00:00Mr. President, yesterday was a day that really captured the attention of the world.
00:09We've all been talking about tariffs for a little bit, but yesterday was the day that really brought the focus to what was going on here in the United States.
00:19At 12.01 in the morning on Wednesday, President Trump's tariffs on the countries with which the United States has had the largest trade deficits went into effect.
00:30On top of the 10 percent tariff rates that had previously applied to all countries, which had been initiated on Saturday, April 5th.
00:40And then just hours later, yesterday afternoon, the president announced a 90-day pause and lowered reciprocal tariffs to then 10 percent.
00:52And at the same time, announced that he was raising tariffs on China to 125 percent.
00:57Now, today, it looks like that number is closer to 145 percent.
01:02So to say that this has been a dizzying week in Washington, D.C. is probably an understatement.
01:10Those of us that are following the markets, it has been – again, it's been somewhat head-spinning.
01:17And I'm not going to comment here on the floor today about the negotiating tactics of President Trump.
01:26I think he is legendary and really world-renowned for his skills at that, his skills in bringing nations to the table.
01:36We're seeing some of this play out literally as we speak, other countries that have approached the administration to have discussions about tariffs.
01:48This is a unique kind of leverage, most certainly, keeping those across the table off balance.
01:58But bringing the world potentially to a – to the brink of a ruinous trade war certainly qualifies as a very unique point of leverage.
02:07The effort to try to reshore manufacturing here in this country is important.
02:13It's admirable, and it's something that we should all be working towards.
02:17But I think there has been general agreement that the message from the administration has been decidedly mixed,
02:24which leads to further confusion among our trading partner and our allies.
02:30If nobody understands where the finish line is, it's hard – it's hard to reach it.
02:35I don't want to focus my comments here this afternoon about these possible strategies and end results of these policies so much.
02:48But I want to focus more on the process of how these tariffs were imposed.
02:56Because I believe – I believe it is yet another example of Congress choosing to cede its powers to the executive branch.
03:08And if the global implications of these tariffs have shown us nothing else,
03:12it's that measures that are as important as these should be considered by the 535 elected individuals that are in tune with the American people,
03:22rather than vesting that with just one individual acting unilaterally.
03:28It's under Article I, Section 8 of our United States Constitution, that clearly enumerates that Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.
03:44In other words, the power to levy tariffs rests with us here in the Congress.
03:50So why have we seen the executive take control over tariff rates?
04:00And the answer lies in almost a centuries-long series of bills that we have seen here,
04:07that Congress has voluntarily enacted and laid down its authority for the executive to pick up.
04:17Along the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, which plunged our nation deeper into a Great Depression,
04:24Congress passed the following legislation.
04:27First, it was the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934,
04:32which authorized the President to make limited tariff rates without congressional review,
04:38on top of negotiating bilateral reciprocal trade agreements.
04:43Then it was the Trade Expansion Act of 1962,
04:46which broadened the President's trade powers to include multilateral trade agreements,
04:52while also allowing the President to unilaterally impose tariffs if imports could threaten national security.
05:01Then the Trade Act of 1974, which allowed the President to protect U.S. workers by adjusting tariffs
05:08if foreign countries engaged in unfair trade practices.
05:12And then just a few years later, it was the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977,
05:20which gives the President authorities to address declared emergencies if, quote,
05:26unusual and extraordinary, close-quote, threats exist to national security, foreign policy, or to the economy.
05:34So those powers include, you probably guessed it, the authority to regulate or prohibit imports.
05:42So in his April 2nd executive order, President Trump declared a national emergency
05:49because of a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships
05:55and our trading partners' economic policies that suppress domestic wages.
06:02He is authorized. He is authorized to do so under the National Emergencies Act of 1976.
06:08So I want to be clear about all of this.
06:11I know some people might not like it, but all of what he has done is clearly above board.
06:18The President is clearly within his powers to impose tariffs on our allies, like Mexico and Canada and the EU,
06:25just as much as he is with our adversaries, like China and Russia and Iran.
06:32And President Trump and President Biden before him took this route
06:38because Congress has largely relegated tariff authority to the President through the laws
06:47that effectively cede to the executive.
06:52And my friends, it's just one more example, just one more example of Congress abdicating instead of legislating.
