During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) debated Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) over a bill to exempt Ukraine and Israel from tariffs right as President Trump announced a 90 day pause on his blanket tariffs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00President, I rise to talk about President Trump's tariffs and how they are ruining confidence in our economy.
00:11They're raising prices on all of our families and they're hitting our allies for no reason.
00:17Now, we all know that tariffs, they can be a useful tool to protect critical American manufacturing and combat our enemies.
00:27Targeted tariffs on adversaries like communist China or Iran can actually work to our advantage.
00:34And it is natural. It's natural for us to have trade deficits with countries that have smaller economies because, really, they just can't afford to pay for quality American goods.
00:46We are always going to buy more cheap goods from less wealthy countries than they are going to be able to buy from us.
00:53Even my Republican colleagues have acknowledged this.
00:56This is why President Trump's blanket tariffs, they just make no sense.
01:02They have no legitimate economic basis.
01:05And the formula that he used to impose these blanket tariffs are nonsensical.
01:12We know this because President Trump has imposed tariffs on islands uninhabited by humans and on one of the United States' own military bases.
01:22But probably the most egregious error in President Trump's tariff plan was punishing our allies, Israel and Ukraine.
01:31Both these countries are currently under attack.
01:35They need the United States to be standing with them, not hitting them with nonsensical tariffs that could cause them even more harm.
01:42Meanwhile, our adversary and the initiator of the war in Ukraine, Russia, is getting no tariffs.
01:50Our adversary, North Korea, is getting no tariffs.
01:54And while our ally Israel got slapped initially with a 17 percent tariff, even though we maintain a free trade agreement with them, their adversary, Iran, got tariffed at a mere 10 percent.
02:07Now, I will admit, as I'm sitting here right now, I just saw that Donald Trump changed his mind again and is telling countries around the world they now have to have a 10 percent tariff.
02:21He just made a major trade decision in action via a tweet, as I was sitting here, to provide and stand with Israel and Ukraine.
02:31Let me just say, those actions by this administration are just bad for our economy, it's outrageous, and it is bad for the United States' credibility.
02:41It is just clear there was very little thought put into President Trump's major, potentially catastrophic gamble with the global economy.
02:52He did this without any advice and consent from Congress, and that was a mistake.
02:56It was a mistake that our allies in need of aid are paying the price for.
03:01Now, we have an opportunity to rectify a small part of this era right now and exempt Israel and Ukraine from these oppressive tariffs
03:10that could do significant damage to their already hurting economies.
03:14Really, this shouldn't be a partisan issue.
03:16It's a national security issue.
03:18So, let's come together and protect our allies who rely on our help from these harmful tariffs, and I hope my Republican colleagues can join me.
03:26So, Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S-1364,
03:36that the bill be considered, read three times, and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered, made, and laid upon the table.
03:44Is there objection?
03:46Mr. President.
03:47Senator from Ohio.
03:48Reserving the right to object.
03:51Think about some numbers.
03:53Five years old when I came to this country from South America.
03:57Eighteen when I became a citizen.
03:58Since that time, there's been ten presidents of the United States of America.
04:04Only one that actually had the guts and the courage to stand up for working Americans.
04:12We've lost 90,000 factories in this country.
04:17And if you take the logic of my colleague, then let's shut down all of our factories and send manufacturing to the lowest-wage countries on Earth that employ slave wages,
04:32that have massive government subsidies, and gut out what's left of the American manufacturing ecosystem.
04:39Of course, that's completely illogical.
04:42But that's almost what we've done over the last four to five decades.
04:48You drive through Ohio.
04:50Dayton was the computing capital of the world.
04:53You go to Toledo was the glass capital of the world.
04:57Youngstown, the steel capital of America.
05:01Akron, the rubber capital of the world.
05:04Today, these cities are working to get past what they've gone through.
05:10But as I went on a campaign trail against a Democrat that always claimed to be on the side of the working man,
05:16but then saw what their policies enacted, we beat him soundly.
05:21And I urge my Democrat colleagues to go back to your original North Star.
05:27The point of the Democrat Party for decades, as far as I knew, was that you were for the working men and women of this country.
05:36But that's not the Democrat Party today.
05:38They're the party of electric vehicle mandates, against tariffs, against fringe social issues.
05:44And if we want to talk about the specific resolution, look, there is no greater ally ever in the history of the United States of America with Israel than President Donald J. Trump.
05:56Every single Republican last week voted against Bernie Sanders' resolution to block arms sales to Israel.
06:04Fifteen Democrats voted to kneecap them while in the middle of a war.
06:10So when we talk about Israel, they've already negotiated a situation with President Trump.
06:17So let's talk about Ukraine.
