🏛️ Legislative Branch |
Congressional Record |
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On March 14, 2025, Congress took important steps by passing two key bills in the Senate. First, they approved the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act ( S. 331) with a strong vote of 84 to 16. This law aims to better control dangerous fentanyl-related drugs to help fight the opioid crisis. Second, they passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act ( H.R. 1968) with a vote of 54 to 46, which keeps government funding running until September 30, 2025. These actions are significant because they address urgent issues like drug trafficking and ensure the government can continue to operate smoothly. Read full document →
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Random excerpts from the Senate
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last Tuesday, I released a committee report. The committee report was about my investigation about the Obama-Biden administration’s obstruction of FBI law enforcement efforts against Iran. My report was based in large part on whistleblower disclosure and FBI records. The FBI records show that the Obama-Biden administration blocked arrests of indicted Iranian terrorists in 2015 and 2016. Now, I know, to my constituents and my fellow Senators, that is history, but it is history that we don’t want to repeat. The records show that interference was done against our own people to score political points for what ended up being the failed Iran nuclear deal. Specifically, then-Secretary of State Kerry actually stopped the FBI from doing its job, and the purpose of that interference was to appease Iran. One FBI agent emailed: “We’re all beside ourselves on asking the field to stand down on a layup arrest, however, as it stands right now we all have to sit back and wait until all the US and Iran negotiations resolve themselves.” The Obama-Biden administration made our country less safe. We don’t want history to repeat itself. So, as you might expect, none of this changed until President Trump took office in his first term. Records show international banks stopped financing projects in Iran because of the incoming Trump Presidency. Whistleblower disclosures show the Trump administration brought criminals to justice when the Obama-Biden administration did not bring those same criminals to justice. So now we are in a new Trump administration. I encourage President Trump and his new Director of the FBI, Patel, to take heed of the positive impact in the first Trump term and let the FBI line agents do their jobs without political rot getting in the way. I yield the floor.
— Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, as everyone knows, government funding expires at midnight tonight. As I announced yesterday, I will vote to keep the government open. I believe it is the best way to minimize the harm that the Trump administration will do to the American people. Clearly, this is a Hobson’s choice. The CR is a bad bill. But as bad as the CR is, I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option. A shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. Let me repeat: A shutdown will allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. It would give Donald Trump and DOGE the keys to the city, State, and country. Donald Trump and Elon Musk would be free to destroy vital government services at a much faster rate than they can right now and over a much broader field of destruction that they would render. In a shutdown, Donald Trump and DOGE will have the power to determine what is considered essential and what is not, and their views on what is not essential would be mean and vicious and would decimate vital services and cause unimaginable harm to the American people. Making matters even worse, in a shutdown, there is no check on their determinations, Trump and DOGE’s determinations on what is essential and what is not. In fact, on February 26, OMB, led by Russell Vought, told Agencies to work with DOGE to create a list of nonessential workers so that they could reduce staffing even faster in a shutdown. They are already preparing for a shutdown. Musk has told everybody he wants a shutdown because he knows it will help him achieve his horrible goal of just decimating the Federal Government from one end to the other. In other words, if government were to shut down, DOGE has a plan in place to exploit the crisis for maximum destruction. A shutdown would be the best distraction Donald Trump could ask for—distraction from his awful agenda. Donald Trump owns the chaos in government. He owns the chaos in the stock market. He owns the damage happening to the economy. But he knows that if government shuts down and all the fighting is over which Agencies should be kept and which shouldn’t and Republican Senators and Congressmen in just obeisance to Trump keep putting bills on the floor to decide that, it will totally distract from the most important fight of all: fighting Republicans for eviscerating Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid while giving trillions in tax cuts to the ultrarich. That is the fight American people must know about. A shutdown will be a costly distraction from this all-important fight. Finally, I want to close by reminding everyone it was Republicans who pushed this false shutdown choice. Their inability to govern has led us to this precipice. Our caucus Members have been torn between two awful alternatives, and my colleagues and I have wrestled with which alternative would be worse for the American people. Different Senators come down on different sides of this question, but that does not mean that any Senate Democrat supports a shutdown. Whatever the outcome, our caucus will be united in our determination to continue the long-term fight to stop Donald Trump’s dangerous war on our democracy and on America’s working families. I yield the floor.
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Random excerpts from the House
“We stand at a crossroads in our nation’s history, where the very fabric of our democracy is being tested. The actions we take today will echo through generations, and we must choose wisely. It is not just about the policies we enact; it is about the legacy we leave for our children and grandchildren. Let us not falter in our duty to uphold the principles of freedom and justice that define us as a nation.”
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7)
“We cannot allow fear to dictate our policies or our actions. The American people deserve leaders who will stand up for their rights and their freedoms, not cower in the face of adversity. It is time to reject the politics of division and embrace a future where every voice is heard and valued. Together, we can build a nation that reflects our highest ideals and aspirations.”
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