[Pages S2679-S2682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

  PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, 
 UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 
  RELATING TO ``ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM FOR APPLIANCE STANDARDS: 
  CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, LABELING REQUIREMENTS, AND ENFORCEMENT 
  PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT''

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will resume consideration of H.J. 
Res. 42, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 42), providing for 
     congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United 
     States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of 
     Energy relating to ``Energy Conservation Program for 
     Appliance Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling 
     Requirements, and Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer 
     Products and Commercial Equipment''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.


                       National Donate Life Month

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, April is National Donate Life Month. 
This is a month to raise awareness about the lifesaving importance of 
organ donation.
  There happen to be over 103,000 Americans on the national organ 
transplant waiting list. We should have confidence that our organ 
transplant system is efficient and that the system is also fair.
  Sadly, my oversight, dating back as far as 2005, has uncovered 
decades of corruption and mismanagement in that system. It has left 
vulnerable patients to die. They are on the waiting list while unused 
organs from generous American donors go to waste.
  Speaking of waiting lists, I have been concerned about reports of 
those on the wait-list being skipped over. This furthers the distrust 
in the organ donation system.
  Through my bipartisan oversight and the 2023 Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network law that we passed, the Federal Government is 
making long overdue changes. The law improved the management and the 
oversight of our organ transplant system and encouraged participation 
from competent and transparent contractors.
  To build on those reforms, in March, the President signed a 
continuing resolution that provided authority for the Department of 
Health and Human Services to collect registration fees from organ 
transplant member institutions. This action by our President ensures 
the 2023 law can be implemented properly.
  I encourage all Americans to consider being organ donors and to 
understand the impact it can have on saving lives. So when you get your 
driver's license, you can tell them you want to be an organ donor.
  It says ``donor'' right there on my driver's license.
  And, of course, besides encouraging people to be organ donors, I am 
keeping a close eye on how the Federal Government is implementing this 
new law that we passed in a bipartisan measure to give people the 
chance at a lifesaving transplant.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Democratic leader is recognized.


                  Trump Administration First 100 Days

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Americans woke up this morning to some

[[Page S2680]]

very troubling news. The economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025 by 
0.3 percent. It shrank. It was growing until now. It shrank. It is the 
worst quarter in years. Businesses, families, and consumers are bracing 
themselves for the hammer blow of Donald Trump's tariffs, and it is 
sending the economy into a tailspin.
  Today's GDP numbers show that Donald Trump is running America the 
same way he ran his businesses--into the ground. Before our very eyes, 
Donald Trump's policies of tariffs and tax hikes are strangling the 
economy. Donald Trump's first 100 days have been defined by one big 
``f'' word: ``failure.'' Donald Trump's first 100 days have been 
defined by the ``f'' word: ``failure''--failure on the economy, failure 
to lower costs, failure on foreign policy, failure on democracy, 
failure everywhere you look.