06:19This is a country that both sides of the aisle, shockingly to me, quite honestly,
06:24have given hundreds of billions of dollars to this country, of Ukraine,
06:31where we have enormous needs in our country.
06:34What do we get in return?
06:35In return, they impose a tax of 20% or more on our goods when we send there.
06:42Think about that.
06:43I just want to repeat that.
06:44We sent them hundreds of billions of dollars in aid.
06:49And then when we send them our products, they add a tax on our imports.
06:55Look, President Trump is doing a masterful job of negotiating with countries and with companies
07:01to finally do what should have been done a long time ago, which is to rebuild this country from the inside out.
07:09So for the reasons that President Trump laid out last week,
07:13that we're going to rebuild this country with American hands, with American hearts, and with American pride,
07:20it is with that sentiment that I therefore object.
07:25The objection is heard.
07:27Mr. President.
07:28The senator from Nevada.
07:29I appreciate my colleague being here to object.
07:31I don't think he actually read the resolution.
07:35The really focus was on how we address the tariffs against Israel and Ukraine.
07:42I appreciate his partisan argument, but I think he also neglected to represent that there are Democrats
07:51that opposed Bernie Sanders' bill, and I was one of them.
07:56I think it is important we work in a bipartisan way to move this country forward.
08:00I am also a Democrat that supports bringing manufacturing back to my state.
08:04You're welcome to come to Nevada anytime and see what we have done around the work that is essential.
08:09I think what I'm looking for in this time is common sense, working across the aisle where we see it,
08:19to show the American public that, yes, we can still function and work together moving forward.
08:25I think it is important we stand with Israel at all levels, including ensuring that they're not tariffed.
08:31There's no tariff against them.
08:33It's very, very simple here.
08:36And I think targeted tariffs make sense.
08:39So I don't quite understand the continued partisan conversation here,
08:46but at the end of the day, I am hopeful that many of my colleagues still want to work in a bipartisan way
08:53on issues that reflect not only who we are as a country,
08:59but still working to address protection for our allies and at the same time protecting our economy.
09:06So I am disappointed in the objection today, and I yield the floor.
09:15The senator from Ohio.
09:16I absolutely read the resolution.
09:19Again, I'll repeat it.
09:20There's no greater friend of Israel in the White House ever in the history of the United States of America than Donald J. Trump.
09:26He's negotiating with these countries.
09:28We need to give him the latitude to negotiate with these countries.
09:30In terms of bipartisanship, go back to the record of the last 90 days and see the almost complete block voting on everything,
09:41including we have two votes coming up and another two votes at the end of the day.
09:46Let's see if there's one Democrat that doesn't vote in total unison with their party.
09:53Look at the Republican side.
09:55We are much more free thinkers, and we have differences of opinion, and that comes out when we vote.
10:01So when we talk about bipartisanship, I hope the Democrats get to a point where they're willing to work with us on common sense.
10:07I had a bill that I presented to the floor about three weeks ago.
10:12Here's what it said.
10:13If you come into this country illegally, you can't claim asylum.
10:16And if you do, you invalidate your right for asylum for life, and you must only claim asylum at a designated port of entry.
10:23This is a 90-10 issue.
10:26Democrats block that.
10:27Look, I want to work in a bipartisan manner.
10:29I think the American public demands that we do.
10:32But when every Democrat votes in total and complete lockstep with their leadership every single time to block any progress,
10:41we're going to be unable to do that.
10:43And with that, again, I yield the floor.
10:44Mr. President.
10:46Mr. President.
10:48Mr. President.
10:49The senator from Nevada.
10:51I have to stand up here and just call my colleague out because he's trying to paint all the Democrats together.
10:58But if he would look at my record in standing independent from some of my party's votes
11:04and the fact that I think it is important and know it is important we work in a bipartisan way
11:09and have done just that in committee in my votes in a bipartisan way with my colleagues,
11:15I would hope that he would be open to working with me in the future on some bipartisan legislation.
11:21I yield the floor.
11:22Mr. President.
11:23The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:24The senator from Tennessee.
11:25The senator from Tennessee.
11:25The senator from Tennessee.
11:26The senator from Tennessee.
11:27The senator from Tennessee.
11:28The senator from Tennessee.
11:29The senator from Tennessee.
11:30The senator from Tennessee.
11:31The senator from Tennessee.
11:32The senator from Tennessee.
11:33The senator from Tennessee.
11:34The senator from Tennessee.
11:35The senator from Tennessee.
11:36The senator from Tennessee.
11:37The senator from Tennessee.
11:38The senator from Tennessee.
11:39The senator from Tennessee.
11:40The senator from Tennessee.
11:41The senator from Tennessee.
11:42The senator from Tennessee.
11:43The senator from Tennessee.
11:44The senator from Tennessee.