07:00In my time here, I have seen a troubling pattern in both bodies where the party that controls the White House
07:07seems all too comfortable relinquishing authority to the President
07:12and then rubber-stamping whatever policies the executive wants enshrined into law.
07:17Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have deferred to the executive to call the shots, in my view, for far too long.
07:27Now, we use the phrase around here a lot, co-equal branches of government. I use it all the time.
07:33But the reality is Congress was created in Article I.
07:38Article I of the Constitution. We're given far more authority than the executive.
07:43All you need to do is look in your handy-dandy little pocket Constitution.
07:49Ours is a lot longer.
07:51But look at the authorities that we have.
07:54Congress may impeach and remove a President and members of the judiciary.
07:59Congress can override a Presidential veto of legislation.
08:03Congress appropriates the money that funds the operation of all branches of government.
08:09And it is Congress that, again, needs to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.
08:19So we also say a lot around here that business loves certainty.
08:26I would suggest that the country's entire tariff regime, being subject to the whims of one individual, lends anything but certainty.
08:35And that's why.
08:36That's why I have signed on to Senators Grassley and Senator Cantwell's legislation.
08:42They call it the Trade Review Act of 2025.
08:45And it would reclaim this branch's authority and duty to help manage tariffs as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
08:56The bill requires notice to the Congress of the imposition of or increase in any tariffs.
09:06It requires notice to the Congress in 48 hours.
09:09And with that Congressional notification, it has to include an explanation of the President's reasoning for imposing or raising the tariffs,
09:18as well as providing an analysis of potential impact on American businesses and consumers.
09:25And I can tell you, the Alaskans that I'm talking to back home would really like the last part of this, an analysis of how is this going to impact us.
09:34And then another provision within the Grassley-Cantwell Act is within 60 days, Congress would pass a joint resolution of approval on the new tariff.
09:45Otherwise, all new tariffs on imports would expire after that deadline.
09:49So what this act effectively would do would be to reaffirm Congress's role with regards to tariff.
09:59It allows for a greater engagement, if you will, between the executive and the Congressional branch, allows for the debate, allows for that engagement, allows for that understanding.
10:12So, again, I'm hearing from folks all over back home because they're worried.
10:17We already pay high costs for just about everything in Alaska.
10:21But they're worried about what it's going to mean for groceries, for cars, for furniture, electronics, coffee.
10:28We had a visit with a group of high school students on the steps yesterday, and they were from all over the state.
10:35We had some from Ketchikan all the way out to King Cove and out in the YK Delta.
10:40And the first question from one of the 16-year-olds in that group was, can you tell me what's going on with tariffs?
10:48How is this going to impact us?
10:51And, you know, I really appreciated that question from that 16-year-old who's paying attention to what's going on.
10:58He's got questions.
10:59He's here in Washington, D.C., and he's figuring he's going to get some answers from his senator.
11:03But Alaskans are facing consequences.
11:08They kind of want to know that they have a voice in it, and their voice is us.
11:14It's their senator.
11:15It's their representative.
11:17That's our role here.
11:19Now, it's been suggested, and the president himself has issued a statement about this legislation.
11:28He's indicated that he does not support it and that he would veto it.
11:32That is absolutely within his power.
11:35But we also have powers.
11:37We also have powers here in Congress, and we need to assert them.
11:42And so I would hope that this bill is maybe just the start, maybe just the toe in the water here where we're starting to see Congress reassert its authority.
11:55Because if we don't stand up for the institution, if we don't stand up for the legislative branch of our government by debating this issue and others, but holding votes.
12:07Debating.
12:08Debating.
12:09Let's debate this.
12:10Let's have a vote on the Trade Review Act.
12:12Because if we just sit back, if we don't assert our authority, we've only got ourselves to blame when we don't like the direction that may be taken.
12:26The executive has slowly irrigated more and more power since the end of World War II, and it's dramatically accelerated post 9-11.
12:37But we here in Congress have stood by, and we've accepted it.
12:43We've said it's okay.
12:45I think it's time for Congress to reassert itself, whether it's on tariffs, whether it's on the power of appropriation, whether it's overseeing the bodies, the agencies that we have a body have authorized.
12:57So let's legislate.
12:59Let's remember our role is to legislate.
13:03We owe that to those that we represent as well as to this institution for the long-term good of the nation.
13:11And with that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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