What John Kennedy said, and what was done

“Madam President, I know you are well aware of this, but the Senate needs to pass the Russia sanctions bill, and we need to do it now. We have the votes.”

“Mr. President, Nathan Hays, to whom I just referred, is an intern in my office. He is from Baton Rouge. He is a rising junior at LSU. Lucy John is from Lafayette, LA.”

“Mr. President, last night, I read the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. I read it twice. And for what it is worth, here is my conclusion: I think we ought to give peace a chance.”

“Mr. President, we both know that there are people in Washington who like to muddy the water to make it look deep. They don't want the American people to know the truth because, for these people to which I am referring, truth is a concept that does not interest them.”

“Now, why did this happen? Why do we now need Border Patrol and ICE more than ever? You know, I have thought about that a lot. It could be just pure, plain vanilla incompetence.”

“Mr. President, please vote for my S. Res. 526. I also ask that the vote on S. Res. 526 begin immediately. I withdraw that motion, but I still want you to vote for my S.”

“I want to introduce a bill--I may try to put it in our reconciliation package--that says: Henceforth, you can buy insurance across State lines. I am sorry that the insurance commissioners are upset, but, you know, enough is enough.”

“Mr. President, in a few minutes, we are going to be voting on S. Res. 526, and I wanted to spend a few moments explaining what my resolution would do.”

“Now, Mr. President, the other reason I am here, which is just as important, is for this man sitting right here. His name is Patrick Taylor. He is a fine American, and he and I work together.”

“Mr. President, I rise for two reasons: First, I talked last night about carbon capture--carbon dioxide capture--injection wells in Louisiana. I am not going to regive that speech.”

“Mr. President, with me today are two of my interns that I have enjoyed working with, Ms. Rebecca Streidel and Mr. Charlie Kay. And I wanted to--also with me--he is not a summer intern.”

“I know they have got work to do. But I have got work to do too, and I can't hear myself think here. Joint Meeting of Congress Mr.”

“Charles. We do have a special relationship, and we should nurture it, and we should make it better. But friends tell friends the truth. And to my friends in the United Kingdom, as we try to appreciate and reset our relationship, I would say to them gently and respectfully: The world has changed.”

“We will actually pay these companies--like a petrochemical company--to capture carbon and inject it into the ground in the interest of our environment and climate. We pay 85 bucks.”

“Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes telling you about why I held the vote-arama tonight on reconciliation. Our leader is going to make it to happen a lot quicker than I am.”

“Homeland Security to be shut down, and it hurt a lot of people needlessly. It didn't hurt us. It didn't hurt us. We are still getting paid. We are still going home.”

“Garcia, two-thirds of the Members of the U.S. Senate have to vote to do that. What Prime Minister Starmer is doing right now is deep-dish stupid. He says he is going to stop, but he may be back.”

“Mr. President, in my prior remarks, in one respect, they were not exactly a model of clarity, so I want to be clear. I don't want to do anything to hurt the reconciliation bill.”

“Madam President, we will never know until we try. Pursuant to section 904, with respect to my colleague, I move to waive, and I ask for the yeas and nays.”

“Mr. President, I am going to give you a name: Tony Hanagan. As we all know--not necessarily everybody outside this Chamber--Tony is a senior floor assistant. I will come back to what that means in a second.”

“Mr. President, I move that, for the remainder of the votes this evening, all votes be limited to 17 minutes and, at the end of 17 minutes, voting automatically expire ipso facto without any discretion whatsoever.”

“Mr. President, look, everybody has got an opinion about Iran. I get it. That is good. Americans are entitled to have an opinion. Every Member of the Senate has an opinion.”

“Mr. President, with me today is Mr. John Lowery one of my colleagues from my office. I think I get it, Mr. President. I know you do. Tonight, millions of moms and dads will lie down to sleep, and they won't be able to because they are worried.”

“If you are in business, we have also provided for full expensing of research and development, full expensing of new equipment and machinery. Why does that matter? That means you can buy new equipment to grow your business and deduct it from your income tax, which lowers your taxes.”

