What Michael F. Bennet said, and what was done

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 185, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 780, John George Edward Marck, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 136, Thune motion to proceed to the bill which provides $69.5 billion in funding for Department of Homeland Security immigration and border enforcement agencies for FY 2026, including: $22.6 billion for Customs and Border Protection; $38.5 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and $8.5 billion in additional funds to DHS for immigration enforcement.”

“California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted nay.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 131, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 736-- Kathleen S. Lane, of Montana, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 125, the confirmation of the en bloc consideration of 49 nominations on the Executive Calendar pursuant to the provisions of S.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 114, the adoption of S. Res. 690, Authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar.”

“Mr. President, today, I am bringing the Congressional Review Act resolution to the floor to challenge EPA's disapproval of Colorado's regional haze plan. I want to thank my colleagues Senator Hickenlooper and Senator Whitehouse for joining me in this effort.”

“Since President Trump's unprovoked war, gasoline prices have risen over 30 percent in Colorado. They have cut investments in the cheapest types of electricity, while promoting the most expensive.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 75, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 672, John Thomas Shepherd to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.”

“I will exercise my right to withdraw. Madam President, all of this will have to be done in-person. Kansas tried to implement its own State-level version of President Trump's SAVE America Act in 2013 with disastrous results.”

“Madam President, if we pass this bill, we will now have two different election regimes in this country--one for Federal elections and one for local elections. That is insane in and of itself and begs the question: Why does Donald Trump want to pass this bill?”

“The Founders understood the gravity of the debate before them about who could and who could not claim the franchise. The authors of Federalist No. 52 explain that ``the definition of the right of suffrage is very justly regarded as a fundamental article of republican government.'' They wrestled with this question.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 44, on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act.”

“Mr. President, for many months, the Trump administration has unleashed a campaign of fear across American cities, deploying thousands of immigration agents onto our streets and into our neighborhoods in an effort to terrorize and punish communities.”

“Federal agents and a woman they were shoving in the street. He had been filming Border Patrol agents detaining someone else on the side of the road when he went to help this woman.”

“Mr. President, last night, President Trump announced his attempt to disassemble the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, which is based in Boulder, CO. NCAR is the leading atmospheric research institution and a central part of our Nation's scientific infrastructure.”

“Mr. President, I will start with a constituent from Canon City. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the administration's recent plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NCAR.”

“I can't find a single person on this floor who would disagree with what the Governors have said. In addition, NCAR's capabilities support national defense and homeland security priorities.”

“Last week, President Trump vetoed H.R. 131, the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, a bill that passed both Chambers of Congress unanimously with broad bipartisan support. The President did not veto this bill for any substantive objection.”

“Mr. President, I want to thank the Senator from Maryland for his wise words. I was glad to be here for the end of his remarks because he is right about this moment that we are facing.”

“Second, the Policy Notice is of future effect. An agency action of future effect is one ``concerned with policy considerations for the future rather than the evaluation of past or present conduct.'' The Policy Notice concerns the administration of the BEAD Program going forward and outlines changes that Eligible Entities and subgrantees will be required to make to their applications for the program.”

“Mr. President, I would like to thank Senator Sullivan from Alaska for helping to get us all to the floor here today. I would like to thank Chairman Lee for his leadership getting us here, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Senators King and Hoeven and Padilla.”

“The precedent of September 11, 2025, that established a majority threshold vote for cloture on an executive resolution that provided for the en bloc consideration of nominations excluded nominations at level 1 of the Executive Schedule under 5 U.S.C. 5312 or article III judges.”

“I am sorry to say, this slate of nominations in S. Res. 520 includes Calendar No. 476, Sara Bailey, of Texas, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to come to address my colleagues today in the Senate. During the course of this shutdown--what has now become the longest shutdown in American history--there are a lot of people around the country wondering about what has been at stake in this debate and in this argument.”

“In the end, it was not included. In the end, we couldn't overcome the objections of the special interests who wanted to deny the American people that choice.”

“I think, given the rhetoric I hear out here sometimes about makers and takers and all that other stuff, it is important to point out that almost all the people I am talking about are working or taking care of children or are retired.”

“Mr. President, today, I want to recognize the leadership of Manuel Heart, who retires tomorrow after 15 years as chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and 27 years on Tribal Council.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the leadership of Manuel Heart, who recently retired after serving 15 years as Chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and 27 years on Tribal Council.”

“Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from Minnesota, the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, for being here tonight and for helping to organize all of this tonight, to have this important discussion.”

“SNAP is illegal. They told him to make the payments to families. But today he said he would ignore the court orders and refuse to fund the program.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the career of Dr. Martin Keller as he prepares to depart Colorado's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, at the end of October.”

“Mr. President, I rise to recognize the life and career of H. Edward Quick. Ed was a proud Kansan who served our Nation so well that in the 1970s and `80s, he was often referred to as ``Missouri's third senator.'' Throughout his life and his work, Ed demonstrated a deep, unabashed love of our democratic process.”

“Mr. President, last Wednesday, the uniquely American tragedy of gun violence struck Colorado yet again. At Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, a 16-year-old shot and injured two students and an administrator.”

“In the summer of 2012, a gunman walked into a crowded theater in Aurora, CO, and killed 12 innocent people and wounded 58 more. We lost sons and daughters and friends and neighbors, all full of life and full of aspiration, loved by family and loved by friends.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 497, the confirmation of Sean Cairncross to be National Cyber Director. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted nay.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to remember the life of John Stulp, Jr., a son of Colorado's Eastern Plains, Colorado's first and only water czar, and the former commissioner of agriculture for our State.”

