00:00So I call on Senate Republicans to pass my Presidential Airlift Security Act
00:07so Americans don't have to pay to upgrade Trump's luxury jet
00:12when he already has access to a fleet of U.S. planes
00:16that are far safer and far less expensive than Democratic leader.
00:23Mr. President, Trump's corruption has no ceiling
00:28and it apparently doesn't have an altitude limit either.
00:33Trump's $400 million luxury jet is the single biggest bribe
00:39an American president has ever accepted for another country in all of American history.
00:45The single biggest bribe in all of American history.
00:49And make no mistake about it,
00:52Trump's so-called palace in the sky is a boondoggle at 40,000 feet.
00:58If you thought this illegal gift was bad before, it's even worse now.
01:03We just learned that this new jet wasn't safe enough
01:07for Trump to make the return flight from the NATO summit in Turkey,
01:12a country that borders on Iran.
01:15It doesn't have the countermeasures for heat-seeking missiles
01:19and the other security equipment that it needs to keep the president safe.
01:24The rest of the Air Force One fleet had all these security features,
01:28but Trump left them in the hangar back at home.
01:32So I call on Senate Republicans
01:36to pass my Presidential Airlift Security Act
01:40so Americans don't have to pay to upgrade Trump's luxury jet
01:45when he already has access to a fleet of U.S. planes
01:49that are far safer and far less expensive to maintain.
01:55The luxury jet may have come wrapped in a bow for Donald Trump,
01:59but it came with a massive price tag for the American people.
02:04Trump is asking taxpayers to fork over an estimated $1 billion
02:10to retrofit and max out his flying palace
02:14so it can meet the security standards
02:17of the existing Air Force One fleet
02:19that, of course, we already paid for.
02:22Americans can't afford gas, can't afford groceries,
02:25can't afford the electric bill,
02:27but Trump thinks they can afford to fly him in style.
02:32Trump's luxury jet also poses a great risk to our national security.
02:37All the experts agree.
02:39No matter how many modifications are made
02:42or how much is spent
02:43or how intensely it is retrofitted,
02:46there will never be 100% confidence that the plane is secure.
02:51This is not a gamble anyone should be willing to take.
02:55I introduced this legislation last year,
02:58but every single Republican senator voted against the bill.
03:03Now, with this new information,
03:05hopefully they will see the light
03:07of what a boondoggle this is
03:08and why do they back up Trump on every one of his boondoggles
03:11that as plain as could be for Americans to see
03:15is a gross waste of taxpayer dollars
03:18and gross corruption.
03:20Why don't they ever stop him?
03:24Whether it's the slush fund,
03:26the ballroom,
03:27the family tax exemption deal,
03:30or this Air Force One nonsense,
03:32we see a new grift coming out of this administration every day.
03:36Where are the Republicans?
03:39Senate Republicans need to stop letting Trump off the hook
03:43for fleecing the American people.
03:45And so, as if in legislative session
03:48and notwithstanding Rule 22,
03:51I ask unanimous consent
03:53that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged
03:55and the Senate proceed
03:56to the immediate consideration of S. 1804,
04:00that the bill be considered read a third time and passed
04:03and the motions to reconsider be considered made
04:05and laid upon the table.
04:08Is there an objection?
04:10Mr. President.
04:11The Senator from Nebraska.
04:13Reserving the right to object,
04:14I would like to say a few words
04:16about Senator Schumer's legislation
04:18on the presidential airlift.
04:20This has been discussed before
04:23and it was voted down earlier this year
04:26as part of a voterama that we participated in.
04:30Senator Schumer's legislation
04:32would prevent any funding to be used
04:36to modify a foreign aircraft
04:39for presidential airlift.
04:42We made this point during the voterama.
04:46The Senator is trying to make a political point today,
04:49of course, about the VC-25 bridge aircraft,
04:53which was made in America
04:55and then owned by Qatar.
04:58Unfortunately, this legislation
05:01would also apply to a different aircraft,
05:04the Survivable Air Operations Center aircraft,
05:08or SAOC.
05:11Those aircraft were actually purchased
05:14from Korean Air.
05:16So this legislation would hamper
05:19a crucial program
05:21that ensures presidential safety
05:24in the event of a nuclear war.
05:27Thus, Senator Schumer's bill
05:29would significantly harm
05:31our United States nuclear deterrence.
05:36To be clear,
05:38the SAOC is the cornerstone
05:41of our NC3 modernization.
05:44This is the plane that will command
05:47and control our nuclear weapons
05:51on America's worst day.
05:54Today, we cannot play
05:57these political games
05:59with the NC3.
06:01So with that, Mr. President,
06:04I object.
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