“And I tell them: I have been here 10 years, and we can do what the Parliamentarian says we can do. I have seen measures get approved under the Budget Control Act--we call it a Byrd bath--that I thought didn't have a chance, and I have seen others not get approved that were slam dunks.”

“Mr. President, with me today is Mr. Matt Turner, one of my colleagues from my office. S. 1383 Mr. President, I would like to talk for a few minutes about the SAVE Act.”

“But I want to make it clear: I hear my colleagues. I think they are wrong, but they are entitled to their opinion. Now, let me explain what this bill is really all about.”

“Mr. President, before I go to my topics, I want to recognize one of my colleagues, Mr. Connor Domingue. He is sitting to my right, your left. Connor has been one of my colleagues for a while.”

“Mr. President, I want to say a brief word about two subjects today: First, hockey, a wonderful sport. It requires endurance, stamina, hand-eye coordination, balance. I have never played hockey.”

“Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues from my office, Ms. Candice Humble. She is a member of my communications team. She is not responsible for anything I say.”

“The Housing Authority of New Orleans has an administrator--and I am not denigrating her. I don't know anything about her. I am just telling you what is going on.”

“Mr. President, since we have a little time, I know we have got the vote coming up, and I am certainly not going to delay that. I like my life too much.”

“Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes talking about a couple of different topics. First, I want to try to explain to the American people what is going on around here.”

“Mr. President, I want to talk for a few minutes about national security and top-of-the-list, king-of-the-hill, a No. 1 stupidity. These are the Chagos Islands. The Chagos Islands--there are 60 of them.”

“Mr. President, I get it. I think most of us get it. A lot of moms and dads throughout America tonight are going to lie down and try to sleep and not be able to.”

“Mr. President, with me today is Mr. Nick Ayers, a colleague from my office. I want to talk about a serious subject. I want to talk about welfare fraud, taxpayer money.”

“Why? Here is the quote. There is a perception that forcefully tackling this issue might cause political backlash among the Somali community, which is a core voting bloc [for Democrats].”

“Mr. President, moms and dads across America are having a little trouble sleeping these days. And when moms and dads in America lie down to sleep at night and they can't, they are worried.”

“Why are they feeling that? It is called inflation. And the inflation started under President Biden. As we know, it got to 9 percent. I won't go into the reasons why.”

“Mr. President, as you well know, the American people are the most generous people in the entire world. In our country, when you are hungry, we feed you; when you are homeless, we house you; when you are too poor to be sick, we will pay for your doctor.”

“Madam President, with me today is one of my colleagues from my office Mr. Nick Ayers. Every time I look at or read an article about the One Big Beautiful Bill, I am shocked--though that sounds pejorative, maybe ``impressed'' is the right word--at its breadth.”

“I mean, I could keep going here. We reformed Medicaid. We ended Federal payments for abortion and gender surgery and sex change operations through Medicaid. I could go on for 20 more minutes.”

“Madam President, I think of reconciliation as more of a minibudget. Now, that is an oversimplification and exaggeration, and we can't do everything in reconciliation, but we can do a lot--we can do a lot.”

“In the United Kingdom, every citizen, whether they watch BBC or not, every citizen has to pay $230 a year--everybody. It doesn't matter whether you watch the BBC or not.”

“American people. I think we are going to be in it for a while. Now, as everyone knows, folks aren't being paid while we are in a shutdown.”

“I will not, Mr. President. I would like to explain why. I understand Senator Paul is making a good point. What he is saying is, rather than saying, as I am, that nobody else is being paid so Members of Congress shouldn't be paid--I think what Senator Paul is saying is let's pay everybody.”

“Mr. President, may I ask for a clarification? I have offered a bill to say that Congress does not get paid like everybody else who is not being paid during a shutdown.”

“Mr. President, I want to bring up my second bill. It is called the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act. Remember, my first bill that Senator Paul objected to would have said Members of Congress don't get paid, just like our staffs don't get paid, just like air traffic controllers don't get paid, just like the military doesn't get paid.”

“Mr. President, I am not done yet. Maybe I wasn't clear. I apologize if I wasn't clear. I support Rand's bill. It is actually Ron Johnson's bill, but I support his idea.”

