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Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, when it comes to new tax breaks for billionaires, Republicans are going to work around the clock and stay through the night. But when it comes to stopping Trump's trade war for good, when it comes to stopping a tax increase aimed squarely at working families, when it comes to stopping the complete uncertainty that is chipping away at confidence in our economy, most Republicans can't be bothered, never mind that Trump is now pushing us into a recession and sending the markets whipsawing back and forth every time he tweets.

Trump may be retreating now from some of his most outlandish tariffs, but make no mistake, his trade war is far from over. First of all, he is still taxing goods from every country, across the board, at 10 percent, at least. That means higher prices and serious pain for families and small businesses across our country; not to mention, he is only escalating his boneheaded trade war with China with 145 percent tariffs.

There is no question we are in fierce competition with China. I chaired a committee hearing focused on this. We need to be competing to win. But that is not what Trump is doing.

Do my Republican colleagues understand it is not setting America up for success to launch an all-out trade war with the second largest economy in the world on a whim?

While people might be temporarily relieved by this so-called pause on the even higher tariffs, the fact of the matter is that Trump is only delaying them. The threat of even larger taxes, which American families simply cannot afford, is still like a timebomb, set to blow up our economy in 90 days. If Congress does not defuse that economic bomb, there is a real threat that it will blow up balance sheets for small businesses and farms, college savings accounts for our students, and your retirement savings, along with a lot more.

I have to emphasize the uncertainty and the constant, by-the-hour reversal of Federal policy. That alone is already causing massive harm.

How on Earth are you supposed to build your business if your costs skyrocket on a tweet?

How are you supposed to plan for retirement when the President is sending your 401(k) on a roller-coaster ride every time he is in a bad mood?

How are we ever going to rebuild trust--trust--with our trading partners across the world when the message the United States is sending right now is that our trade relationships are built on sand, and there is no logic to the tariffs the United States will impose?

How are they supposed to feel good about negotiating with a country where one man can totally burn down the economy and Congress will not lift a finger to stop him?

Instead of building stronger trade agreements, Trump is pushing our partners away and pushing them toward striking deals with China and our other adversaries.

Mark my words, this chaotic chapter is not over, as much as Republicans want to pretend otherwise. I have been hearing from small businesses that are in an absolute panic because of Trump's tariff threats.

Car dealerships are seeing sales plummet because Trump is sending prices higher. Restaurants are trying to stock up on any goods they can because their ingredients are about to get more expensive. Our growers are bracing for rising operating costs and retaliatory tariffs, and that will drive up prices at our grocery stores.

Ten percent, across-the-board tariffs are still bad enough to ruin families' finances.

While Republicans are showing with their own actions that they couldn't care more about shuffling trillions--and, yes, that is ``t,'' trillions--at billionaires, Trump has said, in his own words--in his words--that he ``couldn't care less'' about the pain his tariffs are already causing for Americans.

I am not kidding. He actually said that about automobile tariffs.

This is what happens when you only have billionaires in charge because, of course, Trump doesn't care if the car prices go up by a couple thousand dollars. Of course, Elon Musk doesn't care if your groceries are getting more expensive--at the same time Republicans are cutting nutrition programs, by the way. Of course, the richest people in the world don't care if your nest egg is crushed or your small business shutters or your house gets foreclosed on or your kid can't go to college. Billionaires are going to be fine. After all, they are still getting a tax cut.

But I wasn't sent here to fight for billionaires. Actually, none of us were. We are here to fight for families back home, and they are already starting to get crushed by Trump's tariffs. And they are bracing for impact if Trump doubles down in 90 days. Or who knows, maybe Trump changes his mind again tomorrow. It is anyone's guess at this point, which is, by the way, the problem here.

Another thing, if this is about American manufacturing, tell us: Why are plants and new investments being canceled? Why has Trump been freezing and outright canceling grants that we passed to support chips manufacturing or clean energy, and more, killing American jobs?

Let's keep in mind, these tariffs affect building and construction too. Trump is actually making it more expensive to build those factories in America.

And don't forget, President Trump is still promising more tariffs. He said this week--this week--he wants to put tariffs on medicine.

I have got to tell you, one thing I have never heard--not in a single meeting, not once in my entire career as a Senator--is someone saying: Gee, I really wish my prescriptions were more expensive.

Drug costs are out of control. Families are already skipping meals or rationing doses. There are real stakes here, there is real damage already happening in this country because of Trump's new taxes and this ongoing chaos. We here cannot ignore this harm, especially when the threat is still there.

When you are putting out a fire, you don't say: Oh, great, it is smaller; I am done. You keep going until the fire is put out.

This fire--this fire--is still raging, and if we don't act here, folks back home are the ones who are going to get burned. And before too long, in 90 days, we could see even more price increases come roaring back, because, let's be real, Trump has no exit strategy. That much is already painfully clear.

It was clear when he announced tariffs that were calculated using ridiculous math. It was clear when he repeatedly doubled down on these threats against our allies. And it was clearer than ever when he backtracked on the most absurd tax hikes.

This does not have the hallmarks of a grand strategy, and it is all the more reason why Congress--us--needs to step in and put this mess to an end.

Trump's trade war is all pain and no plan. We could be passing legislation right here to reject this chaos.

Here is what everyone--my colleagues, my constituents, the markets around the world--all need to understand: This chaos will not be over for good unless we here in Congress vote to end it, because whatever Trump tweets today, he can reverse tomorrow. Whatever deal he may strike one minute, he may rip up the next. We know this about him. He proves it at every opportunity.

We here in Congress, we are the off-ramp if Republicans decide to be. We are the check on Presidential power. We are the kill switch for Trump's trade war.

And, by the way, we are about to be out of town for 2 weeks. I cannot understand why any Republican would want to leave this business unfinished, want to leave this economic timebomb ticking, want to hand over our constitutionally granted power to impose tariffs.

But I can tell you, for the next 2 weeks, I am going to be going across my home State of Washington raising this alarm. I am going to be meeting with families, small businesses--people who are paying the cost of Trump's new tax increase and who are going to see their world turned upside down if we do not take action to stop this from getting worse.

And when we get back here in 2 weeks, you can bet your bottom dollar, I will lift those stories up as high as I can. I will call for action as loud as I can. I am going to keep a bright and burning spotlight on all of the chaos Trump has caused, and I will keep the pressure on all of our colleagues. I will not let Republicans off the hook on this.

We can put an end to this. The costs are just going to be adding up. The carnage is going to continue to pile higher.

How long do you want to wait? My vote--not one more second.

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