Floor SpeechPartisan Attack2026-02-10

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed

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Context

On 2026-02-10, Senator Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) delivered a floor speech titled "DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion To Proceed" in the Senate. The speech addressed immigration and also covered healthcare, the economy. It referenced legislation including S540, S542, S541.

Full Text

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S540-S542] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed Working Families Tax Cuts Act Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, tax filing season is no one's favorite season, but thanks to the working families tax cuts, things are looking up this year. Americans filing their taxes are looking at a host of new tax relief. Taxpayers can take advantage of this relief for the 2025 tax year, which means a lot of Americans are going to be seeing bigger refunds this spring. That starts with the newly enhanced child tax credit. Back in 2017, Republicans doubled the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. With the working families tax cuts, we made that relief permanent and not just permanent, we boosted the tax credit again by hundreds of dollars, and we linked it to inflation so its value will never go down. Parents filing their taxes this year can take advantage of this additional relief. Then there is the new tax relief for older Americans--$6,000 bonus deduction for low- and middle-income seniors. Seniors will be able to save hundreds and, in some cases, even more on their taxes. Again, that applies to the 2025 tax year as well, which means seniors will start seeing that relief this spring. Tax filers of all ages will be taking advantage of the enhanced standard deduction this year. Back in 2017, Republicans nearly doubled the standard deduction, which is claimed by 90 percent of taxpayers in this country, and with the Working Families Tax Cuts, we boosted that deduction still further. Once again, the effects of that will be showing up in Americans' tax refunds this spring. And the good news doesn't end there. I said that parents will be able to take advantage of the enhanced child tax credit this season. They will also have the opportunity to open up new investment accounts for their children and to opt in to an initial, free $1,000 contribution from the Federal Government for newborn accounts. These accounts will provide another tax advantage option for parents to invest in [[Page S541]] their children's futures. Again, these accounts can be opened during this tax filing season. The money can be used, after the child turns 18, for their education, to start a business, to buy their first home-- in short, to give them a head start on their American dream. And then there is no tax on tips or overtime. That is right. Starting when they file their taxes this season, Americans who receive tips-- from waitresses and bartenders to Uber and Lyft drivers--will be able to deduct those tips on their taxes. The same goes for overtime. Americans who spend long hours working overtime, like nurses, firefighters, and paramedics, will be able to deduct their overtime when they file their tax returns, and that means lower tax bills and more money in their pockets. We call it the Working Families Tax Cuts for a reason. We set out to make life better for hard-working Americans--for the moms and the dads who are struggling to fit dentist visits and car repairs and Little League and ballet lessons into the budget, for the Americans relying on tips to make ends meet and the dedicated healthcare and emergency workers who work overtime to help their fellow Americans, for the lower- and middle-income seniors pursuing a hard-earned retirement. It is for every American who has struggled thanks to the inflation crisis that President Biden and Democrats helped to create. To all of those Americans, I would just like to say: Relief is on the way, and it starts this tax season. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Government Funding Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I just heard the minority leader come to the floor and speak about his ballooning list of demands--demands that are designed to protect illegal immigrant criminals. That is what this is about. This is the discussion right now on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Democrats have come up with a Christmas list of demands-- demands designed to appeal to their radical base. This growing list of Democrat demands makes it almost impossible to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from the streets of our Nation. Democrats are resisting even the most reasonable attempts to enforce our immigration laws. They don't want us--law enforcement--to enforce the immigration laws of this Nation. That is what they are for: getting rid of those laws. The more we learn about the demands coming from the minority leader and