What Bernie Moreno said, and what was done

“Madam President, if the motion for the Senate to adjourn with pro forma sessions scheduled until September 14 would have been a recorded rollcall vote, I would have voted no.”

“Mr. President, so I think it is important to clear up a couple of things in no particular order. First of all, I did not cosponsor the HONEST Act.”

“I am objecting. Sorry. Well, let me--just continuing. So let's talk about voter ID really quickly. My colleague from California said that the Republicans are not united on voter ID, and that is absolutely, absolutely, positively false.”

“Mr. President, reserving my right to object, the bill that my colleague from Nebraska, my colleague from Ohio, and my colleague from Utah is proposing is a bill that has already passed the House of Representatives.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object. There is an expression that says don't let facts get in the way of a good story. What we just heard is a good story.”

“Mr. President, very briefly, let me make a couple of things clear. This resolution isn't about insulting Canadians; this resolution is about calling out inept leaders in Canada.”

“Madam President, reserving the right to object, let me say a few things. One, resolutions like this sound very much mild. It actually is just a bunch of words that basically just say: Resolved, That the Senate recognizes unchecked climate change poses severe risks to national and global economies.”

“But what does he want? He wants our industries to be collapsed, our industries to be held to a different standard--not one word from China--and espousing policies like this electric vehicle subsidy for the richest Americans, while, at the same time, there are people flying around in private jets to global conferences to talk about climate change.”

“The objection that I have heard of this conversation--we heard it at committee the other day--is how this bill absolutely rips apart States' rights. You talked about that, Senator Lee, in your conversation.”

“You know, in debate, they taught me, if there is nobody who objects to your point, that that point is made. So I think the Democrats have ceded that point.”

“The response? Hearing none. All right. We are going to move on to objection No. 2; that is, it is already illegal. It is interesting because that is a good point.”

“And his assistant repeated it. And he completely looked at me like I was a knucklehead and said: Why would you possibly let somebody vote that doesn't have an ID to prove who they are?”

“Do you think it is possible that in a country like Colombia that has incredible amounts of ethnic diversity and Hispanics--like myself, I was born there--that when you are Hispanic and you are in Colombia, you are able to find your ID, but that when you cross the border, you lose that ability?”

“Well, obviously, we are being sarcastic, and the reason we are being sarcastic is this is really ridiculous. It actually is just blatantly ridiculous that we are sitting here on the floor of the U.S.”

“Mr. President, just really quickly and with all due respect to my colleague from Connecticut, he wasn't part of the negotiation process. He has no idea what conversations were had with the Iranians.”

“President Trump is the only President in my lifetime who had the courage to actually do what was needed. What this agreement will get to is what we should all hope for, all of us--Republicans, Democrats, and just anybody who is a citizen of the United States of America.”

“Mr. President, I want to urge my colleagues, at 4:30 today, to vote strongly in objection to S. Res. 616. This resolution, introduced by our Democrat colleagues, is a relic of a failed past approach to Central America, one that imposes a leftist ideology and a purity test and ties our hands, while cartels flood our streets with poison and chaos spills across our borders in the hemisphere.”

“Mr. President, I will make my remarks very, very brief. For those watching on TV, wondering what their government did this week, what you just witnessed on the floor of the U.S.”

“And I hope and pray to God that nothing happens in this country where an American is killed or something happens to this Nation as a result of what we just witnessed here today.”

“Mr. President, you know, honestly, I didn't hear a word of what the minority leader said because I didn't hear him address what we are here to do.”

“Madam President, the motion is right here. You know what words are not in here? Immigration enforcement and border protection. We have been sitting here for almost 12 hours listening to nonsense after nonsense.”

“Mr. President, first of all, this amendment, as you know, has no budgetary impact. You know that. You know it doesn't produce a change in outlays and revenues.”

“In case my Republican colleagues are worried, you are not having a stroke. You are hearing the exact same exact amendment again; it is just 6 hours later after 18 hours of total nonsense.”

“Mr. President, after 18 hours of us on the Republican side trying to fund ICE and Border Patrol, you will be shocked to know that now the Democrats are suggesting amendments for things that are already in the bill.”

“Mr. President, there is a tragic Spanish novel called ``Don Quixote,'' and that is what we are down to here at 3:15 in the morning. Now they have us chasing windmills.”