  Donald Trump must admit his failure and reverse course and 
immediately fire his economic team. Otherwise, we will see more of the 
same: failure and chaos and total incompetence.
  His tariff strategy?--total failure. China is not coming to the 
table. Manufacturing is not racing back to our shores. There is no 
strategy--only chaos. Every day, he changes his mind. One day, he says 
yes to tariffs; the next day, no. One day, this country is on the list; 
the next day, that country is on the list. No tariffs. Double the 
tariffs. On and on and on. As he is doing this, his policy advisers 
have different explanations for what he is doing and why he is doing 
it.
  Businesses pay the price for Donald Trump's failed policies. When 
businesses don't know what the President will do next, they can't plan 
for the future. They are not going to hire workers. I have talked to 
business leaders--small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and big 
businesses--in New York, and I am sure this is true around the country. 
They are holding off on any new spending because they don't know what 
Donald Trump will do next. His chaos is just totally impeding our 
economy. We are seeing it happen in real time.
  Because the tariff policy has been such a mess, such a failure, 
today, later today, Senators Wyden, Kaine, and I will force a vote here 
in the Senate to stop Donald Trump's trade wars. Our Republican 
colleagues have an opportunity to stop Donald Trump. Our resolution 
presents Republicans with a choice: Stand with Donald Trump or stand 
with American families.
  The GDP number today should be a wake-up call to Republican Senators 
now more than ever. Four voted with us the last time on tariffs about 
Canada. Many more should vote with us this time given the new numbers 
and given that this resolution covers all of the countries that Donald 
Trump has so failed on with tariffs.
  Senate Republicans know deep down that Donald Trump's tariff policies 
are awful for their States, so they have to choose today: Stick with 
Trump or stand with your States.
  But the failures don't stop there, just at tariffs. What about his 
promise to bring down costs? Again, failure--failure to bring down 
costs. Grocery prices are up. Housing is up. Rental housing is up. The 
price of a new car is up. Household appliances are up. Big retailers 
are warning that Donald Trump's trade war will make the problem far, 
far worse.
  Foreign policy? Total failure. Putin is emboldened. China is not 
coming to the table. Our allies are all losing trust. He is ready to 
break up the European alliance over Ukraine.
  DOGE? Total failure. Elon Musk talked a big game on cutting waste and 
reducing fraud, but DOGE is attacking Social Security, attacking 
veterans' care, attacking cancer research.
  That is not cutting waste, Mr. Musk. That doesn't make the government 
more efficient. That puts a dagger to the programs that America needs 
and which make our country strong.
  The list goes on. Rooting out corruption? Failure. Transparency? 
Failure. The rule of law? Failure. Economic optimism? Failure. It is 
one big ``f'' word: ``failure.''
  While our economy sinks in real time, while consumers get saddled 
with Donald Trump's tariffs, Republicans are complicit. They are 
coconspirators. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump as he cuts 
taxes for billionaires. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump as he 
wants to obliterate Medicaid. They are aiding and abetting Donald Trump 
as he wants to add $52 trillion to the national debt. They want to help 
the richest of the rich while telling the working people to get lost.
  The Republican agenda boils down to five dismal words: ``Billionaires 
win; American families lose.'' This is a recipe for failure if there 
ever has been one.
  Finally, as Donald Trump destroys our economy, the American people 
cannot and will not stand by as he also tries to destroy our democracy. 
Donald Trump is everything the Founding Fathers worried about when they 
wrote the Constitution. They feared a man who would see the rule of law 
as a nuisance, who would consider the truth as an inconvenience, and 
who would regard his fellow citizens as little more than subjects. 
Either kiss the ring, bow before the throne, or watch your back--that 
is the ethos of Donald J. Trump.
  Republicans howled at the Moon for years about weaponizing 
government, but no President in American history has weaponized the 
government like Donald Trump has in 100 days. The Department of Justice 
has become his personal henchman. He is assaulting the freedom of the 
press. He is assaulting our education system and institutions of higher 
learning. His deportation force is expelling American citizens with no 
due process. Let me repeat that. Donald Trump is deporting American 
citizens with no due process, and the American people don't like it.
  One of the traits of a dictator is someone hostile to all forms of 
accountability, to all forms of criticism. That is Donald Trump to a 
tee. He is scared of debate. He is scared of opposition. He can't stand 
the idea of others disagreeing with him. So, instead, he tries to crush 
anything he views as opposition. That is not strength; that is a sign 
of deep, deep, deep insecurity.
  The more Donald Trump tries to take America down this ominous road, 
the more he will face resistance. Democrats will oppose his agenda. The 
courts will oppose his attacks. Most of all, the American people will 
resist his hostile takeover of our democracy.
  I yield the floor.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.


                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the last 4 years, the Biden 
administration subjected Americans to an onslaught of regulations. 
Altogether, the Biden regulatory agenda cost $1.8 trillion. He heaped 
thousands of hours of paperwork on business owners, energy producers, 
and other hard-working Americans. And to what end? Well, often, these 
regulations were part of the Biden administration's radical climate 
agenda: efforts to tie up conventional energy production, force the 
widespread adoption of electric vehicles, and even go after things like 
household appliances.
  Those days are over. We are no longer regulating our way to the Green 
New Deal. President Trump has moved swiftly to unleash energy 
production and remove regulatory barriers, and Republicans in Congress 
are joining those efforts. To date, we have passed a number of 
resolutions blocking Biden-era regulations through the Congressional 
Review Act, and we will continue those efforts this week.
  Later today, we will vote on a resolution blocking the Biden 
administration's onerous appliance standards regulation--an effort that 
is going to be led here in the Senate by Senator Husted.
  This rule imposed stricter reporting requirements on a number of 
household appliances: dishwashers, dehumidifiers, pool heaters, air-
conditioners, light bulbs, and the list goes on.
  Reporting and certification requirements may not sound like much, but 
there is a lot of front-end work that has to be done--work that costs 
time and money and can place a huge burden on businesses and drive up 
prices for consumers.
  In its public comments on the Biden administration's appliance 
standards, Carrier, an appliance manufacturer, said that the Department 
of Energy failed to adequately account for the ``cost and burden . . . 
to comply with updated requirements.'' A manufacturers association said 
that the proposed