that party, the less the normal American citizen likes them, and that is especially if you are concerned about any safety or any security in the community in which you live or the neighborhood or the streets of your community. The Democrats continually want to make it harder to arrest and remove illegal immigrant criminals. So last week, I spoke about the one Democrat dangerous demand for requiring something called judicial warrants. Now, that may sound like a technical change. It is not. It is a dramatic change, and it would grind immigration enforcement to a halt. Do you know what it would do? It would lock in place the chaos that Joe Biden and the Democrats hoisted upon this country with their wide- open border policy. The Democrats' preference is to release illegal immigrants who are criminals right onto our streets. They prefer that over holding them until immigration officials can come to pick them up, if they have been arrested. So I am going to take a look at one of the specific demands that the Democrats have come up with--and it is a new demand; I haven't seen this one before--because they want to ban immigration enforcement from their so-called sensitive locations. The so-called sensitive locations defined by the Democrats, in the past, have included places of worship, hospitals, and schools. Now, they want to include in that list polling places. Well, let's think about that. It is an entirely new provision. Polling places have never been included on any list like this before, and Democrats are now including them because they want to turn America into a sanctuary country and polling places into sanctuary locations. That is what the Democrats are demanding. So let me ask Democrats a simple question: Why do you want to protect illegal immigrant criminals at polling places? What are they doing at polling places? They shouldn't be at U.S. polling places. Why in the world would they be there if they are not trying to vote? And, by law, they are not allowed to vote. That tells you how far to the left the Democrats have moved. Illegal immigrants aren't allowed to vote in Federal elections. Sometimes Democrats will say that, but it is not what they want. Democrats seem fixated on protecting illegal immigrant criminals at polling places. Yet Democrats energetically opposed commonsense policies to protect the integrity of the ballot--the integrity of the ballot. It is a vital right of American citizenship--the sanctity of the ballot. Democrats opposed photo IDs to vote. You need one to check out a book from the library. You need one to get on a plane. You need one to buy a beer. But the Democrats don't want you to have to produce a photo ID to vote, which is a sacred right of citizenship. That is because Democrats oppose election integrity. They oppose ensuring American elections are dedicated and decided only by American citizens. They don't want that. They believe it disadvantages them to have just citizens vote, and they support banning immigration enforcement at polling places. It is astonishing. That is how far to the left the socialist-driven Democrat Party has moved. Illegal immigrants shouldn't be at polling places--illegal immigrant criminals--and they shouldn't be roaming our communities. They need to be arrested and removed from the country. Once again, Democrats are putting illegal immigrants ahead--who are criminals--ahead of the safety and security of the American people. Taken together, the list of Democrat demands points in one dangerous direction, and that is the direction of abolishing ICE, abolishing our borders, and turning America into a sanctuary nation. Republicans will not accept changes that make our communities less safe. The deadline the Democrats have demanded to fund the Department of Homeland Security is Friday, 3 days from now. The Department of Homeland Security budget is $90 billion. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 11 percent of that. Democrats are risking America's safety over 11 percent of the Department of Homeland Security budget. The rest of the budget goes to other critical functions the American people depend upon and need right now, and that is because it funds FEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for disaster relief, as our Nation is trying to still deal with the effects of a recent storm. It funds TSA to help keep Americans safe when they fly. It funds the Coast Guard to stop the flow of drugs and what has been coming across to our shores from foreign countries. It funds the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to protect our Nation from cyber attacks and more. So, this week, Senate Democrats have a choice to make: Option 1, fund the Department of Homeland Security. Option 2, Democrats can once again side with the radical left and force a shutdown of the vital services to the American people. And why do they want to do that? To protect illegal immigrant criminals. If Democrats choose option 2, it will force a shutdown to protect illegal immigrants. The consequenc