“Mr. President, I have a crazy idea for my colleagues to consider. I am just word-shopping this one out. I think what we should do, instead of figuring out how to hire more police officers and Federal law enforcement--here is a crazy idea: Why don't we pay them?”

“If I could just have my colleagues indulge me for just a second, if you could take out your phones, open up your favorite AI app, and type the following: How could a Democrat Senator make an annoying amendment to try and distract from their failure to fund ICE and Border Patrol?”

“Mr. President, there is no slush fund. We have discussed this ad nauseam for hours. But I will ask--I will actually be inspired by my colleague from California.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Kennedy.”

“Mr. President, as you know as somebody who led an incredibly distinguished business career, integrity and confidence are the key building blocks in any institution. We take a solemn oath here to our Constitution and to represent our constituents free of any conflicts of interest whatsoever.”

“Mr. President, first of all, I am very thankful that the Senator from Oregon is now completely on the side of President Trump in making certain that we restore home ownership for Americans.”

“But I do believe it. Would you consider modifying the resolution to take that piece out, just to make it clear, the paychecks while we are here, whatever the wording--that you and I sit down and we technically fix that wording so it basically says: During this period of time while DHS is not being funded?”

“I appreciate the Senator from Illinois and his point of view. I will ask Senator Kennedy to make those modifications, and we will come back out and fix it, but I appreciate, again, your willingness to engage in this conversation.”

“Mr. President, point of order of the Parliamentarian: I would ask my colleague to remember rule XIX, in which you are analogizing me to a hostage taker. I find that offensive.”

“Madam President, again--again, Madam President-- Mr. MERKLEY.--completely focused on-- Mr. MORENO.--you have warned the Senator from Oregon. He has repeated the exact same statement. I believe rule XIX does now allow him to continue speaking if he is violating that standard.”

“Madam President, the questions I was hoping the Senator would answer, so they would be more fresh in his mind, were: Is the Senator only suggesting right now, just to be crystal clear--crystal clear--a lot of people's lives are at stake here, by the way.”

“Is the Senator suggesting that we not also fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency? Is he suggesting that we not do that; yes or no? What is his response?”

“Please, let's maintain decorum here. I think the American people deserve public officials, who are receiving paychecks while they are not, to have a semblance of decorum and class with each other.”

“Can I have an amen to fund that Agency for the rest of the year and never ever, ever gamble with that threat? Now, let's talk about this Agency here: Homeland--you can't read that, but Homeland Security Investigations special agents.”

“Madam President, I think I have the floor. English is my second language, so I sometimes speak too fast and maybe don't use the right language. So let me just be crystal clear again.”

“Madam President, there is an old movie line that says: I think we have a failure to communicate. So let me try one last swing here to make sure that I make it crystal clear.”

“Madam President, I would agree to--we are almost there, but this is actually very important. We are making a lot of progress. And I think the plaque will be there for a long, long time.”

“Of course. Mr. MERKLEY.--which means he is reserving the right to object when I get part way into the explanation to his question. But let's be clear. Because of the sequence of events in which I proposed two modifications and he rejected two modifications--he rejected and objected to paying through the end of September the TSA.”

“Madam President, let's just spend 60 more seconds here to recap what we have. So my colleague from Oregon representing the Democrats--who has been given a lot of time to kind to figure out how to come here--has said that what the position of the Democratic Party today is--today's position--different Saturday, by the way; different Sunday.”

“Mr. President, for those who are not familiar with what actually happens here in Washington, DC, as I stated earlier, for the fifth time, Democrats have blocked to end debate on whether 260,000 families should get paid for the work that they have done.”

“Is it true that, yesterday, my fellow Republican Senator, Senator Husted, who is doing an amazing job--a good man that I have known for 20 years. Is it true that he proposed a bill that would have simply required photo ID to vote?”

“There are just a few of us here in this Chamber, but I see my colleague from Connecticut. So I am going to ask the Senator a question, my colleague from Utah.”

“Mr. President, today marks the fifth time that Republicans have asked to end debate and allow us to discuss funding the Department of Homeland Security. So for the people at home that don't keep up with Senate procedures, what the Democrats have actually done again, for the fifth time, is not even let us get on the bill and actually debate it.”

