Thune: Senate Committees Continue to Drive Progress on Reconciliation Bill
“Republicans promised to build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America. And we’re going to deliver.”
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):
“Mr. President, work on reconciliation continues apace, and we are getting very close to the final bill.
“Since I spoke on the floor on this topic last week, two more committees have released their sections of the bill text – the Banking Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Tim Scott, and the Commerce Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Ted Cruz.
“The Commerce Committee text, released on Thursday, addresses multiple bill priorities, including border security, savings, and the economy.
“On the economy front, the Commerce section of the bill focuses on boosting growth and investment by renewing spectrum auction authority and freeing up spectrum currently held by federal agencies.
“The United States has been a leader in the next-generation telecommunications services like 5G and advanced Wi-Fi, and we’re on track to be a leader in 6G as well.
“But that’s going to require both an increase in the amount of spectrum available to the private sector and using that spectrum as efficiently as possible through AI and other technologies.
“Our bill will help meet that need for spectrum – and help produce thousands of new jobs and billions in investment as a result, to say nothing of faster and more affordable internet for Americans.
“This has been a long time coming, Mr. President.
“And I’m grateful to Chairman Cruz and colleagues from the Armed Services and Intel committees for their continued work to find a way to get this done that preserves key national security interests and delivers a win for the American people.
“Mr. President, on the border and national security front, the Commerce text addresses a key aspect of our domestic security – a strong Coast Guard.
“The Coast Guard secures our ports and waterways, provides support to American vessels in need, and plays a crucial role in enforcing maritime and immigration law and conducting drug interdictions.
“And our final bill will make a substantial, and sorely needed, investment in the Coast Guard, including funding for desperately needed new ships and aircraft and maintenance of Coast Guard facilities.
“And along with promoting safety on the seas, the Commerce text focuses on safety in the skies, with a significant investment in fixing and updating our air traffic control system.
“The Commerce text also eliminates wasteful and unnecessary spending – which is a key focus of our final bill.
“So that was Thursday, Mr. President.
“On Friday the Banking Committee released its portion of the bill text, and eliminating unnecessary spending took center stage.
“Chairman Scott and Banking Committee Republicans pored over federal programs to identify waste, duplication, and inefficiency, and identified billions in savings.
“That includes eliminating the duplicative Office of Financial Research, transferring the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s duties to the Securities and Exchange Commission to reduce duplication and lower costs, and postponing the implementation of duplicative small business lending-data reporting requirements.
“The Banking Committee’s text also conserves taxpayer dollars by returning unused and unobligated funds to the Treasury.
“And on the national security front, it authorizes $1 billion for the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of key national security needs.
“Mr. President, I’m grateful for the hard work of Chairman Scott and Chairman Cruz – and for the hard work of all the members, both on and off the committees, who contributed to the Commerce and Banking text.
“We have several more committees delivering text this week, including border security language from the Judiciary Committee and energy language from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“Mr. President, our final bill is rapidly taking shape.
“And I’m looking forward to considering it on the floor in the very near future.
“Republicans promised to build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America.
“And we’re going to deliver.”
Related Issues: Commerce, Broadband, Budget
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