Floor Speeches

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans should be ashamed that they are “afraid” to debate gun-control legislation in the Senate.

“Let us have a debate on violence in America,” Reid said Monday. “Many Senate Republicans seem afraid to even engage in this debate — shame on them. 

“The least Republicans owe the parents of 20 children murdered with guns at Sandy Hook Elementary is a thoughtful debate about whether stronger gun laws could have saved their little babies. The least Republicans owe them is a vote."

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Friday that he doubts the House and Senate will be able to reconcile the two budget plans that each chamber will pass.

"The Democratic Caucus has produced a budget here that won't work. It does not meet the challenge of our time; it's deeply disappointing," Sessions said on the Senate floor Friday.

"I guess there's still some chance something might happen in conference, but from the looks of this budget, the chances aren't very great, I have to say."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday that he would offer an amendment to the budget that would target offshore tax havens utilized by U.S. corporations.

Sanders said his amendment would create a reserve fund by collecting taxes on the offshore accounts and use that new revenue to reduce the deficit and invest in job creation.

Sen. Max Baucus said a budget amendment that would empower states to tax online purchases is "premature."

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he would introduce amendments to the Senate budget resolution that would prohibit tax increases on the middle class.

“This budget talks about raising taxes,” Rubio said Thursday during debate on the Democrats’ budget proposal. “You can tax the richest people 100 percent and you will not solve this deficit problem. And what happens when you run out of rich people to raise taxes on? You have to tax the middle class.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Thursday that under the House Republican budget “there is no more Medicare.”

The House passed a budget plan from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Thursday afternoon on a 221-207 vote. His plan would balance the budget over 10 years by cutting $5.7 trillion in projected spending.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the Democrats’ budget proposal continues policies that “pummel” the middle class.

“The budget we waited four years for is just a rehash of the extreme policies that continue to pummel, pummel the middle class,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday. “It’s time to grow the economy, not the government.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) acknowledged the third anniversary of the Affordable Care Act becoming law.

“Three years ago, President Barack Obama signed into law the greatest single step in generations toward ensuring access to quality, affordable healthcare for every American — the Affordable Care Act,” Reid said Thursday morning on the Senate floor.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) started the amendment process of the budget Thursday morning, by proposing a motion to recommit the bill to the Budget Committee in order to ensure it balances spending.

“I do have a motion to recommit this budget to the committee with instructions that it be altered to be a balanced budget,” Sessions said on the Senate floor Thursday morning. “I think that’s what the American people want.”

After more than five hours of debate on the budget resolution, the Senate adjourned Wednesday night.

The Senate will resume debate on the budget at 9 a.m. on Thursday and will continue for another 34 hours of debate since 50 hours is required unless an agreement to yield back time is reached.