What Mike Lee 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, 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 9:05 p.m., adjourned until Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 10 a.m.”

“Mr. President, we see a lot of debates around here on a lot of different topics--too many topics, in my view, given the fact that the Federal Government is a government enterprise with narrow responsibilities.”

“Americans, actual American citizens, of their most sacred, their most fundamental right: their right to vote. No. No. We can't look the other way, nor do we, in my view, have any business taking a 6-week recess until such time as we have done everything humanly possible to get these reforms put into law.”

“Mr. President, imagine your shock if, while on your way to the theater, let's say--I don't know--maybe you are going to the opera. You are planning to pick up your tickets at will call.”

“American voter because the American voter, by a margin of like 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 5, depending which poll you look at, believes that it is important that people who show up to vote ought to have to prove who they are.”

“Whether you call it hypocrisy and inconsistency or something else, it can't be reconciled with what they themselves have done. Now, I have got a copy right here of a significant portion of that bill, the bill offered up by the Senate Democrats in 2021 during the 117th Congress--the so-called For the People Act.”

“I think that is right. There is a part of me that is now tempted to seek to pass by unanimous consent at least that portion of the SAVE America Act that consists of a voter ID law because they themselves have said, over and over again, that they have got no problems with voter ID laws until, of course, they do have a problem with them.”

“Yes. As Cicero once said on the floor of the Roman Senate: If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice--actually, that wasn't Cicero; it was Rush in the song ``Freewill.'' But the point was made: When you are aware of something and you do nothing about it, that, by itself, is a decision.”

“There is a justification. The justification goes something like this: Those people who might be purged from this because they are noncitizens and therefore not legally registered to vote are our voters, meaning Democrat voters.”

“Mr. President, just a brief comment as we wrap up our conversation for this evening. Moments ago, we heard my friend and colleague, the Senator from Ohio, talk about identifying--the need for people to identify themselves.”

“Mr. President, our elections need to be characterized by two things: We need to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. And we need to do that by making sure that people establish their citizenship and, therefore, their eligibility to vote when they register and that they show who they are when they show up on election day.”

“Mr. President, first of all, the Department of Homeland Security has found tens of thousands of registered noncitizens in the United States. Motion to Waive Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive all provisions of the applicable budget resolutions.”

“Edward Anthony Jonathan Peek will be attending the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy after his graduation from Judge Memorial Catholic High School. AJ was a member of the state champion basketball team that went All-State three times.”

“Mr. President, we need dispatchable power. Something happens when the government subsidizes and otherwise encourages nondispatchable power and punishes and discourages dispatchable power: The price of dispatchable power and power generally goes up.”

“Mr. President, we are fortunate. We are blessed to inhabit a country where freedom is the norm, where popular sovereignty is the objective, and has been since the dawn of our Republic.”

“So it requires you to prove your citizenship. The preferred form is the birth certificate, coupled with a government-issued photo ID. But when we wrote the law, when we wrote this bill, we really wanted to make sure that we didn't make it too hard because, again, we want to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

“What irritates me, what astounds me, and what leaves me almost speechless is that not one of our Democratic colleagues--nearly all of whom are raising this trumped up, baseless federalism argument against the SAVE America Act--not one of them has ever breathed a word about the NVRA.”

“Again, that imposes no obligation, no burden on any U.S. citizen other than the government officials involved in that, whose job it is to enforce and apply the law anyway.”

“You cannot take that away. You are taking it away when you allow somebody else to cast a vote that will cancel out yours. That is unfair, it is unacceptable, it is un-American, it is illegal.”

“Mr. President, we have had more discussion today on a number of topics. One of the topics that has commanded a lot of today's discussion is the bill that is now pending before the U.S.”

“Mr. President, in response to the question from the Senator from Ohio, the junior Senator from Ohio--not to be confused with the very handsome senior Senator from Ohio--came to the floor yesterday.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the insights and enthusiasm offered by my friend and distinguished colleague the Senator from Maryland. I appreciate the right of every Senator to express his or her opinions, his or her thoughtful analysis in the legislative Chamber that we occupy.”

“So this is absolute nonsense to say that you will be disenfranchised if you don't have your documents or if you can't afford a passport or whatever it is.”

“Mr. President, thank you to my friend and colleague the Senator from Kansas for his observations. It is often helpful to have the diagnosis of an actual medical doctor when prescribing a problem.”

“And they would have mandated out-of-precinct ballot counting, preregistered 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, dictated rigid redistricting criteria, banned mid-decade map drawing, and imposed Federal standards for polling equipment, drop boxes, curbside voting, and much, much more.”