“Does that make sense? That is what Senator Ron Johnson has proposed. As I told my good friend Senator Paul, I agree with it. Senator Paul's name is on that bill, and it is going to be vetoed six ways to Sunday.”

“Mr. President, look, I get it. You know, this is why we are in a shutdown. I just proposed a bill--this was my third choice, but it was better than nothing--to say everybody gets paid, and my good friend from Washington State objected.”

“Mr. President, I am going to be uncharacteristically brief. Tomorrow, I will be bringing two bills before the Senate. They both have to do with the shutdown and congressional pay.”

“I am not trying to grandstand. I wasn't going to bring this bill. When I got back here Monday, I heard all the rumors, like everybody else, that we were close.”

“Mr. President, with me today are two of my colleagues from my office, Mr. James Shea and Mr. Parker Loy, and I have got another colleague coming. My chart--my exhibit--is being printed.”

“In a rare moment of candor, let me tell you what one employee from the Department of the Interior said to a reporter. He probably got fired for it, but this is what he said, and he was--and is--a Fish and Wildlife employee and expert.”

“Mr. President, with me today is Mr. James Shea, one of my colleagues from my Senate office. Mr. President, I want to talk today about the owls. There are 19 species--or kinds of owls--in the United States.”

“Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues from my office, Mr. Will Pietri, who has helped me immensely on this issue. I want to talk, just for a few minutes, about digital assets.”

“I remember when blockchain technology started--many of us do. Today, one in five Americans is on cryptocurrency. Its growth has been nothing short of breathtaking. But as oftentimes happens when you have an innovation, it creates enormous confusion on the way that the subject of that innovation integrates with the Federal Government, and that is the case here.”

“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 3:57 p.m., adjourned until Monday, October 6, 2025, at 3 p.m.”

“Mr. President, well, the shutdown melodrama continues. I love the smell of melodrama in the morning. It smells like the U.S. Senate. I said the other day that this shutdown is just further proof that human evolution is a slow, slow process.”

“But I don't think Senator Schumer is the leader of this effort. I don't. I think Senator Schumer, like many of his colleagues, would like to be loved by everybody in the party, and he would like to be loved by the socialist wing of his party.”

“Mr. President, well, it looks like we are going to have a shutdown. What does that tell us? I will tell you what it tells me. It is simply that much more evidence that human evolution is a slow, slow process.”

“Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues from my Senate office, Ms. Erin Jarnagin. I hate having to put this picture up. Let me tell you why I am putting it up.”

“Mr. President, I am the reason we are voting on this bill separately. I am going to vote no, and I would like to explain why. I am not telling any of you to vote no, I am just telling you to follow your heart but take your brain with you.”

“Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about two subjects. They are different. They are both important, but they are different. Let me start with the reconciliation bill, which President Trump and others called the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

“Mr. President, also, with me today is Mr. Will McCarthy, one of my colleagues from my Senate office. Today, we are going to start talking about and voting on the rescission package, and I want to talk about that for a few minutes.”

“I am going to end on this note. I am going to end as I began: What you do is what you believe, and everything else is just cottage cheese.”

“Mr. President, I want to talk about just a few subjects briefly today, in no particular order. I want to talk first about Russia and the war with Ukraine.”

“Mr. President, we just spent 13 hours on motions to commit. I am not blaming my Democratic colleagues because we had to agree to it. But anybody with a brain above a single-cell organism knows that a motion to commit has no chance of passing.”

“Mr. President, in this bill, $1 billion is set aside to be spent by September 30, 2027, to carry out the Defense Production Act. That is it. That is all there is.”

“Now, about--I don't know--about an hour ago, I got a call from one of my supporters. And you know what he said to me? He said: Kennedy, for your own good, you need to pull down this amendment.”

“Thank you, Scooter--I mean, Mr. President. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleagues' support. I don't mean any disrespect to anybody. This town operates on two wrongs don't make it right, but they do make it even.”

“Thank you, sir. Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the point of order, reminding the body that I am not striking the spending--reminding the body that I am not striking the spending.”

“Mr. President, as you know, as we all know, many of our teachers in America come out-of-pocket to pay for school supplies. In 2002, 23 years ago, we allowed teachers to deduct $250 when they come out-of-pocket.”

