Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Federal Communications Commission Relating to ``Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program''

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Donald Trump's trade war is a gut punch to the American people. It is the biggest tax hike on families in half a century.

If Donald Trump is going to tax the American people, they have a right to know precisely how much. So, today, I am introducing legislation with Representative Raskin requiring retailers to show consumers precisely how much tariffs are increasing the prices of their products. It is no different than when your utility bill shows fees or a receipt shows if a service charge is included or not.

Specifically, the legislation that Representative Raskin has introduced in the House and I am introducing in the Senate requires large retailers to display in a ``clear and conspicuous'' way the amount that tariffs contribute to a good's final pricetag.

Our bill is about transparency. It is about being straight with consumers. It is about informing the consumers how Donald Trump's tariffs will impact the family budget. And retailers should like it because these increases in prices are not their fault; it is Trump's fault, with his tariffs.

So let the public know. And that is a secondary benefit that will make the public even more angry, and they may call their Republican Senators and Congressmen and say join with Democrats and pass some of our legislation that would repeal some of these tariffs.

The White House growls that companies with the audacity, they said-- audacity--to be honest with consumers about the cost of tariffs are being hostile and political. But this is not hostile or political at all; it is simply being honest with consumers. It is clarity. It is transparency.

It is a smart policy, so of course the White House opposes it because they don't want people to know how much these tariffs are damaging them. It is estimated that if the present tariffs go into effect, the average family will pay $4,000 more. Well, we want to let them know how much the price is increased for food, for housing, for gasoline, for groceries, for prescription drugs.

Last week, for instance, Ford announced they are increasing the price of at least three models by as much as $2,000, in part because of Trump's tariffs. Under our bill, that $2,000 price hike should be spelled out to consumers as in reality what it is--a tariff tax.

Americans deserve to know who is picking their pockets. Our bill will make clear to the American people that Donald Trump's tariffs are a painful tax eating away at their hard-earned money. It will make clear to the American people that Donald Trump's promise to ``lower costs starting on day one'' is a mirage, a fiction--a cruel fiction--all for a chaotic tariff policy that is sending our economy into a tailspin.

On those tariffs themselves, today, Donald Trump is set to announce a new supposed trade deal between the United States and the UK, the United Kingdom. We are still waiting to get the details, but this much is clear: Whatever Donald Trump's announcement with the UK looks like, it isn't a triumph of strategy; rather, it is a product of chaos. And with this President, if past is prologue, who knows if this deal will actually stick.

This is the Trump administration's credo: government by chaos. Just look at how Donald Trump is dealing with Canada, and it tells you everything you need to know about how untrustworthy his UK announcement is. First, Donald Trump says yes on tariffs with Canada; then he says no. Then he insults Canada, calls it the ``51st State.'' Moments later, he meets with Prime Minister Carney and says ``Canada loves us and we love Canada.''

No one knows what Donald Trump will say next. If this were a roller coaster, the whiplash would paralyze everybody involved. So American businesses and American consumers have no faith that the President has a design. Whatever is in front of his face that day, whatever pressure there might be on him, he reacts. And it doesn't matter if he said the complete opposite thing a day or a week earlier.

Early this morning, members of the President's own Cabinet are already lowering expectations of the deal, saying it is only ``an agreement in concept''; ``there's a lot of details to be worked out.'' And we know what happens when that happens, particularly in a Trump administration.

Donald Trump's new trade deal with the UK seems to be built entirely on quicksand. It is likely to be built on quicksand. He blows with the political winds. When people say he is too reckless, he backs off. When there is criticism of him backing off, he reintroduces the bill. So it would be hard to take anything the President says about this deal seriously because, in all likelihood, he will change his mind again. Anti-Semitism

Mr. President, on anti-Semitism, this morning, the Anti-Defamation League issued a new report illustrating a disturbing trend I have been warning about: the rise of anti-Semitism in America. Specifically, this report looked at anti-Semitism toward Jewish Members of Congress, which has dramatically risen--something I can attest to firsthand.

Social media has become a breeding ground for anti-Semitism. But it is not just elected officials. Social media has become an easy way for hate groups to organize and proliferate their message against all sorts of communities and individuals. They go after Jewish-owned businesses. They go after synagogues. They go after families. They direct anti- Semitic slurs even against individuals who might not be Jewish.

We must not allow anti-Semitism to grow unabated in America like wild weeds. As the great poet Conor Cruise O'Brien said, anti-Semitism is a light sleeper. When there is trouble, somehow anti-Semitism always pops its head up--the Jewish people being made scapegoats, as we have been for centuries. It must be confronted at every instance. It must be rooted out.

We all play a part in fighting back against the forces of intolerance. People of all backgrounds, faiths, beliefs, and opinions have a duty to stand up and speak out against hate, no matter where it comes from. Federal Budget

Mr. President, now, on the Trump budget, if you asked AI to come up with a Federal budget that utterly screws over average Americans, do you know what the AI would come up with? Donald Trump's latest budget proposal. So, today, let's look at Trump's so-called skinny budget a little more closely. It is hard to believe that this is a serious proposal.

If enacted, the Trump budget would completely gut public safety, something they say they want to strengthen. Trump's own FBI Director, Kash Patel, one of the most loyal Trumpites, testified in the House yesterday that the FBI can't meet its mission to keep Americans safe with the cuts in Trump's budget.

If Kash Patel, one of Donald Trump's most loyal acolytes, says this budget won't work, who else is going to come out against it? How can we take this budget seriously? If Patel is against it, so will be many other Cabinet officers, publicly or privately. How carefully was it even done? Did the people who put it out know they are slashing the FBI? The budget has sloppy and reckless written all over it, and even Kash Patel agrees.

That is not all. The Trump budget would also strangle American families. It is an all-out assault on American healthcare. Under Donald Trump's budget, America's housing crisis would go from bad to worse.

Hell will freeze over before Democrats entertain anything remotely close to Trump's budget. This budget proposal is dead on arrival in the Senate, and anything close to it will go nowhere as well. Medicaid

Mr. President, on Medicaid and the CBO, the Republicans right now are struggling with a very basic idea that the truth sometimes hurts. In their case, the truth is that Republican policies are so deeply unpopular with the American people. Republicans are realizing that, and it has left them paralyzed.

Now that Republicans actually have to produce a bill, reality is catching up with them. No more bland words. No more: Don't worry; we will protect you. The budget shows what they are actually up to.

Yesterday, the CBO reported that no matter which scheme of Medicaid cuts Republicans are likely to choose, the result will be that millions will become uninsured. Republicans can try any which way to make their bill work, but their numbers just don't add up. There is no way for Republicans to accomplish their massive tax giveaways without devastating millions of working and middle-class people.

Even if the Republicans pass a fraction of their proposed Medicaid cuts, it still means millions will lose their healthcare. And for what? So that billionaires can get another tax break that they don't need at a time of high inflation and a possible recession? That is the definition of cruelty.

This is the fundamental problem Republicans are facing right now as their infighting continues--that their policies are deeply, deeply unpopular with the American people--not just blue State Republicans but purple and red State Republicans too. Telling the American people that you want to ax their healthcare so that extremely rich people can pay less in taxes is a horrible message that virtually hardly anyone in America agrees with, but that is precisely what Republicans are trying to do. So it is no surprise they are eating their own tails trying to figure out how to proceed.

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