[[Page S2681]]

reporting standards had ``no practical utility.'' Another objected to 
what they called ``burden without benefit.''
  The same could be said of another Biden-era regulation we will be 
voting to overturn later this week.
  Last year, the Biden administration finalized a rule setting stricter 
standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers. These are the 
refrigerators and freezers that we see at convenience stores, in 
restaurants, and at grocery stores. In other words, it impacts a lot of 
small operators. These stricter standards threaten to drive up costs 
and reduce choice for the owners of these businesses--costs, I might 
add, that will inevitably be passed on to consumers in the form of 
higher prices.
  Proponents of this rule claim that more efficient appliances will 
save businesses money in the long run, but in the case of at least one 
new standard, the Department of Energy estimates that it will take more 
than 90 years--90 years--for a business to see those savings--in other 
words, longer than any business owner will survive at the head of his 
or her business.
  I thank Senator Moody for leading this effort to eliminate an 
unnecessary burden on America's small businesses.
  This week, the Senate is also taking up Senator Curtis's resolution 
to overturn the Biden administration's major source rule.
  This rule isn't just burdensome; it is backward. The Clean Air Act 
has two categories of pollutants: major source and area source. Major 
source pollutants are more heavily regulated, but the Biden 
administration's rule says that even if you reduce potential emissions 
below the threshold established in law for classification as major 
source pollutants, it doesn't matter; you are still subject to the 
stricter major source rules. Once in, always in. That is wrong. Worse, 
it removes an incentive to reduce emissions, undermining the very 
purpose of the Clean Air Act. So this week, the Senate will vote to 
eliminate this backward regulation.
  We have made progress on reining in excessive regulation, and the 
American people can count on Republicans to continue our efforts. We 
know that rules out of Washington can frequently have very negative 
consequences in the real world. Complying with a new rule costs money 
that could otherwise go toward innovation, improvements, or investing 
in employees. For small business owners, a new regulation can mean late 
nights trying to figure out what it means and how to make the business 
work while following the rules. Regulations can lead to higher costs 
and less choice for consumers. That is why we believe that regulatory 
power should be used judiciously, and it is why we are committed to 
eliminating rules that impose unjustified burdens.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the 
junior Senator from Ohio be allowed to complete his remarks before we 
go to the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                 China

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about America's 
future. It is a future that must be secure. It is a future that must be 
prosperous, and it is, most importantly, a future that must be free of 
all dependency from communist China.
  For decades, weak policies allowed China to exploit our workers, 
exploit our innovation, and exploit our markets. Under Republican 
leadership, America is once again reclaiming our strength.
  Yesterday, the Senate confirmed David Perdue to be the Ambassador to 
China. He is a proven leader, former Senator, extensive experience 
dealing with China that he has had in the past equips him to represent 
American interests abroad, and he will do it firmly. His confirmation 
shows Beijing that under President Trump, America will put our workers, 
our families, and our security first.
  The United States seeks a relationship with China, one that is fair, 
one that is respectful, and one that is reciprocal. Yet China's 
predatory actions demand a robust response. China's economic abuses are 
outrageous. What we are seeing is a predatory playbook. And using it in 
the past, China has gained an unfair advantage over global trade. China 
rigged the game with subsidies from the state, with currency 
manipulation, with market access barriers, and forced technology 
transfers. China abused our free enterprise and our open markets. At 
the same time, they slammed the door on American businesses. This came 
at the expense of American jobs, American innovation, and American 
security.
  The risks of dependency are serious. Just this year, China banned 
exports on several critical minerals that came to the United States.
  These critical minerals are vital for our technology as well as our 
national defense. So what is next? medical supplies? Today, 90 percent 
of U.S. antibiotics are stamped with ``Made in China.'' We can't forget 
the lessons learned during the COVID pandemic.
  We saw how dangerous it is to depend upon communist China for 
anything but certainly for lifesaving medicines and supplies.
  Every American agreed that the United States needed to work 
aggressively to bring these critical supply chains home. We said never 
again would we find ourselves in this dependent position. The costs of 
inaction are real. Since China joined the World Trade Organization back 
in 2001, more than 2 million American jobs vanished--jobs that our 
Republicans in Congress and in the White House are working to bring 
back with our economic policies.
  China's intellectual property theft alone costs America $600 billion 
a year. The Department of Justice links China to four out of five 
economic espionage cases. China is infiltrating our culture, our skies, 
and our farmland. They do this because they see us as weak.
  Today, China owns farmland in 27 States, often near military bases. 
My Wyoming colleague Senator Cynthia Lummis has legislation that would 
stop China from buying farmland next to Federal lands. This will be a 
safeguard to our national security.
  China's role in the fentanyl crisis is equally alarming. A recent 
report from the House Select Committee on Communist China exposed the 
depth of the Chinese Communist Party's involvement.
  Ninety-seven percent of the illicit fentanyl ingredients come from 
China. The Chinese Government subsidizes these ingredients, and it 
shields traffickers from prosecution. This crisis has killed nearly 
50,000 Americans last year, and this is a direct result of China 
exporting illicit fentanyl. President Trump has rightly acted to stop 
this deadly flood of drugs into our country. Ambassador David Perdue 
will press China to end its exports of fentanyl.
  Militarily, China's rapid buildup is a growing menace. Their military 
spending has skyrocketed. Today, China has the world's largest army. It 
has the world's largest navy. It has the world's second most advanced 
air force.
  China has quadrupled their intercontinental ballistic missiles from 
100 to 400. China produces 70 percent of the world's drones. China's 
shipyards vastly outpace our shipbuilding ability, and as the U.S. 
Secretary of Navy put it, one Chinese shipyard ``has more capacity than 
all of our [U.S.] shipyards combined.''
  China's territorial grabs and provocative actions threaten global 
peace. China's purchase of 90 percent of oil sales fuels global 
terrorism. To counter China's military aggression, America must 
undertake a massive military revival. We must ensure America's strength 
is unmatched, now and into the future.
  President Trump has long known that the Chinese Communist Party is 
the primary threat to peace, to our prosperity, and to the freedom in 
the world today. For far too long, previous leaders let China get rich 
while Americans got ripped off. President Trump is changing everything. 
His bold actions and determination are finally turning the tide.
  In his first 100 days, President Trump created over 450,000 American 
jobs. His