“Mr. President, I would like to continue exactly the themes my colleague from Vermont brought up, except I think, before we talk about artificial intelligence, we should talk about natural intelligence.”

“American families, who work for our government, who are doing their job and not getting paid. That, to me, is the crisis we should be talking about. And, yes, I agree with my colleague from Vermont.”

“Mr. President, I am not sure what I just heard because I just offered to fund TSA. I just offered to fund the Coast Guard, FEMA, Customs and Border Patrol, Secret Service, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, USCIS, Homeland Security Investigations.”

“So Homeland Investigations is part of ICE. There are 7,000 special agents that work for ICE that stop transnational criminals. You are not suggesting that we not fund them, are you?”

“Nothing else. And what is wrong with that--in case you didn't hear the peanut gallery, what is wrong with that is that there are hundreds of thousands of other government employees who, through no fault of their own--they did nothing wrong.”

“I, with a broken heart, object. And we did not do the right thing for the American people today, and it is a shame. Politics got in the way of helping working Americans.”

“Madam President, I thought I would give my colleague from California some fantastic news. There are so many times in politics we hear bad news, but I am going to give him good news.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senators Schiff, Lee, Cantwell, and myself.”

“Mr. President, I would like to echo my colleague's sentiment. I think he said it beautifully and perfectly. I think he honored these three brave soldiers really well.”

“Mr. President, as you know, I have only had the honor--I call it an honor honestly--the honor to serve as a U.S. Senator for 14 months. Every day when I drive down Pennsylvania, make a left on Constitution, and see the sunrise over the Capitol, I genuinely feel the weight of how important this office is.”

“Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, I just offered to fund the Department of Homeland Security 5 minutes ago. In fact, I said in good faith that we could sit down, have a conversation, and get this thing done.”

“Madam President, I rise today to address a crisis that strikes at the heart of what makes our Nation exceptional: the American dream. Like many who came before me, I came to America with my family to find my version of that American dream.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to propose a very simple bill that I think most Americans can understand. It has a very simple basic principle: If you are on any type of government aid, you are restricted from sending money overseas.”

“To my colleague from Oregon, who I don't really know well, let me say this. As somebody that actually came to this country from a foreign land legally, I find it decently insulting that you would paint a picture of immigrants coming here to be dependent on the government.”

“I will remind the Senator: I in no way disparaged your family. I didn't even mention your family. What I did mention is that you made the point that we are harming immigrants who come here who might be dependent on social safety net programs and sending that money back overseas.”

“Mr. President, I rise today with deep personal gratitude and profound admiration to honor a legendary American, Roger S. Penske. This past Friday, February 20, marked his 89th birthday.”

“Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the rollcall vote on the cloture of the Fowlkes nomination, remarks of Senator Kennedy, and resuming of legislative session.”

“Thank you to the Democrat leader for yielding for a question. Have you put forward a proposal that we could read that you reference in your speech, which says a clean continuing resolution, with the extension of the ACA Biden credits?”

“Just to be clear, what we heard from the minority leader was the following. I want to recap for those who might have missed it. No. 1, he acknowledged that the Democrats have not put forward a written proposal that people could look at.”

“So zero. Not one single Democrat is in the Chamber listening, debating, having a dialogue with you. Question No. 2: If you are a union worker in my State of Ohio, do these Biden, ObamaCare, COVID-era subsidies lower their health costs?”

“To your knowledge, was there a hearing last year, in 2024, in which the Democrats got together and said: ``Whoa, of these Biden-era COVID ObamaCare subsidies, we set them to expire in 2025.”

“Wait. I am confused. They set the expiration date of 2025, and then they didn't have one hearing to say: ``My God.'' Now, how about in December of 2024?”

“So this is a political stunt, and the American people need to see it for what it is. In my career, I have negotiated my whole life. Negotiation is about leverage.”

“What does that mean, ``shutting down the government''? Who is the leverage? Is it the air traffic controllers who aren't getting paid or the Capitol Police who aren't getting paid?”

“Would you have a hard time walking into this building, Senator, and seeing those Capitol Police officers out there and your staff and knowing that you voted not to pay them?”

“Knowing that you walk by TSA to go to your lobbyist retreat in the Napa Valley, and you know that you are responsible for their not getting paid and that they are your leverage and SNAP recipients and Head Start recipients?”

