Laken Riley Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, President Biden delivered his farewell address, reflecting on his 4 years in office, which will be remembered as one of the most productive periods in modern American history. Working alongside President Biden for the American people was the honor of a lifetime.

When President Biden took office, America was in crisis. The pandemic was surging. The economy was reeling. Our democracy was under assault. But President Biden, with good help from Senate Democrats, got right to work, and together, I am proud that we achieved one of the most ambitious legislative agendas in decades.

Working with President Biden, we created nearly 17 million new jobs, the most in a single term. We passed historic legislation, like Chips and Science--that was a baby that I nurtured--the bipartisan infrastructure law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. We lowered the cost of prescription drugs for tens of millions of Americans. We passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. We enshrined marriage equality into law. We confirmed 235 well-qualified and historic judges to lifetime appointments--more judges than any majority has confirmed in decades--and so much more.

President Biden also left America with a somber warning in his address--one that every American should listen to. He cautioned that ``an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence'' that will threaten all the progress our country has made in the last 4 years.

President Biden is right. An oligarchy is beginning to take shape in America, and you can see it by looking at the incoming Trump administration.

Donald Trump has not even taken office yet, but many of his top advisers and Cabinet picks are extremely wealthy people with deep ties to corporate special interests. Many of these Cabinet picks seem to see the world through the eyes of a very rich and privileged individual--a very limited vision indeed. And the agenda they are pushing--tax cuts for the ultrawealthy and draconian cuts to the working class--is narrow and only furthers inequality in America.

Donald Trump's agenda would precisely benefit the oligarchy class that President Biden is warning about. The progress we have made under President Biden's leadership--lower taxes for families, more affordable healthcare, investments in infrastructure and energy--should not be undone only to assuage the desires of a limited few.

We Democrats will continue the legacy that President Biden created, continue fighting for working families, and make sure that everyone in America--not just the uberwealthy--has a fair shot. TikTok

Mr. President, now on TikTok, the 170 million Americans who use TikTok are rightfully asking the same question: What will happen to the app after the ban enters into effect next week?

Today, I want to say a few words about protecting TikTok's future while also protecting America's national security at the same time.

We aren't against TikTok. We want TikTok to keep going. But we are against a Chinese company that is in cahoots with the Chinese Communist Party owning TikTok. Unfortunately, TikTok, as it exists today, has too many security risks that cannot be ignored. The law passed last year was intended to sever TikTok from the influence of the CCP while keeping the app available for Americans.

It is clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers. That is why, last night, Senate Democrats tried to pass a bill that would extend the deadline to give everyone more time to come up with a workable solution, but Senate Republicans blocked our bill, which is stunning because time is running short.

We will continue to work to find a responsible solution to keeping TikTok going, protect American livelihoods, and protect against Chinese Communist Party surveillance. We must and can do all three. I have made my views clear to the current administration, and I will work with the Trump administration and with both parties to keep TikTok alive while protecting our national security.

We can all agree that we must protect Americans' privacy from the prying eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, but we also should agree it must be done in the right way, without risking content creators' livelihoods by rushing this process in a premature way. TikTok should survive but under new ownership. Cabinet Nominations

Mr. President, on nominations, this week, the American people have gotten their first real look at what is in store for them under a second Trump administration, and it is very bad news for the working and middle class. Senate Republicans, of course, are in the majority. They control, to a large extent, the final outcome of each nominee in this Chamber if they stick together. And Donald Trump's hold on Senate Republicans, as we have seen throughout the nominations process, is very, very strong.

Even so, there are two reasons why holding these hearings is extremely important regardless of outcome. First, they create a contrast between the parties. People will see what we stand for and what our Republican colleagues stand for as they support Trump's nominees. And second, the hearings create a record to hold these nominees accountable should they fail on the job down the line--which, unfortunately, I think many will, given their meager qualifications.

The contrast between whom Democrats will fight for and whom Republicans will fight for is becoming exceedingly obvious, thanks to these hearings. On the Democratic side, we want answers to the things Americans are worried most about: What does Donald Trump's agenda mean for jobs, for inflation? What are Trump's tariffs going to do to people's bottom lines? Will it send prices shooting up?

And people are going to ask: Are my prescription drugs going to get more expensive? They are going to ask: Will our broken tax system become even more unfair under President Trump in a way that rigs the system for the ultrawealthy? These are the questions Americans care about. These are the things Democrats want answers to from President Trump's nominees. And in many cases, the answers are very, very troubling.

Second, even if these nominees are confirmed in the end, given that Donald Trump's hold on Senate Republicans is so absolute, the American people deserve to have a record they can reference down the line.

Candidly, many of President Trump's nominees are not fit for the job. Look at Pete Hegseth. Confirming some of these people would be a reckless roll of the dice for our country, but Republicans, under pressure from President-elect Trump, seem willing to press ahead nonetheless.

Should the time come that some of these nominees fail on the job, the hearings we are holding right now will come back to haunt our Republican colleagues because the warnings will have been there from the start. By asking tough questions, by getting nominees on the record, by establishing that many of these individuals are unfit, these hearings will have been the canary in the coal mine that warns everyone that some of these nominees are too great a risk.

So Democrats will continue to uphold our responsibility to scrutinize each nominee on the issues Americans care about. We will continue asking the tough questions because working people deserve to know whose side Donald Trump is truly on. Is it working people, like Donald Trump claims, or is it corporate special interests like his nominations all too often suggest?

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