“Mr. President, as the Senate debates H.R. 4, I would like to state for the record two motions I have to address some issues with the Rescissions Act of 2025 that I believe the Senate must consider: The following are motions to recommit in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations: Mr.”

“Mr. President, as the Senate debates H.R. 1, I would like to state for the record several motions I have to address a range of issues with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) that I believe the Senate must address.”

“America Healthy Again, which is why I oppose this provision, along with all of the Medicaid cuts in this bill. My motion to commit will strike this unnecessary and harmful requirement, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”

“Mr. President, the legislation we are debating today would modestly increase the size of the child tax credit while leaving out more than 17 million children from the full credit.”

“Mr. President, we should refuse to pass a bill that adds millions to our debt in order to cut taxes for the wealthiest while doing nothing for our kids.”

“By the way, what is the logic of that? The logic of that is that when you throw people off their healthcare, they end up going to the emergency room to take care of themselves and take care of their families, just as anybody would.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary career and well-earned retirement of John Whitney, my senior adviser for Public Lands and Tribal Affairs and regional director for the Western Slope.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor the remarkable public service of Erin Minks, my senior advisor for rural affairs and regional director for the San Luis Valley.”

“Mr. President, I rise to recognize Scott Fitzwilliams who recently retired after 15 years as forest supervisor of the White River National Forest and 34 years of service to the U.S.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the so-called GENIUS Act, which we are going to vote on in a few minutes here in this Chamber. It is a bill that I think could have gotten to a place where it makes sense, but I am not going to be supporting the legislation because, among other things, we haven't had a real debate on it.”

“Mr. President, I was necessarily absent from rollcall vote No. 297, confirmation of Brett Shumate, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Attorney General. Had I been present for the vote I would have voted nay.”

“Mr. President, you never know what you are going to find these days when you are reflecting on the Trump administration and our oversight responsibilities as the Congress.”

“Mr. President, on June 1, the Boulder chapter of Run for Their Lives gathered at the Pearl Street Mall for their solemn weekly routine. Every week since Hamas's October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, they have shown up to march peacefully in solidarity with the hostages that Hamas kidnapped and continues to hold, over 600 days after that fateful day.”

“Yet how else are American Jews supposed to react when American anti- Semitism has reached record levels? When a terrorist massacres congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue? When elderly women in Boulder, CO, can't march on behalf of innocent hostages without being targeted by fire?”

“Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Iowa very much, Mr. Chairman, for your acknowledging the horrific terrorist attack in Boulder yesterday. I will be out here later with my colleague Senator Hickenlooper to talk about it at greater length.”

“Mr. President, I just want to thank the leader on behalf of the people of Colorado and the people of Boulder for his remarks of concern. I share his commitment to making sure these sorts of terrorist attacks don't happen in our country when people are expressing their free speech rights.”

“Mr. President, I, too, am here on the floor today to oppose the SAVE Act. Today, Americans register to vote in a variety of ways, typically set by each State in this country, but Federal law requires that Americans attest to citizenship under penalty of perjury.”

“Mr. President, with Russia rejecting President Trump's proposed 30-day cease-fire and continuing to attack Ukraine and with the administration briefly pausing military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine last month, the Senate must send an unequivocal message.”

“Mr. President, before he leaves the floor, I want to thank my colleague from Arizona for his incredibly wise remarks this morning and for his indignation at the insanity of this so-called tax bill that we are considering on the floor.”

“American people. That is why we have a tax bill, even putting aside stepped-up basis, where 50 percent of the benefit goes to the top 5 percent, and 10 percent of the benefit goes to the top 0.1 percent.”

“Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you to the staff who is here as well. This actually is the third time I have been down here in the last couple of days to talk about some of the things we are confronting at this moment when we are passing the budget.”

“Before he leaves the floor, I just wanted to thank my colleague from Georgia for the moral clarity of his remarks tonight. It is interesting to think for a moment of what we are dealing with and what the context of this budget is.”

“Mr. President, I would like to thank Senator McConnell for his constancy over the last 3 years. We have been out on the floor together many times to speak about the need to support Ukraine.”

“Mr. President, I wanted to come down here and talk a little bit about energy with my colleagues in the Senate today, and part of the reason why is that as you know, Mr.”

“Mr. President, before I speak on the matter in front of us, I wanted to say that on rollcall vote 89, I voted aye. It was my intention to vote no.”

“Mr. President, we may not be in a quorum call, but I can tell you this, we are in the midst of a 1,200-year drought in the American West that challenges us in extraordinary ways--from vast new insect and disease outbreaks to catastrophic wildfires.”

“We heard from a lifelong Coloradan who is a national leader for forest conservation and deeply respected in our community. This person moved across the State for a position with the Forest Service.”

“Mr. President, I am grateful to be on the floor here tonight with my colleague from California, Senator Schiff, and others to talk about the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard--now the successful nomination, I guess, of Tulsi Gabbard--to be the Director of National Intelligence.”

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alabama for her work on the Senate floor and for coming over. I know this is a big day around the Senate.”

“We can make this bill better and stronger by focusing on the actual threats to public safety and protecting nonviolent kids from getting locked up, stripped away from their parents, schools, churches, and communities.”