“Two final questions, then I will yield the floor. Our great Senator from West Virginia needs to speak. Twenty-six billion dollars--$26 billion--a number that most Americans can't even conceive of.”

“Last question: The COVID-era Biden subsidies were set to expire in 2025, by Democrats. Did you know that when they had power, they set the EV--electric vehicle--subsidies to expire in 2032?”

“Correct. And they were $7,500. You could lease a Rolls- Royce, a Mercedes, a Lamborghini, and if you did that, the government would give you $7,500. I want the American people to think about that when they understand how far gone the Democrat party has gone.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand in recess under the previous order, following the remarks of my Democratic colleagues.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me say to my colleague from Nevada that neither one of us represent Florida. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution is clear that the Federal Government has a limited set of powers, and most powers are delegated to the States.”

“I think one of the things that I can agree on with my colleague from Nevada--and there are a lot of things I think we can work together on.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator from Nevada's willingness to work with me to get this bill across the finish line. You have my commitment that my team will reach out to yours.”

“Madam President, as you know, like I do, we had a terrible tragedy that occurred last week. I don't think that it is quite understood by people who Charlie's life didn't affect and what that meant to all of us.”

“Mr. President, I just want to clear the irony here that the person who is speaking right now has been a small business owner my entire life, and my colleague has never owned a business.”

“I rise to draw some sunlight and daylight with what is actually going on at the Fed. There is a lot of commentary that you hear in the news and social media, sometimes in a world here of hyperpartisanship, the facts get lost.”

“Got to go? OK. Well, here are the questions I was going to ask. He mentioned in his comments what is obvious, the President nominated somebody to be an inspector general.”

“Madam President, I would like to congratulate William Kimmitt on his confirmation as the next Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. This is an outstanding appointment not just for the Department of Commerce, but also for the American people.”

“Mr. President, as I said earlier and I predicted earlier, our Democrat colleagues have come out totally mischaracterizing this bill. So let me just go through this again very slowly so that they can watch it and listen.”

“If you take out a car loan for an American-made automobile and you can deduct that interest, the bill, in the text, specifies that you cannot make more than $100,000 per year.”

“Mr. President, we are about to enter a historic moment in this Chamber. We are going to take up a bill called the One Big Beautiful Bill. If you have been watching the media over the last maybe 6 months, you heard all kinds of absolute misinformation about this bill.”

“Mr. President, I had the opportunity to meet Senator Husted when he was State Representative Husted about 15, maybe 20 years ago. I don't want to age myself.”

“Reserving the right to object, and if my Democratic colleague could just yield for a very brief question for clarification, I think, for those listening: How do you define a small business?”

“Just real quickly. Again, I truly respect my colleague and his point of view. I want to remind him that there is a great Massachusetts family, the Hassenfelds.”

“Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1771, which is at the desk; further, I ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”

“First, let me say I appreciate my colleague's willingness to acknowledge that we have to support law enforcement. The reason I went into elected office is to prevent these types of debates.”

“Let me finish real quick. The point is very simple. I get it. I get it. Politics has become a sport. It is about one team winning and one team losing, but that is why I ran for office, and I hope you can remember back when you first ran for office.”

“Mr. President, I have been in the U.S. Senate now for a total of 125 days. I have seen some outrageous comments over the last 125 days. My colleague has been here exactly 12,000 days more than I have.”

“What happened? People came over and savagely--savagely--murdered children, raped women, took hundreds of hostages, killed more Jews than at any time since the Holocaust. What you just heard for the last 15 minutes could be summarized as the absolute propaganda of Hamas.”

“Reserving the right to object, think about some numbers. I was 5 years old when I came to this country from South America, 18 when I became a citizen.”

“I actually read the resolution. Again, I will repeat it. There is no greater friend of Israel's in the White House, ever in the history of the United States of America, than Donald J.”

“I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.”

“Mr. President, with great honor, I stand before you. As you know, I have been in this Chamber for 10 weeks, and it is one of the greatest honors of my life to represent the people of Ohio here in the U.S.”

“When he put that in place, look what happened--a total collapse of border encounters. Now, President Trump left office, Joe Biden rescinded that Executive order, and we saw what happened--a massive spike in illegal crossings, devastating our Border Patrol agents.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:07 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 10 a.m.”