“Mr. President, we have begun what will be our third day of debating the SAVE America Act, just over 48 hours ago. We voted to proceed to this bill, and we have been debating it for a couple of days, now entering our third 24-hour period of debates.”

“Shame on us, if in knowing what is happening, we do nothing. The American people know better. The American people expect more. They understand that bad things happen when we settle.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the passion that my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from the State of Nevada puts into her job, into scrutinizing legislation. I appreciate the concerns she has expressed.”

“State to even inquire, even where actual doubts exist, as to someone's citizenship. You make it almost impossible to detect and very, very difficult to prosecute. Voting is, moreover, something that happens in a finite time and place.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the passion and the remarks provided by my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Delaware. I do feel the need to respond to a couple of things, and a couple of things that were said previous to that by the Senator from Michigan.”

“Madam President, I want to thank my friend and distinguished colleague, the Senator from Ohio, for his observations, for his insights on this. This is one of many true talents we have in the Senate.”

“Mr. President, here we find ourselves today, a little over 24 hours after we began consideration of the SAVE America Act, having passed the motion to proceed to that measure yesterday afternoon.”

“So on that basis, some are arguing that the SAVE America Act, if enacted, would somehow disenfranchise 20 million or so Americans. Well, let's see if we can disentangle this argument so we can respond to it.”

“Another argument is that the SAVE America Act somehow violates what they refer to as States' rights, which is a term I hate. It is a misnomer. States don't have rights; States have authority.”

“May I proceed? Thank you. Mr. President, another accusation, another argument that is being made here that is quite spurious and that just isn't accurate is that U.S. elections are already free and they are already fair and so we don't need to mess with them; that we shouldn't mess with them; that if we do anything to mess with them, that will upset that.”

“Madam President, I appreciate the skill and the passion that my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from the State of Washington brings to the table on this.”

“Madam President, we often consider difficult, complicated issues in this Chamber. It happens all the time. In fact, if it is not complicated, we sometimes wonder why we are devoting time to any particular matter.”

“Mr. President, 30 years ago today, my late father Rex Edwin Lee passed away after a nearly decade-long heroic fight with cancer. Now, 30 years is a long time.”

“Mexico serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That experience strengthened his faith, and it gave him an enduring love for the Spanish language, of the Mexican people, and the rich cultural heritage that comes with it.”

“The Antiquities Act of 1906 The Antiquities Act of 1906 grants the President authority to designate nationa1 monuments on federal lands that contain historic landmarks, structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest.”

“Mr. President, something happened very significant this morning. This morning, it was announced that the Chief Financial Officer of this Agency, USADF, has been charged and simultaneously pled guilty to corruption charges this morning.”

“Mr. President, the fact that the acting president and CEO is a DOGE individual doesn't disqualify him from making this statement. It is corruption. Sure, it has been going on since the eighties, but so have a lot of things that are corrupt.”

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor today, once again, to raise objections--in fact, deep concerns--about something known as congressionally directed spending, but the more colloquial term for what I am describing is ``earmarks.'' Specifically, I want to talk about the inclusion of earmarks--a lot of them--about $5 billion worth in this particular package of bills.”

“And, tragically, it is not the wealthy who bear this burden disproportionately. It is hard-working Americans, poor and middle-class Americans, those who work hard, pay their bills, pay their taxes and find that every dollar they earn buys a little bit less.”

“Reserving the right to object, this legislation has not been through regular order. It has not received a legislative hearing, and it hasn't been marked up. And it hasn't been reported by the committee of jurisdiction.”

“Mr. President, I respect and deeply appreciate my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Florida. And I respect and admire her great devotion to protecting her State, its pristine beaches, and the many qualities that it enjoys.”

“Mr. President, the American people understand to varying degrees but have a general understanding of the fact that the work we do here in the Senate is a combination of things.”

“Mr. President, I want to thank my friend and colleague the senior Senator from Colorado for his outstanding work on this, for working with me and my team.”

“So, today, I will again ask the minority to work with me to pass both Republican and Democrat bills--bills that, yet again, are noncontroversial and have passed this body unanimously within the last year.”

“Reserving the right to object. Look, the package just proposed by Senator Heinrich harkens back to a time when a Senate sometimes did those things. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn't.”

“Senator from Wisconsin for his outstanding work on this bill, the Shutdown Fairness Act. Senator Johnson seized on something very important here. We are surrounded by people in this very building and throughout the United States and across the globe--people who are faithfully, valiantly working for the U.S.”

“Mr. President, last week, the Senate passed three resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, CRA, H.J. Res. 104, H.J. Res. 105, and H.J. Res. 106. Each resolution responds to actions by the Biden administration to eliminate multiple uses on Federal lands, defying the multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate of existing law.”

