During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about Congressional Republicans' budget resolution.
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00:00Mr. President, before I begin, I want to mention Pope Francis, who died last Monday.
00:05Since he became Pope in 2013, Pope Francis captured the world's attention with his simplicity.
00:11He had great compassion for the least among us, and he sought them out wherever he went.
00:16In his final homily on Easter Sunday, he reminded us not to remain stationary,
00:20but to go out seeking Jesus everywhere and in everyone.
00:24And that's how he lived, going out into the world, seeking Jesus and bringing the gospel to those that he met.
00:33I trust that he is now at home with his Father in heaven.
00:37And my thoughts and prayers are with South Dakota Catholics and all those who are mourning this humble servant of God.
00:45Mr. President, we're kicking off the week today with a vote on a former colleague of ours, David Perdue, to be the ambassador to China.
00:52And we'll be working through several other ambassador nominations this week, including our ambassador to our close friend and ally, Great Britain.
01:01I don't need to tell anybody that it's important to have these individuals in place.
01:05And we're going to continue to confirm the president's ambassadors as expeditiously as possible.
01:11We're also going to continue to focus on filling out the rest of the president's administration.
01:16The president needs to have his team in place so that he can do the job he was elected to do.
01:21And I intend to make sure that happens as quickly as possible.
01:25We've already set a brisk pace on nominations, confirming more than 50 to date.
01:29And we're going to have a lot more nominees coming out of committee.
01:33And I want to make it very clear that we're going to process those nominees in a timely fashion.
01:38As I've said before, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
01:41But one way or another, we're going to get it done.
01:45The president needs to have his team in place.
01:48And we have a lot of other work to do.
01:51And speaking of some of that other work, before Easter, the House and the Senate took a major step forward on a permanent extension of tax relief for American families
01:58by passing a budget resolution that will allow us to proceed to a final bill.
02:03We've been working toward the text of that final bill for months.
02:07And drafting has only accelerated since passage of the budget resolution.
02:12And I'm looking forward to House and Senate taking up the final legislation.
02:18Mr. President, there's a lot on the line here.
02:20The tax relief that Republicans passed in 2017, which puts more money in Americans' pockets, is set to expire at the end of this year.
02:30And without congressional action, in 2026, tax rates will increase.
02:34The child tax credit will be cut in half.
02:37And the standard deduction will be nearly halved.
02:41Americans making less than $400,000 a year would see a $2.6 trillion tax hike.
02:47And a typical family of four making $80,000 would be sending an additional $1,700 to Uncle Sam.
02:56Republicans, Mr. President, do not intend to let that happen.
02:59And our final bill will not only extend the 2017 tax relief for hardworking Americans, it will make it permanent.
03:06And in addition to permanent tax relief, our final legislation will invest in our border, energy, and national security.
03:13All three have suffered in recent years under the Biden administration.
03:17And Republicans are committed to securing our border, unleashing America's abundant energy resources,
03:24and ensuring that our military has the resources it needs to deter and defeat any threat.
03:30Finally, our legislation will also include substantial savings measures,
03:35as we take a hard look at how we spend taxpayer dollars and work to get our country on a more sustainable fiscal path.
03:41Work on drafting this legislation continues.
03:46As we consider nominations, measures to repeal burdensome Biden administration regulations and other legislation on the floor,
03:53off the floor, we are getting ever closer to a final bill.
03:59And, Mr. President, it's going to be great.
04:03Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
04:06The clerk will call the roll.
04:07The clerk will call the roll.