John Thune Says Senate Is 'Getting Very Close' To Finalizing Reconciliation Bil

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During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about the Republican budget that is currently in the Senate.

Transcript

00:00Unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. Without objection. Mr.

00:03President, work on reconciliation continues apace and we are getting very

00:08close to the final bill. Since I spoke on the floor on this topic last week, two

00:12more committees have released their sections of the bill text. The Banking

00:17Committee under the leadership of Chairman Tim Scott and the Commerce

00:22Committee under the leadership of Chairman Ted Cruz. The Commerce Committee

00:26text released on Thursday addresses multiple bill priorities including

00:30border security, savings, and the economy. On the economy front, the Commerce

00:36section of the bill focuses on boosting growth and investment by renewing

00:40spectrum auction authority and freeing up spectrum currently held by federal

00:44agencies. The United States has been a leader in the next generation

00:48telecommunications services like 5G and advanced Wi-Fi and we're on track to be

00:53leader in 6G as well. But that's going to require both an increase in the amount

00:59of spectrum available to the private sector and using that spectrum as

01:03efficiently as possible through AI and other technologies. Our bill will help

01:09meet that need for spectrum and help produce thousands of new jobs and

01:12billions in investment as a result, to say nothing, of faster and more

01:17affordable internet for Americans. This has been a long time coming, Mr.

01:21President. I'm grateful to Chairman Cruz and colleagues from the Armed Services and

01:26Intel Committees for their continued work to find a way to get this done that

01:31preserves key national security interests and delivers a win for the

01:35American people. Mr. President, on the border national security front, the

01:39Commerce text addresses a key aspect of our domestic security, a strong Coast Guard. The

01:45Coast Guard secures our ports and waterways, provides support to American vessels in need,

01:51and plays a crucial role in enforcing maritime and immigration law and

01:56conducting drug interdictions. And our final bill will make a substantial and sorely

02:01needed investment in the Coast Guard, including funding for desperately needed

02:04new ships and aircraft and maintenance of Coast Guard facilities. And along with

02:09promoting safety on the seas, the Commerce text focuses on safety in the skies with a

02:14significant investment in fixing and updating our air traffic control system.

02:20The Commerce text also eliminates wasteful and unnecessary spending,

02:23which is the key focus of our bill. So that was Thursday, Mr. President.

02:28On Friday, the Banking Committee released its portion of the bill text,

02:32and eliminating unnecessary spending took center stage. Chairman Scott and Banking Committee

02:38Republicans poured over federal programs to identify waste, duplication, and inefficiency,

02:44and identified billions in savings. That includes eliminating the duplicative office of financial

02:50research, transferring the public company accounting oversight board's duties to the Securities and

02:55Exchange Commission to reduce duplication and lower costs, and postponing the implementation of

03:01duplicative small business lending data reporting requirements. The Banking Committee's text also

03:07conserves taxpayer dollars by returning unused and unobligated funds to the Treasury. And on the

03:15national security front, it authorizes one billion dollars for the Defense Production Act to boost

03:20domestic production of key national security needs. Mr. President, I'm grateful for the hard work of

03:26Chairman Scott, Chairman Cruz, and for the hard work of all the members both on and off the committees

03:32who contributed to the Commerce and Banking text. We have several more committees,

03:37delivering texts this week, including border security language from the Judiciary Committee and energy

03:42language from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Mr. President, our final bill is rapidly

03:48taking shape, and I'm looking forward to considering it on the floor in the very near future.

03:54Republicans promised to build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America, and we're going to deliver.

04:02Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

04:05Mr. President, the Clerk will call the roll.

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