Floor SpeechBipartisan2025-03-04

PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RELATING TO "GROSS PROCEEDS REPORTING BY BROKERS THAT...

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Context

On 2025-03-04, Senator Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) delivered a floor speech titled "PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INT" in the Senate. The speech addressed immigration and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation including S1471, S1477, S830, among other bills.

Full Text

PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RELATING TO "GROSS PROCEEDS REPORTING BY BROKERS THAT...

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S1471-S1477] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RELATING TO ``GROSS PROCEEDS REPORTING BY BROKERS THAT REGULARLY PROVIDE SERVICES EFFECTUATING DIGITAL ASSET SALES'' The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the joint resolution. The bill clerk read as follows: A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 3) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Internal Revenue Service relating to ``Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers That Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales''. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Curtis). The Senator from Maine. (The remarks of Ms. COLLINS and Ms. BALDWIN pertaining to the introduction of S. 830 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'') Ms. BALDWIN. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri. Nomination of Elbridge Colby Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today to argue for a swift and decisive confirmation of Elbridge Colby as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. It is common today to hear leaders in the foreign policy establishment talk of upholding the rules-based international order and promoting liberal values and norms. What is much less common is to hear anyone talk about tangible, concrete American interests. Mr. Colby is a welcome exception. He believes that America is a real, concrete nation and people with real, concrete interests and that the fundamental purpose of our foreign policy is to protect and advance those interests. For the past 30 years, American foreign policy has lurched from disaster to disaster. To be a friend of the reigning consensus is to be an advocate of the same failed ideas that led us to spend trillions of dollars and countless young Americans' lives for causes and conflicts that were not ours, while leaving us woefully unprepared for the ones that are. America does not need more of the same. What America needs is a new approach, a new strategy, a new philosophy of strength for the 21st century. That is what Elbridge Colby will deliver. No one could argue that Mr. Colby isn't qualified for this role. He spent well over 20 years working in defense and foreign policy, serving in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and various national security positions at different think tanks. He served faithfully in the first Trump administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, where he was the lead author of the 2018 National Defense Strategy. From there, he founded a think tank, the Marathon Initiative, and wrote a book called the ``Strategy of Denial'' outlining his vision for confronting the true geopolitical challenge of our time: deterring--and if necessary, defeating--the threats posed by a rising China. President Trump's decision to nominate Mr. Colby to this position was not a mistake. It was intentional. This administration wants to carry out a fundamental and long-overdue reorientation of our Nation's foreign policy, and Elbridge Colby is a critical component of that mission. The media tells us that he is controversial. Why? Well, he believes that our foreign policy must prioritize our core interests, and that means that we can't be everywhere at once, doing everything all the time. His critics say that makes him weak. In reality, it is exactly the opposite. The quickest and most certain path to weakness is to waste our blood and treasure on Wilsonian adventurism abroad as the real threats and enemies of America grow unchecked. For years, Mr. Colby has been one of the lone voices in the foreign policy establishment with a real and viable vision for American strength. It is true that Mr. Colby believes that the Iraq war was a mistake. He does not believe that a hot war with Iran would serve America's long-term interests. He believes that a costly and unwinnable proxy war in Ukraine is an obstacle to our ability to rebuild our military and revitalize our industrial base here at home and that our European allies must step up and do more to defend their own continent as the United States transitions to our focus in the Indo-Pacific. On all of these things, the decisive majority of Americans are on his side even if the foreign policy establishment isn't. The political class in this city must come to terms with the fact that the world most of us grew up in no longer exists. President Trump intends