“Mr. President, the Federal Government has a list of dead people. This bill would require those who administer Medicaid to check the Federal Government's dead people list before they pay the Medicaid payment out--duh.”

“Mr. President, as you know, when we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we capped State and local taxes at $10,000. I liked it then; I like it now.”

“Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues, Mr. Connor Domingue, from my office. High school seniors throughout our country are looking forward to graduation, which is going to happen here in the next few months--in some cases, weeks.”

“Mr. President, as I have said before--and I want to make this really clear--I don't hate anyone. I don't. I look for grace wherever I can find it, and when I say my prayers, one of the things I ask my Maker for is, ``Please, God, don't let me hate,'' because sometimes it is hard here in Washington.”

“Mr. President, I saw something last week that I didn't believe. I read the article, and then I searched the internet for other articles saying the same thing to confirm that it was true, and it was true.”

“But then the article goes on to say that it has been discovered that a similar version of the toolkit--this oversight--was published in the newsletter in the prior month.”

“Mr. President, with respect, this amendment is all Henry and no Kissinger. It is exquisitely dumb. Even a cursory examination of the statutory authority shows that this body does not have the authority to address the Social Security trust fund in reconciliation.”

“Mr. President, please read section 3003 of the budget resolution. It says, bigger than Dallas, that the Republicans have no intention of cutting Medicare or Medicaid benefits. This is a bad amendment.”

“Madam President, I want to spend a few minutes first talking about Russia. To get respect, you have to act respectfully. To be taken seriously, you have to act seriously.”

“Canada. I have visited Canada several times, many times. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and the people of Canada are just terrific. They are hard-working. They are very pleasant.”

“Mr. President, I want to talk a few minutes tonight about a couple of topics--only one, if I run short of time, because I don't want to delay our vote.”

“Madam President, I want to talk about two subjects today. First, I want to talk about assets. We have been talking a lot about spending and the Federal budget and tax dollars.”

“Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, Senators should also expect two votes tomorrow evening: passage of S.J. Res. 10, and No. 2, motion to proceed to Calendar No. 14, S.J.”

“Mr. President, I have a resolution under the--we call it a CRA, to rescind one of President Biden's regulations. In 1938, we drilled the first well in the ``Gulf of America,'' which some people still call the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Mr. President, I rise today for two reasons. No. 1, I am losing one of my best colleagues--she is sitting right here next to me--Ms. Jess Andrews. Jess has run my communications shop for--I don't know how many years--5 years.”

“Mr. President, all foam, no beer. This proposal deals with healthcare spending. I would remind my colleagues and friends that NIH recently announced their intention to cap indirect costs for grants.”

“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 Merkley.”

“Mr. President, with me today is my colleague from my office Mr. John Lowery, and I appreciate his help. Last week, I spoke a few minutes about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting--we called it the CPB--and the Public Broadcasting Service--most people know what that is, PBS--and the National Public Radio, which most people know is NPR.”

“Another one: ``How [artificial intelligence] could perpetuate racism, sexism, and other biases in society.'' Another: ``Scientists Debunk Lab Accident Theory of Pandemic Emergence.'' Here is another one: ``As Trump Pushes Theory of Virus Origins, Some See Parallels In Lead-Up to Iraq War.'' Your tax dollars at work. ``As U.S.”

“Mr. President, with me this afternoon are three of my colleagues from my office: Ms. Jess Andrews, my communications director; Mr. Henson Webre; and Mr. John Lowery. As I said, they are three of my colleagues in my office.”

“Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues from my Senate office, Mr. James Shea. He is one of my right-hand people and does great work.”

“Well, it is true; there is a Washington bubble. This place is different. It is in its own way sometimes disappointing, sometimes refreshing. It is deeply weird. For one thing, common sense is illegal in Washington.”

“Now, I am not saying everything that USAID does is wasted, but I am saying a lot of it is--a hell of a lot of it is. And we ought to be on the floor of this U.S.”

“Mr. President, with me this evening is Mr. Nick Ayers, who is one of my colleagues in my office on whose judgment, counsel, and advice I rely regularly.”