AGOA EXTENSION ACT--Continued

On 2026-08-07, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) delivered a floor speech titled "AGOA EXTENSION ACT--Continued" in the Senate.

AGOA EXTENSION ACT--Continued

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S4553-S4555] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] AGOA EXTENSION ACT--Continued (Mr. MORENO assumed the Chair.) The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lee). The majority leader. Unanimous Consent Agreement--S. 4668 Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate vote on the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to S. 4668 at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than September 15 and no later than September 23. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Order of Procedure Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that all pending amendments and motions be withdrawn and the only amendments remaining in order be the following to be offered by the sponsor or their designee and with 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to each vote: Collins No. 6732; Collins No. 6750; and Budd No. 6747; further, upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote in relation to the Budd amendment, if offered; and upon disposition of the amendment, the Collins amendment No. 6732, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage; finally, if passed, the Collins amendment to the title, No. 6750, be agreed to and the title, as amended, be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; further, that following disposition of H.R. 6500, the cloture motion with respect to the Blanche nomination ripen and, if cloture is invoked, all time be expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination and, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session; provided, that it then be in order for the [[Page S4554]] Senator from Ohio Mr. Husted or his designee to move to proceed to S. 5271 and present a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed and the motion ripen immediately and the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture without intervening action or debate; provided, that if the cloture motion is agreed to, the motion to proceed be agreed to and that there be up to 2 hours of debate on the bill, with no amendments or motions in order, and that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on the bill with a 60-affirmative vote threshold required for passage; further, if cloture on the motion to proceed is not agreed to, it then be in order for the majority leader to make a motion for the Senate to adjourn pursuant to this order and if the Senate has agreed to a motion to adjourn pursuant to this order, when the Senate completes its business on Saturday, August 8, following the recognition of the majority leader to dispense with wrapup items, the Senate convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business conducted, on the following dates and times: August 10 at 10 a.m., August 13 at 8 a.m., August 17 at 1:30 p.m., August 20 at 11:30 a.m., August 24 at 12:30 p.m., August 27 at 8 a.m., August 31 at 11:30 a.m., September 1 at 12:30 p.m., September 4 at 10 a.m., September 8 at 1:15 p.m., and September 10 at 3 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). Without objection, it is so ordered. Under the previous order, all pending amendments and motions are withdrawn, with the exception of amendment No. 6732. Amendment No. 6747 to Amendment No. 6732 Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 6747 and ask that it be reported by number. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Budd) proposes an amendment numbered 6747 to amendment No. 6732. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To strike section 2019) Strike section 2019. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate, equally divided. The Senator from North Carolina. Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, 9 months ago, both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly voted to close the hemp loophole. It happened right here. They wanted to stop intoxicating hemp products being sold and marketed to kids. It is no accident that these products are made to look exactly like something that a kid would want. Emergency departments have seen a 461-percent increase in cases of pediatric cannabis poisoning, and most of those were children 4 years old or younger. This body agreed right here 9 months ago that we wouldn't compromise the health and safety of the American people--especially our kids--so today, I am simply asking my colleagues just to reaffirm a decision we made 9 months ago right here. My opponents have asked: What is the harm in a monthlong delay? I am going to tell you. The goal is not an extra month to work on policy, as many have said. The well-oiled hemp lobbying machine has already had 9 months to do that. The real goal is to jam us in December on a must- pass package and to permanently entrench their intoxicating products into the machinery of government. Opponents say that this would stop research into hemp-derived products for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare, but what does allowing unregulated, intoxicating edibles on gas station shelves have to do with CMS' ability to study hemp- derived products for pain relief? Not a thing. Not a thing at all. So once again, I ask my colleagues to join me in doing what we have already done 9 months ago. Support my amendment. Just vote no to table this and close this dangerous loophole, just as 76 of us, Republicans and Democrats, did just 9 months ago. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota. Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise this evening on behalf of myself and Senator Sheehy and several others, Democrats and Republicans. I represent farmers, small businesses, brewers, and consumers in my State, and I urge my colleagues to table Senator Budd's amendment and give this body 4 more weeks to work toward legislation that supports a thriving hemp industry, ensures proper regulation, and protects kids from dangerous products. As is, the bipartisan continuing resolution that is before us delays a ban on naturally produced hemp products for 4 weeks while taking synthetic hemp derivatives off the market. That is important to note. That is included in this continuing resolution. The original ban, the broad ban, the entire ban--and I know that in my State, we have safety rules in place that have worked very well. The product is taxed. We have not had issues with it since we put those rules in place. The original ban was tucked into a bill to reopen the government last November. Many Members didn't have the chance to learn about it. There had been no hearings. Now they have learned more. Bills have been introduced in the Senate and the House--bipartisan bills--to regulate this market. Back then, that ban moved forward without input from the people who would be impacted. In my State alone, hemp products brought in $16 million of State tax revenue in 2025. Senator Budd has raised concerns about certain hemp products, and I agree with him. That is why bad actors that sell synthetic products will not be allowed to sell them, in this continuing resolution. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to table this amendment and maintaining the bipartisan agreement included in the continuing resolution. Motion to Table Mr. President, I move to table amendment No. 6747, and I ask for the yeas and nays. Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I ask for remaining time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no remaining time. Vote on Motion The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on agreeing to the motion. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis). Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``nay.'' Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Maine (Mr. King) is necessarily absent. The result was announced--yeas 61, nays 32, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 227 Leg.] YEAS--61 Alsobrooks Baldwin Barrasso Bennet Blumenthal Booker Cantwell Coons Crapo Cruz Curtis Daines Duckworth Fetterman Gallego Graham Hickenlooper Hoeven Husted Hyde-Smith Johnson Justice Kaine Kelly Kim Klobuchar Lee Lujan Markey Marshall McCormick Moody Moreno Murphy Murray Ossoff Paul Peters Reed Risch Sanders Schatz Schmitt Schumer Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Shaheen Sheehy Slotkin Smith Sullivan Thune Tuberville Van Hollen Warner Warnock Warren Welch Whitehouse Wicker Wyden NAYS--32 Armstrong Banks Blackburn Blunt Rochester Britt Budd Capito Cassidy Collins Cornyn Cortez Masto Durbin [[Page S4555]] Ernst Fischer Gillibrand Grassley Hagerty Hassan Hawley Heinrich Hirono Kennedy Lummis Merkley Moran Murkowski Padilla Ricketts Rosen Rounds Schiff Young NOT VOTING--7 Boozman Cotton Cramer King Lankfor

Referenced legislation: S4668, S4668, S5271, HR6500