John Thune Previews Major GOP Legislation Coming Up For Votes In Coming Weeks

3/31/2025

On the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) discussed upcoming legislation backed by GOP lawmakers.

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Transcript

00:00Let the quorum call be suspended.

00:02Without objection.

00:03Mr. President, work on the President's nominations continues apace.

00:08Last week, we confirmed nine members of the President's administration,

00:11including the Secretary of the Navy, an Assistant Attorney General,

00:15and Deputy Secretaries of Treasury, State, and Veterans Affairs.

00:20The President's Cabinet Secretaries, of course, are all in place,

00:23and tonight we'll be voting to invoke cloture on Matthew Whitaker

00:26to be the United States' permanent representative to NATO.

00:29And I expect to confirm additional nominees this week as well.

00:33Mr. President, a huge focus early on in any new Congress

00:36with the newly elected President is filling out the President's administration.

00:40We've also been focused on the agenda the President and Republicans were elected to deliver.

00:46In the very near future, we will be taking up a budget resolution

00:49to lay the groundwork for legislation to make the 2017 tax relief permanent,

00:53secure the border, unleash American energy, and provide for our nation's defense.

00:59And all of that will be accompanied by substantial savings measures.

01:04And on the subject of maximizing savings, I just want to be very clear.

01:08The House and the Senate are united in aiming to do all we can on this.

01:14Sure, the instructions we give to our separate committees

01:17who are responsible for finding those savings may look a little bit different.

01:22But that's not because we don't have a shared commitment

01:24to cutting wasteful government spending and saving taxpayer dollars.

01:28That's simply a function of Senate rules.

01:31In the Senate, if we fail to meet a single savings instruction, even by a dollar,

01:37we lose our ability to consider the legislation under reconciliation rules

01:41and the simple majority threshold.

01:44And so we have to be careful not to miss the mark on this

01:47and to provide flexibility as we chart our bicameral course.

01:52But that won't stop us from maximizing savings.

01:56Again, on that point, we are committed.

01:59But back to the bill that we'll be moving forward.

02:02As I said, the budget resolution we will take up will lay the groundwork for legislation

02:07to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent.

02:10The 2017 tax relief we passed put more money in Americans' families' pockets

02:15with the largest proportional share of the tax relief going to the middle class.

02:21And if we don't act to extend this relief,

02:23American families will be taking home lower paychecks next year.

02:27And along with the President, Senate Republicans are committed to ensuring

02:31that we not only extend this relief, but that we make it permanent.

02:35Americans should not have to worry about their tax relief expiring every few years.

02:40And in addition to making this relief permanent, the bill will also, as I said,

02:44invest in securing our border, unleashing American energy, and defending our nation.

02:50After years of chaos at our southern border under President Biden,

02:54and after years of deficiencies in our military readiness,

02:58it's time for a serious investment in border and national security.

03:03As I've said before, if we don't get national security right,

03:08the rest, Mr. President, is just conversation.

03:12And in the past, it is past time to address the deficiencies in our military readiness

03:18and to ensure that the good work President Trump is doing to secure the border

03:22and remove criminals from our streets can continue.

03:25Mr. President, I'm looking forward to taking up our budget resolution in the very near future

03:30so that we can deliver permanent tax relief for Americans,

03:33provide certainty to the economy,

03:36and make a transformational investment in border, energy, and national security.

03:43It's going to be a great bill.

03:46Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of quorum.

03:50The clerk will call the roll.

John Thune Previews Major GOP Legislation Coming Up For Votes In Coming Weeks

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