, our committees are hard at work holding hearings and advancing important nominees and legislation. The Commerce Committee yesterday moved the Railway Safety Act, sponsored by Senators Brown and Vance of Ohio, out of committee and with bipartisan support. I thank the Senators from Ohio and Senators Casey around Fetterman from Pennsylvania and other cosponsors for their work on this bill after the derailment in East Palestine.

I look forward to working with them to bring it to the floor for a vote. Today, the HELP Committee is holding a hearing on our bipartisan cannabis legislation, the SAFE Banking Act. We made a lot of good bipartisan progress on SAFE Banking last Congress, and the work is continuing. And there is also a markup today in the HELP Committee on legislation for PBM reform, which could lead to lower costs of insulin for non-Medicare Americans.

It has been a very busy week in the Senate on very important issues that affect us all: rail safety, SAFE Banking, making growing and selling marijuana safe, and PBM reform, which can lead to reduction of insulin costs for non-Medicare people. We will keep moving ahead with our work to support the American people and reward the trust they placed in us. Anniversary of Buffalo, New York, Shooting

Madam President, finally, on the shooting in Buffalo a year ago, this weekend, the hearts of every single American will be with the ``City of Good Neighbors,'' Buffalo, NY. At 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, May 14, of last year, in a predominantly Black neighborhood on Buffalo's east side, 10 lives were cut short from the worst shooting in Buffalo history--10 beautiful Americans. We will never get them back. They were parents, they were sons and daughters, friends, security guards, a policeman--all taken away from us in just minutes.

I am going to read their names: Ruth Whitfield, Roberta Drury, Aaron Salter, Jr., Heyward Patterson, Pearl Young, Geraldine Talley, Celestine Chaney, ``Kat'' Massey, Margus Morrison, Andre Mackneil.

God bless their memories.

I don't know what could possess someone to bring violence to a place like that. But I do know that the Buffalo shooting was a manifestation of the original sin of this Nation, the legacy of slavery and the centuries of racial hatred that continue to poison our society.

It is also one of the worst examples in recent memory of another terrible epidemic in this Nation, the epidemic of gun violence. We have made important progress in the area of gun violence. Last year, in the wake of what happened in Buffalo and Uvalde, the Senate came together in a way that it hadn't for decades, beating back the dark forces of the NRA and passing the first gun safety bill in more than a quarter century. Some of the friends and relatives of those who passed away in Buffalo were instrumental in importuning us to pass this legislation, and I thank them for it, for lighting that candle.

But we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before our job is done. Gun violence is a shameful blemish on this Nation. We cannot allow ourselves to tolerate it. Indifference on this subject has been a death sentence for too many Americans.

Finally, Madam President, today the Senate will meet for a special caucus to talk about the next steps on gun violence. While nobody pretends progress will come easily, we have a moral obligation to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep working to rid this Nation of gun violence.

May God bless Buffalo and bless all the families impacted by the tragedy 1 year ago.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

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