What Tammy Duckworth said, and what was done

“Mr. President, along with my colleague Senator Mike Crapo, we join in honoring Dr. Kristina Sawetz-Glasener, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, for her devotion in serving children and families across the Washington, DC, area.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a remarkable achievement by one of my constituents and a beloved member of the Chicago community. Mr. Joabe Barbosa, a graduate student from Brazil pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology at Roosevelt University, completed a monumental and inspiring undertaking last Sunday: running every street in Chicago.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act of 2026. This critical legislation honors the memory of an Illinoisan who should still be with us today by taking action to address a crisis unfolding inside our Federal, State and local correctional facilities in Illinois and across the country.”

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor today as a U.S. Senator, of course, but also as a former soldier who served in uniform the last time a President rashly sent our men and women into an unjustified war in the Middle East.”

“Mr. President, I just listened to my colleague on the other side of the aisle who raised concerns about my War Powers Resolution, and I am disappointed--but not in any way surprised--that they continue to carry the President's water on this war.”

“Mr. President, late last year, I had the pleasure of meeting with family caregivers from Illinois. These heroes selflessly take care of their loved ones when they are in a time of need, even at the expense of their own goals or plans.”

“Mr. President, I thank Senator Murphy. Every day since he started this embarrassment of a war, Donald Trump has saluted our troops with one hand and given them the middle finger with the other--because despite the lies he tells on Truth Social, he is actively making the choice to use our heroes as cannon fodder.”

“Wars? Thirteen servicemembers are dead, over 200 have been wounded, and thousands more Americans are located in the Middle East with a target on their backs because of his choice to start a war with Iran, a choice he simply had no right to make unilaterally, but that did not stop him.”

“Mr. President, I come to the floor to honor and commemorate a man whose service to our State and Nation was extraordinary. Ryan Whitehouse was the director of national legislation for Illinois Farm Bureau and advocated relentlessly for Illinois' farmers and rural communities across the Nation for over 12 years.”

“Mr. President, I come here today to support Senator Kaine's War Powers Resolution. You know, I am proud of every mission that I completed in Iraq, but I would never wish another needless, endless, unjustified war like the one that I served in on anyone else.”

“Fifth Avenue, no one can ignore the Constitution. No matter if you are a Mar-a-Lago worker pulling double shifts or the President of the United States, no one is above the law.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the recent 250th anniversary of the U.S. Postal Service, USPS, and the 120th anniversary of the American Postal Workers Union, APWU, Chicago Local 0001.”

“Madam President, in the last few months, we have seen President Trump force military troops, uninvited, into American cities--first into Los Angeles, then into our Nation's Capital, and now into Chicago.”

“Mr. President, one of the proudest moments of my life was the first time I ever laced up my boots, put on my uniform, and raised my right hand to swear my oath to the Constitution as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, and I cherished every day that I got to wake up and call myself a soldier.”

“Mr. President, when House Republicans were confronted with concerns that H.R. 1 would threaten SNAP benefits for veterans, the Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee defiantly claimed: Our veterans are exempt from the SNAP work requirement, which is the law . . . and we're not changing it.”

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today to honor a soldier's soldier, a person who taught me what kind of friend, what kind of helicopter pilot, what kind of leader I wanted to be--my friend, Randy Sikowski, sitting next to me here today.”

“Madam President, let me just say that, at the VA, we recently passed the PACT Act, which added well over a million veterans to the rolls to help care for them after they were exposed to toxic substances.”

“I just want to set the record straight that the VA's population of employees did grow because of the PACT Act, a bill that was voted on and passed in a bipartisan way to save the lives of those veterans who would otherwise be dying if they did not have access to VA healthcare for the illnesses that are caused by their exposure to toxic substances.”

“Thank you, Senator Booker, for taking this important stand and for doing so much to make it clear how much pain Donald Trump and Elon Musk are inflicting on the American people in every sector of our society.”

“Thank you. I think the issue of contracts is especially important because so much of these cuts are claimed to cut waste in government spending. But we have a law on the books that says if we don't make payments according to existing contracts, then we have to pay the interest on those payments that we are late in providing.”

“I would like to ask the Senator from New Jersey a question pertaining to the farm bill. You speak to uncertainty. One of the things I heard from my agricultural sector and my farmers, the Farm Bureau in Illinois, is that desperate need to pass--for this body to pass a farm bill, especially when it comes to the Crop Insurance Program, as well as, again, retaining SNAP benefits.”

“Thank you for what you have said. John McCain was a true hero. He said the same thing to me when I first met him. I do have a question for you, which will come later, but I thought I would tell you the story of how I met John McCain.”

“I know my Republican colleagues will claim President Trump has already solved this problem, but don't be fooled. Donald Trump's recent toothless, overly-vague Executive order does nothing to expand access to IVF.”

“Mr. President, if you go back exactly 20 years ago today, I could tell you exactly where I was. I was a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”

“Yvonne--Medicaid helps me keep my loved one at home, as healthy and connected to his family and community as he can be. Medicaid helps me provide him with the doctors, therapists, and medical equipment that he needs to grow and develop.”

“Mr. President, after hours and hours of arguments by my Democratic colleagues--not that I woke up this morning with the desire to hear my own voice on the Senate floor--I am here because decades before I ever considered a career in politics, when I was just starting out in the Army, I raised my right hand and took an oath.”

“Emergency preparedness. Donald Trump's illegal freeze jeopardizes critical preparedness and response capability funding used to prepare for disasters; public health emergencies; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events.”

“Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor and commemorate the extraordinary life of Carl Wesley Moore, who sadly passed away on January 27, 2025.”

“Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor and commemorate the extraordinary life of Jerry Atkinson, who sadly passed away in California, while visiting his grandkids, on December 24, 2024.”

“Mr. President, in these serious times, we need a serious candidate to lead our military. We need someone with merit to lead our meritocracy, someone with moral strength to be in charge of protecting our national strength.”