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S540-S542] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed Working Families Tax Cuts Act Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, tax filing season is no one's favorite season, but thanks to the working families tax cuts, things are looking up this year. Americans filing their taxes are looking at a host of new tax relief. Taxpayers can take advantage of this relief for the 2025 tax year, which means a lot of Americans are going to be seeing bigger refunds this spring. That starts with the newly enhanced child tax credit. Back in 2017, Republicans doubled the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. With the working families tax cuts, we made that relief permanent and not just permanent, we boosted the tax credit again by hundreds of dollars, and we linked it to inflation so its value will never go down. Parents filing their taxes this year can take advantage of this additional relief. Then there is the new tax relief for older Americans--$6,000 bonus deduction for low- and middle-income seniors. Seniors will be able to save hundreds and, in some cases, even more on their taxes. Again, that applies to the 2025 tax year as well, which means seniors will start seeing that relief this spring. Tax filers of all ages will be taking advantage of the enhanced standard deduction this year. Back in 2017, Republicans nearly doubled the standard deduction, which is claimed by 90 percent of taxpayers in this country, and with the Working Families Tax Cuts, we boosted that deduction still further. Once again, the effects of that will be showing up in Americans' tax refunds this spring. And the good news doesn't end there. I said that parents will be able to take advantage of the enhanced child tax credit this season. They will also have the opportunity to open up new investment accounts for their children and to opt in to an initial, free $1,000 contribution from the Federal Government for newborn accounts. These accounts will provide another tax advantage option for parents to invest in [[Page S541]] their children's futures. Again, these accounts can be opened during this tax filing season. The money can be used, after the child turns 18, for their education, to start a business, to buy their first home-- in short, to give them a head start on their American dream. And then there is no tax on tips or overtime. That is right. Starting when they file their taxes this season, Americans who receive tips-- from waitresses and bartenders to Uber and Lyft drivers--will be able to deduct those tips on their taxes. The same goes for overtime. Americans who spend long hours working overtime, like nurses, firefighters, and paramedics, will be able to deduct their overtime when they file their tax returns, and that means lower tax bills and more money in their pockets. We call it the Working Families Tax Cuts for a reason. We set out to make life better for hard-working Americans--for the moms and the dads who are struggling to fit dentist visits and car repairs and Little League and ballet lessons into the budget, for the Americans relying on tips to make ends meet and the dedicated healthcare and emergency workers who work overtime to help their fellow Americans, for the lower- and middle-income seniors pursuing a hard-earned retirement. It is for every American who has struggled thanks to the inflation crisis that President Biden and Democrats helped to create. To all of those Americans, I would just like to say: Relief is on the way, and it starts this tax season. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Government Funding Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I just heard the minority leader come to the floor and speak about his ballooning list of demands--demands that are designed to protect illegal immigrant criminals. That is what this is about. This is the discussion right now on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Democrats have come up with a Christmas list of demands-- demands designed to appeal to their radical base. This growing list of Democrat demands makes it almost impossible to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from the streets of our Nation. Democrats are resisting even the most reasonable attempts to enforce our immigration laws. They don't want us--law enforcement--to enforce the immigration laws of this Nation. That is what they are for: getting rid of those laws. The more we learn about the demands coming from the minority leader and that party, the less the normal American citizen likes them, and that is especially if you are concerned about any safety or any security in the community in which you live or the neighborhood or the streets of your community. The Democrats continually want to make it harder to arrest and remove illegal immigrant criminals. So last week, I spoke about the one Democrat dangerous demand for requiring something called judicial warrants. Now, that may sound like a technical change. It is not. It is a dramatic change, and it would grind immigration enforcement to a halt. Do you know what it would do? It would lock in place the chaos that Joe Biden and the Democrats hoisted upon this country with their wide- open border policy. The Democrats' preference is to release illegal immigrants who are criminals right onto our streets. They prefer that over holding them until immigration officials can come to pick them up, if they have been arrested. So I am going to take a look at one of the specific demands that the Democrats have come up with--and it is a new demand; I haven't seen this one before--because they want to ban immigration enforcement from their so-called sensitive locations. The so-called sensitive locations defined by the Democrats, in the past, have included places of worship, hospitals, and schools. Now, they want to include in that list polling places. Well, let's think about that. It is an entirely new provision. Polling places have never been included on any list like this before, and Democrats are now including them because they want to turn America into a sanctuary country and polling places into sanctuary locations. That is what the Democrats are demanding. So let me ask Democrats a simple question: Why do you want to protect illegal immigrant criminals at polling places? What are they doing at polling places? They shouldn't be at U.S. polling places. Why in the world would they be there if they are not trying to vote? And, by law, they are not allowed to vote. That tells you how far to the left the Democrats have moved. Illegal immigrants aren't allowed to vote in Federal elections. Sometimes Democrats will say that, but it is not what they want. Democrats seem fixated on protecting illegal immigrant criminals at polling places. Yet Democrats energetically opposed commonsense policies to protect the integrity of the ballot--the integrity of the ballot. It is a vital right of American citizenship--the sanctity of the ballot. Democrats opposed photo IDs to vote. You need one to check out a book from the library. You need one to get on a plane. You need one to buy a beer. But the Democrats don't want you to have to produce a photo ID to vote, which is a sacred right of citizenship. That is because Democrats oppose election integrity. They oppose ensuring American elections are dedicated and decided only by American citizens. They don't want that. They believe it disadvantages them to have just citizens vote, and they support banning immigration enforcement at polling places. It is astonishing. That is how far to the left the socialist-driven Democrat Party has moved. Illegal immigrants shouldn't be at polling places--illegal immigrant criminals--and they shouldn't be roaming our communities. They need to be arrested and removed from the country. Once again, Democrats are putting illegal immigrants ahead--who are criminals--ahead of the safety and security of the American people. Taken together, the list of Democrat demands points in one dangerous direction, and that is the direction of abolishing ICE, abolishing our borders, and turning America into a sanctuary nation. Republicans will not accept changes that make our communities less safe. The deadline the Democrats have demanded to fund the Department of Homeland Security is Friday, 3 days from now. The Department of Homeland Security budget is $90 billion. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 11 percent of that. Democrats are risking America's safety over 11 percent of the Department of Homeland Security budget. The rest of the budget goes to other critical functions the American people depend upon and need right now, and that is because it funds FEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for disaster relief, as our Nation is trying to still deal with the effects of a recent storm. It funds TSA to help keep Americans safe when they fly. It funds the Coast Guard to stop the flow of drugs and what has been coming across to our shores from foreign countries. It funds the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to protect our Nation from cyber attacks and more. So, this week, Senate Democrats have a choice to make: Option 1, fund the Department of Homeland Security. Option 2, Democrats can once again side with the radical left and force a shutdown of the vital services to the American people. And why do they want to do that? To protect illegal immigrant criminals. If Democrats choose option 2, it will force a shutdown to protect illegal immigrants. The consequenc