[Pages S516-S517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Trump Executive Orders

  Mr. President, I turn to another topic that is completely different, 
which is what is going on right now in the Halls of Congress and over 
at the new administration.
  I also join my colleagues in expressing serious concern about the 
chaos that we have seen in just the first week of this new 
administration.
  Earlier this week, the administration issued an order to cut off 
support that families across the country rely on, including funding for 
first responders. It was actually a two-page memorandum from a guy 
named Mr. Vaeth in the Office of Management and Budget. I have never 
heard of him, but he issued this two-page memorandum that made the 
intent very, very clear. He cut off loans and grants and announced that 
this was, in fact, the position of the administration and that they 
were going to freeze--or pause, in their words--loans

[[Page S517]]

and grants for everything from funding for childcare, for health 
centers, for medical research, and for the heating assistance that 
millions of people rely on in my State, especially on these cold, cold 
days. This order--made with a stroke of a pen by a single, unelected 
bureaucrat--opened the door to stalled projects, economic uncertainty, 
and confusion across the country.
  Yesterday, the administration--Mr. Vaeth himself--actually put in a 
one- or two-sentence memorandum that rescinded the one he had made just 
the day before. So that was a moment to say: OK. We are looking forward 
to working with our Republican colleagues and with the administration 
to make government more efficient and to look at reforms in the way 
things are done. OK. That is great. Let's do it together.
  But it wasn't over because then the administration created more 
confusion by putting out a series of contradictory statements and a 
social media post from the press secretary in the White House that, in 
fact, that wasn't true; that, in fact, the funds were still frozen.
  So we have still been getting calls throughout the day trying to 
figure it out. We have heard reports of some portals that have been 
shut down--I have heard that from other Senators as well--and then of 
some that have been opened up and some that, of course, have been 
opened up because of the temporary court stay that was put in place.
  This chaos--here is the point--does nothing to actually bring down 
the cost of housing, childcare, healthcare, energy bills. But it 
reminds us that it is our job for those of us who took an oath of 
office just about a month ago--that it is our job to protect and defend 
the Constitution because, honestly, this was a defiance of the 
Constitution. Congress is set up in article I. It is our job to make 
these decisions, and these were funds that were voted on and passed by 
Democrats and Republicans in working together when we got the last 
budget done, and then we got it extended.
  So this isn't a game. What Americans are feeling is real. A number of 
them voted for change--they wanted to see something new--but for them, 
that meant there actually being new things that helped them with costs.
  I think about the mom who was unsure if she could get her child into 
childcare yesterday when she saw the news.
  I think about the teenager in a cancer study when those funds were 
frozen.
  I think about the woman in an abusive relationship who has nowhere to 
go because her local domestic violence shelter was cut off from 
funding. My office heard yesterday from a domestic violence 
organization that couldn't access their funding.
  I think about the firefighters who rely on grants to hire and retain 
firefighters, as well as grants for equipment.
  I think about the 30,000-plus American veterans. I think about how 
our leading organization fighting veterans' homelessness gets half of 
its funding through Federal grants.
  I think about the construction workers who are worried they could 
lose their jobs if they are working on infrastructure projects right 
now--projects where the money has been not only voted on and signed 
into law but also where the money is actually out, and they are working 
on the projects, but then they don't know. The questions we got are, So 
are these funds frozen too?
  I think about the seniors who rely on Meals on Wheels. We have heard 
from volunteers with that program who are worried. What should we do? 
Should we keep serving the seniors? Are they going to have meals? What 
should we tell them when we go to the door and they ask us?
  I think about the small business owners who get their support through 
SBA loans.
  And I think about the rural families who count on electric co-ops--we 
have one of the highest percentages, in my State, of smaller co-ops--to 
keep the lights on.
  At a time when rural families are already dealing with the 
uncertainty of proposed tariffs and how that is going to affect them, 
particularly in farming communities, on workforce issues, with input 
costs, and more, the last thing they need right now is more chaos and 
confusion.
  As I said, article I of the Constitution makes it clear that it is 
Congress's job to direct funding through laws passed by both Chambers. 
It is a system of checks and balances. And I mentioned this at the 
inauguration: Why do we have the President's inauguration not at the 
White House or at a gilded executive office building, but we have it at 
the Capitol? Why do we do that? Because it is very clear: This is a 
country wherein the Founding Fathers set up a system of checks and 
balances with three equal branches of government. That is the 
foundation of our democracy.
  Fortunately, actually, there was pushback from this Chamber--there 
was pushback from our side of the aisle at least--and there was 
pushback when they looked at the law. Two Federal courts have said: No, 
that is not how this works.
  Despite all of that, everyone, I believe, in this Chamber is ready to 
work with the administration on some new ideas for reform, but that was 
not how this was handled. This was handled by a faceless bureaucrat, 
Mr. Vaeth, whom I have never met--I look forward to meeting him one 
day--who was able, with the stroke of a pen, to kind of call all grants 
and loans for all of these people and businesses to a halt--just like 
that. The result was just more confusion, more commotion, and more 
chaos, but maybe the chaos is the point.
  This was a moment where I was hopeful we could find common ground on 
some issues. Of course, I knew we would stand our ground on some 
things--that is how this place works--but we are not going to find 
common ground if we are in the middle of chaos, because then everyone 
rushes to defend the people in their States, which is what they have to 
do because their constituents are, like, What is this?
  With the three Chambers that we have here--with the executive branch 
and with the House and the Senate--we should try to work these things 
out. In fact, given that Republicans run all three branches right now, 
at least they should be able to work it out in a way that is legal. 
Instead, what do we hear about? We hear about tax breaks for 
billionaires at the expense of everyone else and of dismantling the 
healthcare system.
  This is a big deal--or as maybe the former President said in his 
words--a ``big `hmm' deal.''
  We have got to get this right if we are going to do this, if we are 
going to make change. But the way this happened--what happened here--
was wrong. I am glad there was pushback, and we are going to continue 
to lead that fight, but I hope our colleagues on the Republican side of 
the aisle, the next time, will join us.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.