What Thom Tillis said, and what was done

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Janine M. Osborne on her remarkable 41 years of dedicated service to the people of North Carolina. Janine began her public service career as a district representative for Congressman Howard Coble.”

“President Joe Biden posthumously presented Captain Nelson with the Medal of Honor. Her perseverance throughout this yearslong endeavor exemplifies her ability to carry an important mission across congressional offices and Presidential administrations while never losing sight of the individual she was determined to honor.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Susan Rene Collins on her remarkable 23 years of dedicated service to the people of North Carolina. Rene began her public service career with then-Congressman Richard Burr as a constituent advocate and continued serving alongside him after his election to the U.S.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Rebecca Redding Briles on over 30 remarkable years of dedicated service to the people of North Carolina. Rebecca began her public service career with Congressman Bill Cobey before joining Congressman Howard Coble's office in 1995 as a caseworker and community outreach representative.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the Hindu Center of Charlotte, which first opened in 1982. Since its founding, the Hindu Center of Charlotte has been an anchor of the local Hindu community and exemplifies the enduring values of faith, family, service, education, and civic engagement.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Dashaun Brown, Ryan Gillespie, and Giuseppe Marturano for their heroic actions on May 21, 2026. While playing soccer on Wrightsville Beach, NC, Mr.”

“Senator Cornyn, I would describe as probably the ultimate statesman and gentleman here in the Senate. I am not. And so Senator Cornyn talked about all the merits of the bill, and we stand by them.”

“You take a look at the--I spend a lot of time and focus on behavioral health, Senator Cornyn, and the data is compelling. There is no question in my mind--just the sheer number here--there is no question in my mind that we saved the life of somebody who is buying a gun for that purpose.”

“No, quite the contrary. That is why I am saying--look, I love saying I told you so, and I believed that that was going to be the case here.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I am going to be brief because I know we have other Members waiting to speak. But just by way of offsets, I know that my friend from Connecticut said he is offended by requiring an offset.”

“Reserving the right to object, it has been said that if it has already been said before, there is no need in saying it again. So I object.”

“Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act and all budget resolution discipline that applies, I move to waive all points of order for the purposes of the pending measure, and I ask for the yeas and nays.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Dr. James Gary Adcox for a lifetime of service to our Nation, our veterans, and the field of higher education. A first-generation college student from Antioch, TN, Dr.”

“Mr. President, I rise during Police Week to honor the brave men and women in North Carolina and across the Nation who serve in law enforcement. Police Week is a solemn and humbling experience, as thousands of officers and their families come to our Nation's Capital and pay tribute to their fellow officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their communities.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Michael A. ``Mike'' Gordon on his induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the highest honors in the State of North Carolina.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 723. There being no objection, under the previous order, pursuant to S.”

“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, I rise today to recognize Jim McCleskey upon his retirement as director of the North Carolina Washington Office. Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. McCleskey has served the people of North Carolina with exceptional dedication, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to public service, leaving an immeasurable impact on our State and Nation.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Michelle Brooks, the executive vice dean of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, on being named the recipient of the prestigious James R.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Richard Childress, a North Carolina native, NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner, and a leader whose impact reaches far beyond the racetrack.”

“Mr. President, today I rise to honor the life and legacy of North Carolina State Representative Mike Clampitt, a dedicated public servant, firefighter, and strong advocate for the people of western North Carolina, who passed away on March 18, 2026, after a courageous battle with cancer.”

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today to maybe lower my own temperature but explain what I was getting at in the Judiciary Committee hearing this morning.”

“So I announced in the hearing today that, similar to what I had to do to get the Homeland Security Secretary to even come before the committee--I had to put a hold on any sorts of nominations that went through Homeland Security.”

“Mr. President, I actually want to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania for bringing up what I think is a very important subject. I am proud, as you are, coming from a State that had voter ID.”

“Mr. President, what this document does, and the reason I thought it was important to put it in the Record, is we have got--let's see--one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, including me, who have said that we don't think a crime was committed.”

“Mr. President, sometimes when I hear floor speeches down here, I think of my wife, whom I love dearly, and I will be married to her for 39 years in June, but for about the first 5 or 10 years of our relationship, I would do something stupid, and she would rightfully get mad.”

“Mr. President, nearly a year ago, Secretary Noem visited Western North Carolina to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene firsthand. That day, the Secretary told the crowd in Bat Cave, NC, that ``the previous administration failed in many areas and we're going to learn from that and do better,'' a sentiment that I shared wholeheartedly.”

“The night that I told the President he should find a replacement--the press has gotten this wrong. The President did not ask for people to replace me, and then I decided to retire.”

“Mr. President, I came to the floor on January 6 to make sure that we conveyed our undying gratitude to everybody who played a role. Senator Merkley and I were here in the Chamber, and what we saw there was a parliamentary staff being focused on the job, not worried about themselves but worried about getting the ballots that we were certifying into safekeeping.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to come to the floor and talk about a couple of things. Earlier today, we had a classified briefing on the situation in Venezuela.”

“Mr. President, some people around here call me cranky. I have got a couple of buddies that call me cranky. Do you know what makes me cranky? Stupid.”

“Mr. President, we all know that today is the anniversary of what actually I consider to be one of the worst days in my 11 years in the U.S.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Tammy Thompson, who is retiring as director of veteran services for the Alamance County Veteran Service Office. For more than 14 years, Mrs.”

“Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the exceptional career of Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag, a nationally respected surgeon, educator, and healthcare leader whose service has transformed Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and strengthened medical care across North Carolina.”

“Mr. President, we are getting encouraging signs that we may be having some votes tonight. I hope that proves to be true and the Senate does its part to get out of the shutdown.”

“I was thinking, though, I have been telling a lot of staff around here and everybody else: I apologize for us not getting our work done. I think a lot of people don't realize how many people around here haven't been paid for 41 days.”

“Mr. President, we had a great hearing in the Indian Affairs Committee yesterday, and I wanted to come to the floor and talk a little bit about it.”

“Well, that is political speak for ``Let the administration do it, take 10 or 20 years, and then we will have a lawsuit that will take another generation to settle.'' We know their playbook.”

“Mr. President, on Saturday, I was in Western North Carolina for the day because that marked the 1-year anniversary of the landfall of Helene in a place that a hurricane has never really been before, about 200 miles inland in the Smoky Mountain Range.”

“State of Massachusetts. About a dozen river basins were at historic, 100-year flood levels, and the damage was tremendous. The loss of life: 108 people in North Carolina alone, more than 250 people by the storm, and $59.6 billion in damages.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to talk about two subjects very different in nature. I want to start with the deadline and, I believe, tomorrow's imposition of a 50-percent tariff on Brazil imports.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today. Some may know and some may not that today is Medicaid's birthday, and I thought it was probably a good time to--or anniversary or whatever you want to call it.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to talk about two subjects, the first of which is the vote that will begin here in about an hour and a half, and that is on this rescissions bill.”

“The only time that we have had a successful rescissions package in modern history was 1992. And that rescission--by the way, for those who don't know what rescission is, it just simply means this funding will be cut.”

“Mr. President, Senator Kennedy talked about Scooter, and Senator Scott talked about Bubba. I want to talk about Jelly Roll. It turns out, in a committee hearing with Jelly Roll--the country music rock singer--he grew up in Antioch, TN.”

“Mr. President, the reality is, let's fast-forward now to 2017. I was in this Chamber when we passed the TCJA. After we passed this, again, everybody was arguing this was all tax policy for the rich, but we unleashed an American economy that we had not seen in our history.”

“Mr. President, I am guessing, while they are probably focused a little bit less on me because I have made an announcement this weekend, but you can already tell that this narrative is about how we are all about the wealthy.”

“Mr. President, in truth, you can see this sort of upping of the ante. These are the gimmicks that we play when we want to get a show vote, especially with somebody who may be running for reelection.”

“Mr. President, I also ask indulgence for one more minute. This is really easy. Yesterday was my 38th wedding anniversary. I have convinced Susan Tillis to stay married to me for 38 years.”

“Mr. President, I am going to be brief. I promise, Senator Van Hollen, I am going to be about 5 minutes. This is an easy one. No. 1, I probably should have said this earlier.”

“Mr. President, I come today to explain my vote yesterday for voting against the motion to proceed on this bill. I spent most of my career in management consulting.”

“I know what it does because I spent a career implementing complex systems, and then I had the privilege of being speaker of the house, and I implemented a limited government setting.”

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor, briefly, to talk about two subjects. One relates to a situation that I have been updated on of a gentleman who has been detained by ICE out in California, and I want to talk a little bit about it.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an extraordinary North Carolinian. Since the early 1970s, Cynthia J. Butts, a resident of Murphy, NC, has served as a caregiver for her own family and the families of our Nation's Armed Forces.”

“Mr. President, I rise during Police Week to honor the brave men and women in North Carolina and across the Nation who serve in law enforcement. Thousands of officers and their families come to our Nation's Capital every year to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect our communities.”

“Mr. President, I will be brief. I know we are coming up on a vote. I just wanted to come to the floor and thank my friend and fellow North Carolinian, Louis DeJoy, for his service as Postmaster General.”

“Mr. President, I come here to speak briefly about the status of the peace talks led by the United States and President Trump involving both Ukraine and Putin.”

“We have to recognize that North Korea, China, Iran are just chafing at the bit to see Putin succeed there so they can export their brand of terrorism and communism throughout the world.”

“Mr. President, last night, I had someone reach out to me and say they heard I was going to speak again on Ukraine on the floor, and they asked me what I was going to talk about.”

“Mr. President, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, I rise to celebrate the Association of University Technology Managers' 50th anniversary. The Society of University Patent Administrators, known as SUPA, was first formed in 1975 to focus on how best to advance discoveries from university labs into the marketplace.”

“Technology transfer has had a profound effect on the American economy and is estimated to have created more than 19,000 startup companies, up to 6.5 million jobs, and $2 trillion in economic impact since 1996.”

“Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. We should ensure that all law enforcement have the necessary equipment, training, and resources to keep our communities safe and thoroughly investigate crimes committed against all people.”

“Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the remarkable career of Raleigh chief of police Estella D. Patterson, a law enforcement officer who has dedicated nearly 30 years of her life to protecting and serving her communities.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service and sacrifice of Greensboro Police Officer Michael Horan. On Monday, December 23--2 days before Christmas--Officer Horan was the first officer to respond to a call of a man with a firearm at a Food Lion supermarket in Greensboro, NC.”

“Mr. President, as we start the 119th Congress, my colleague from North Carolina, who is currently presiding--I think we both agree that we want to emphasize that Congress has a role in supporting and protecting our law enforcement officers across this country.”