to drag this city--kicking and screaming if necessary--into the 21st century. That is what we saw at the White House last week--a new foreign policy centered around uncompromising and unapologetic pursuit of the interests of the American people. Mr. Colby will play a key role in that project, and I look forward to watching him serve as our next Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island. Department of Government Efficiency Mr. REED. Mr. President, on day one, President Trump lit the fuse on Elon Musk's plan to hollow out the Federal Government by changing the name of an obscure technical office within the White House, the U.S. Digital Services, USDS, and called it DOGE, without congressional authorization, and giving it extraordinary reach into the operations of the Federal Agencies. Since then, we have heard report after report about how Mr. Musk and DOGE have rammed their way into Agencies not to make smart decisions, not to improve efficiency, not to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, but to disrupt, denigrate, and demoralize. And along the way, DOGE has made incredible blunders such as firing and then scrambling to rehire employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Let me repeat that. Mr. Musk and his minions fired the people who keep nuclear weapons safe, and then someone realized, fortunately, within a few days that they had to come back. And here is another example: Musk and his hackers made the CIA send an unclassified email with the names of its recent hires. Boy, if I was in the Russian Security Service, I would love to get a list--which they did--of everyone who is going into the CIA. They also cut staff from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service who prevent and warn every American of travel and weather dangers. It goes beyond that. Agricultural interests listen daily to the reports, the accurate reports of the Weather Service, so they can plan their crops, so they can plan everything--and that is being withered away. And I think the ultimate goal is to privatize it, which is not the best way to go. These actions don't just reflect incredible incompetence; they are dangerous. They undermine national security and increase risks for American citizens. In any other setting, blunders like these would be grounds for firing, but Musk and DOGE operate with arrogance, impunity, and zero transparency. Millions of Americans are asking: Who are these people? As the ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, the subcommittee that ostensibly oversees the [[Page S1472]] budget for the White House, USDS, and DOGE, I am asking the same question. Because Congress, like the American people, is being kept in the dark. As appropriators, we typically work together on a bipartisan basis-- no matter which party is in the White House--to get information, to conduct oversight, to ensure that Federal dollars are spent in accordance with the laws passed by Congress. But now, without authorization from Congress, DOGE is recklessly slashing its way through virtually every Federal Agency, from the Office of Personnel Management to Treasury to HUD to State to USAID to the Department of Defense and more. It is vital that we understand what DOGE is and isn't. While Elon Musk tells us and the American people that DOGE is ``maximally transparent,'' it is not. We still do not have answers to fundamental questions like: What is the scope of DOGE's work? How many people work at DOGE? And who are they? Do they also hold jobs outside the Federal Government? What are their financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest? Do they have allegiances to foreign governments? Will DOGE respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act? What are its plans to reform Agencies? Who is DOGE firing and why? And many, many other questions. And, unfortunately, when DOGE shares information, it is frequently wrong. As the New York Times reported, five of DOGE's biggest claimed savings were deleted from its website because they were inaccurate. This includes a canceled USAID contract for $650 million, which was counted by DOGE three times; a canceled Social Security contract was erroneously listed as being worth $232 million, instead of the actual $560,000; and a canceled ICE contract was listed as saving $8 billion instead of $8 million. If you are going to name something the Department of Government Efficiency, don't you owe it to the taxpayers to actually do a good job? On top of having zero accountability, DOGE's legal authority to operate is dubious. DOGE has, essentially, taken over the USDS, which was originally established to help Federal Agencies more adeptly utilize technology to serve the American people. Over the years, USDS helped establish everything from Direct File, which helps taxpayers file their taxes for free, to direct-mail COVID tests to a successful online passport renewal program. DOGE is now using the hollowed shell of USDS to illegally undo the American Federal Government, moving from Agency to Agency, cutting congressionally appropriated Federal spendi