“Madam President, across the country, our guardsmen are on the frontlines of our national security. They are on the frontlines of our national security, securing our cities and our border, and, most commonly, leading natural disaster recovery efforts in our various States.”

“Mr. President, the story of America is the story of a people that looked upon the West and saw promise. Where others saw wilderness, Americans saw a future.”

“Mr. President, last year, this body unanimously passed 41 bills from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Now, 16 of those bills, for one reason or another, didn't end up getting signed into law last year.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the characteristically thoughtful and thorough remarks by my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Washington. I do want to be clear about a couple of things.”

“Mr. President, I respect my friend and colleague from Oregon, but I disagree with every word he just uttered including ``but,'' ``and,'' and ``the.'' Look, the energy and natural resources title of this bill is one of the most consequential pieces of energy legislation we have had in decades.”

“Mr. President, energy manufacturing jobs survive and thrive when there is less Federal intrusion, not more, to my friend and colleague from Georgia. What is more, the American people want less.”

“Mr. President, last year this body, the United States Senate, passed 41 bills from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. And 25 of those bills have been reintroduced.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the kind words from my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Oregon. I know my time is short, but I need to respond to a couple of points.”

“Mr. President, I have got colleagues ready to speak, and I just need 10 seconds here. I respect and appreciate my friend and colleague from Oregon. It is not to him, personally, about taking bills hostage.”

“Madam President, reserving the right to object, I want to thank my friend and colleague the senior Senator from the State of California for his passion in pursuing what is itself a laudable goal, which is helping newly sworn-in, newly naturalized U.S. citizens to register to vote.”

“No one asks for documentary proof of citizenship--no. One might ask: Why? Why has no one asked for this, especially if it is a known problem? Well, this dates back to an interpretation of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, the NVRA, which is also sometimes referred to as the Motor Voter law.”

“Madam President, we need to remember a couple of things. First, when someone has gone through the process of immigrating to the United States, they have completed a journey--perhaps a lengthy odyssey--of moving to the United States, applying for and ultimately obtaining U.S. citizenship.”

“Madam President, with great respect to my friend and colleague the distinguished senior Senator from California, he has suggested that the SAVE Act, which merely requires some type of proof of citizenship when someone registers to vote in U.S. elections--that the SAVE Act itself is a solution in search of a problem.”

“Aedan Frederick Marr will be attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after his graduation from Corner Canyon High School. He served as captain of the track and field team and lettered on the state champion football team.”

“Mr. President, do not let the false hype from these sponsors fool you. All this amendment does is to stop the proceeds for any land sales from being used to pay down the deficit.”

“The Federal Government has invested in our public schools and keeping class sizes smaller and making sure there are teacher aides for the kids who need extra help and in after-school programs so that working parents can know that their kids are in a safe place where they can do their homework or have some fun.”

“But understand this: There really is direction here, and that is what is happening right now between Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Republicans in the U.S. Senate. That is why all this noise and swirl and speculation are going on very quietly--try to tiptoe into the U.S.”

“Madam President, the State of Utah, last night, lost a dedicated public servant, a loving mother, and a trailblazing leader, as well as a friend to many: Mia Love returned home to her Heavenly Father at the age of 49 after a courageous battle with glioblastoma, leaving behind a legacy of faith, service, and an unshakable belief in the American dream.”

“Mr. President, in accordance with rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I submit the rules governing the procedure of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for publication in the Congressional Record.”

“Mr. President, the American people are being told once again not to trust their own eyes. Democrats are telling them not to worry about their soaring electricity bills, telling them to ignore rolling blackouts.”

“Mr. President, reducing energy costs for all Americans starts with reducing rent pay to develop our energy resources. If we built more gas pipelines, if we built more powerplants, more transmission lines, it will lower costs for consumers across the country.”

“President of the United States to be the person who holds the executive power. He has the discretion to hire and fire those who work in executive branch Agencies.”

“Mr. President, Congress, not unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, should be making our laws. Article I, section 7 of the Constitution requires nothing less. And yet we generate about 100,000 pages of new laws a year.”

“Madam President, you don't need to be an economist to know that something went terribly wrong over the last 4 years. Just ask any family paying their utility bills and buying appliances or filling up their cars with gas at the pump.”

“Rather than unleashing American energy, the DOE green-lit almost $23 billion in last-minute loan guarantees, with nearly 70 percent flowing to Granholm's home State of Michigan. Talk about suspicious math.”

“Mr. President, Americans are paying more and getting less for just about everything--more for energy, more for housing, more for the most basic necessities--and, frankly, they are tired of it.”