[[Page S2682]]

economic agenda is sparking an industrial revival. Hundreds of billions 
of dollars in private new investments is pouring into the United 
States. ``Made in America'' is back stronger than ever.
  Seventy-five countries are now lining up for trade talks with the 
United States. This is a testament to President Trump's skills as a 
dealmaker. More will come.
  Republicans are going to continue to champion policies that secure 
our supply chains and bring manufacturers home. We will work to end 
America's dependence on China for medicine, for minerals, and for 
manufacturing. This isn't about isolation; this is about our 
independence.
  President Trump is working every day to stop China from raiding our 
factories, from gutting our industries, and from stealing our jobs. 
Other leaders dealt with China from a position of weakness. Never 
again. President Trump is dealing with them from a position of 
strength.
  China must hear us loud and clear: Freedom is a powerful force. We 
will never give it away. We will not compromise our safety, our 
prosperity, or our liberty. We will never stop standing up for the 
American people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.


                              H.J. Res. 42

  Mr. HUSTED. Mr. President, I am proud to stand here and lead this 
commonsense legislation to reverse the cumbersome Biden-era regulation 
that we are addressing today. This resolution overturns a Biden-era 
Department of Energy rule that expands paperwork, testing, and 
reporting requirements for home and commercial appliance manufacturers, 
without improving performance standards.
  In other words, this rule wastes time and money, raising costs 
without delivering meaningful energy savings on items like dishwashers, 
clothes washers, and HVAC systems--things that people need to live and 
thrive every day. These are just everyday products that Ohioans depend 
on, and this Biden-era overreach makes it harder to afford them and 
leaves consumers with fewer choices and more costs.
  While I have been in Washington only a few months, I can see the drag 
that the inflationary policies of the last administration have had on 
the American people, and it is my priority to make America and Ohio 
better places to work, live, and thrive. That is why repeal of 
unnecessary regulations is so important.
  This bill contributes to the goal of cutting redtape for 
manufacturers, which gives consumers more choices and lower costs. This 
commonsense bill that has earned bipartisan support in the House is 
ready to be passed in the Senate and sent to the President's desk.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
legislation when we vote today. A vote for this bill is a vote for 
making life easier and more affordable for American consumers.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all debate time on 
H.J. Res. 42 is expired.
  The clerk will read the title of the joint resolution for the third 
time.
  The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read a 
third time.


                          Vote on H.J. Res. 42

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the 
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
  Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Whitehouse) is necessarily absent.
  The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 46, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 223 Leg.]

                                YEAS--52

     Banks
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Britt
     Budd
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Curtis
     Daines
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Husted
     Hyde-Smith
     Johnson
     Justice
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     Marshall
     McCormick
     Moody
     Moran
     Moreno
     Mullin
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Ricketts
     Risch
     Rounds
     Schmitt
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Sheehy
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Tuberville
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--46

     Alsobrooks
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt Rochester
     Booker
     Cantwell
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Fetterman
     Gallego
     Gillibrand
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     Kim
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lujan
     Markey
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schiff
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Slotkin
     Smith
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     McConnell
     Whitehouse
       
  The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 42) was passed.

                          ____________________