Referenced legislation: SJRES3, S830, S846, S847

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PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RELATING TO "GROSS PROCEEDS REPORTING BY BROKERS THAT... Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S1471-S1477] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RELATING TO ``GROSS PROCEEDS REPORTING BY BROKERS THAT REGULARLY PROVIDE SERVICES EFFECTUATING DIGITAL ASSET SALES'' The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the joint resolution. The bill clerk read as follows: A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 3) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Internal Revenue Service relating to ``Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers That Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales''. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Curtis). The Senator from Maine. (The remarks of Ms. COLLINS and Ms. BALDWIN pertaining to the introduction of S. 830 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'') Ms. BALDWIN. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri. Nomination of Elbridge Colby Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today to argue for a swift and decisive confirmation of Elbridge Colby as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. It is common today to hear leaders in the foreign policy establishment talk of upholding the rules-based international order and promoting liberal values and norms. What is much less common is to hear anyone talk about tangible, concrete American interests. Mr. Colby is a welcome exception. He believes that America is a real, concrete nation and people with real, concrete interests and that the fundamental purpose of our foreign policy is to protect and advance those interests. For the past 30 years, American foreign policy has lurched from disaster to disaster. To be a friend of the reigning consensus is to be an advocate of the same failed ideas that led us to spend trillions of dollars and countless young Americans' lives for causes and conflicts that were not ours, while leaving us woefully unprepared for the ones that are. America does not need more of the same. What America needs is a new approach, a new strategy, a new philosophy of strength for the 21st century. That is what Elbridge Colby will deliver. No one could argue that Mr. Colby isn't qualified for this role. He spent well over 20 years working in defense and foreign policy, serving in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and various national security positions at different think tanks. He served faithfully in the first Trump administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, where he was the lead author of the 2018 National Defense Strategy. From there, he founded a think tank, the Marathon Initiative, and wrote a book called the ``Strategy of Denial'' outlining his vision for confronting the true geopolitical challenge of our time: deterring--and if necessary, defeating--the threats posed by a rising China. President Trump's decision to nominate Mr. Colby to this position was not a mistake. It was intentional. This administration wants to carry out a fundamental and long-overdue reorientation of our Nation's foreign policy, and Elbridge Colby is a critical component of that mission. The media tells us that he is controversial. Why? Well, he believes that our foreign policy must prioritize our core interests, and that means that we can't be everywhere at once, doing everything all the time. His critics say that makes him weak. In reality, it is exactly the opposite. The quickest and most certain path to weakness is to waste our blood and treasure on Wilsonian adventurism abroad as the real threats and enemies of America grow unchecked. For years, Mr. Colby has been one of the lone voices in the foreign policy establishment with a real and viable vision for American strength. It is true that Mr. Colby believes that the Iraq war was a mistake. He does not believe that a hot war with Iran would serve America's long-term interests. He believes that a costly and unwinnable proxy war in Ukraine is an obstacle to our ability to rebuild our military and revitalize our industrial base here at home and that our European allies must step up and do more to defend their own continent as the United States transitions to our focus in the Indo-Pacific. On all of these things, the decisive majority of Americans are on his side even if the foreign policy establishment isn't. The political class in this city must come to terms with the fact that the world most of us grew up in no longer exists. President Trump intends to drag this city--kicking and screaming if necessary--into the 21st century. That is what we saw at the White House last week--a new foreign policy centered around uncompromising and unapologetic pursuit of the interests of the American people. Mr. Colby will play a key role in that project, and I look forward to watching him serve as our next Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island. Department of Government Efficiency Mr. REED. Mr. President, on day one, President Trump lit the fuse on Elon Musk's plan to hollow out the Federal Government by changing the name of an obscure technical office within the White House, the U.S. Digital Services, USDS, and called it DOGE, without congressional authorization, and giving it extraordinary reach into the operations of the Federal Agencies. Since then, we have heard report after report about how Mr. Musk and DOGE have rammed their way into Agencies not to make smart decisions, not to improve efficiency, not to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, but to disrupt, denigrate, and demoralize. And along the way, DOGE has made incredible blunders such as firing and then scrambling to rehire employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Let me repeat that. Mr. Musk and his minions fired the people who keep nuclear weapons safe, and then someone realized, fortunately, within a few days that they had to come back. And here is another example: Musk and his hackers made the CIA send an unclassified email with the names of its recent hires. Boy, if I was in the Russian Security Service, I would love to get a list--which they did--of everyone who is going into the CIA. They also cut staff from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service who prevent and warn every American of travel and weather dangers. It goes beyond that. Agricultural interests listen daily to the reports, the accurate reports of the Weather Service, so they can plan their crops, so they can plan everything--and that is being withered away. And I think the ultimate goal is to privatize it, which is not the best way to go. These actions don't just reflect incredible incompetence; they are dangerous. They undermine national security and increase risks for American citizens. In any other setting, blunders like these would be grounds for firing, but Musk and DOGE operate with arrogance, impunity, and zero transparency. Millions of Americans are asking: Who are these people? As the ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, the subcommittee that ostensibly oversees the [[Page S1472]] budget for the White House, USDS, and DOGE, I am asking the same question. Because Congress, like the American people, is being kept in the dark. As appropriators, we typically work together on a bipartisan basis-- no matter which party is in the White House--to get information, to conduct oversight, to ensure that Federal dollars are spent in accordance with the laws passed by Congress. But now, without authorization from Congress, DOGE is recklessly slashing its way through virtually every Federal Agency, from the Office of Personnel Management to Treasury to HUD to State to USAID to the Department of Defense and more. It is vital that we understand what DOGE is and isn't. While Elon Musk tells us and the American people that DOGE is ``maximally transparent,'' it is not. We still do not have answers to fundamental questions like: What is the scope of DOGE's work? How many people work at DOGE? And who are they? Do they also hold jobs outside the Federal Government? What are their financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest? Do they have allegiances to foreign governments? Will DOGE respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act? What are its plans to reform Agencies? Who is DOGE firing and why? And many, many other questions. And, unfortunately, when DOGE shares information, it is frequently wrong. As the New York Times reported, five of DOGE's biggest claimed savings were deleted from its website because they were inaccurate. This includes a canceled USAID contract for $650 million, which was counted by DOGE three times; a canceled Social Security contract was erroneously listed as being worth $232 million, instead of the actual $560,000; and a canceled ICE contract was listed as saving $8 billion instead of $8 million. If you are going to name something the Department of Government Efficiency, don't you owe it to the taxpayers to actually do a good job? On top of having zero accountability, DOGE's legal authority to operate is dubious. DOGE has, essentially, taken over the USDS, which was originally established to help Federal Agencies more adeptly utilize technology to serve the American people. Over the years, USDS helped establish everything from Direct File, which helps taxpayers file their taxes for free, to direct-mail COVID tests to a successful online passport renewal program. DOGE is now using the hollowed shell of USDS to illegally undo the American Federal Government, moving from Agency to Agency, cutting congressionally appropriated Federal spendi Referenced legislation: SJRES3, S830, S846, S847