During consideration of a continuing appropriations resolution (H.R. 7463), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to prohibit the Federal Reserve from creating an emergency lending program or facility that purchases or sells the debt of any state or municipality.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on February 29, 2024 by a vote of 37 to 53 (Roll Call 63). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this amendment would have been a step toward ultimately abolishing the unconstitutional Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve is the largest domestic holder of U.S. public debt, which has surpassed $36 trillion. It had already caused much damage to our nation’s economy, through its inflationary policies and issuance of fiat currency, prior to its announcement during Covid-19 that it would also be willing to buy or sell the debt of state and local governments. According to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, only Congress has the power to “coin Money” and “regulate the Value thereof.” Moreover, Article I, Section 10 specifies that “No State” shall “make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to prohibit federal funding for the use of the CBP One app to facilitate the entry of aliens into the United States. The app, which the Biden administration relaunched in January 2023, allows persons from any country who are physically present in Mexico to schedule appointments for immigration proceedings at U.S. ports of entry.

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on March 22, 2024 by a vote of 45 to 51 (Roll Call 105). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because migrants who do not satisfy the conditions for asylum are often, upon their entry into the United States and release from custody, granted parole for up to two years under Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, making them eligible for work permits. Given that aliens are presumed to be ineligible for asylum if they enter the United States unlawfully after failing to seek refuge in a third country (e.g., Mexico), the CBP One app has effectively become a fraudulent gateway for millions of illegal migrants. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stipulates that Congress shall have the power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization,” and Article II, Section 3 requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a motion to refer the bill back to committee with instructions to amend it to reduce its overall funding by five percent, excluding funding for the Department of Defense and border security.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 34 to 63 (Roll Call 106). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because reining in government spending ought to be an urgent priority given that the national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion. Members of Congress must also take more drastic and immediate action to eliminate all spending that is not specifically authorized by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Their ongoing failure to do so is contributing to the erosion and decline of the American Republic.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) made a motion to offer an amendment to prohibit funds in the bill from being used to fly in illegal migrants under the Department of Homeland Security’s “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans” (CHNV) parole program and resettle them in towns and cities across the United States.

The Senate rejected Hagerty’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 47 to 51 (Roll Call 112). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to facilitate the transportation of illegal migrants into the United States.

S. 4072 would have prohibited the use of fiscal 2024 funding to implement, enforce, or administer certain EPA rules on tailpipe emissions for vehicles. This includes the proposed May 2023 rule and the final March 2024 rule setting multipollutant emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 and beyond.

The Senate rejected S. 4072 on April 18, 2024 by a vote of 52 to 46 (Roll Call 142; a 60-vote majority was required for passage). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no constitutional authority to impose environmental regulations.

President Joe Biden nominated Courtney Diesel O’Donnell to serve as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the rank of ambassador.

The Senate confirmed O’Donnell’s nomination on May 15, 2024 by a vote of 49 to 45 (Roll Call 164). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this vote marked the return of the United States to the Paris-based organization, reversing its formal exit by the Trump administration in 2018. Yet rather than merely leaving UNESCO, the United States should fully withdraw from the entire United Nations system. The UN poses one of the greatest threats to U.S. sovereignty and the God-given rights of the American people, as its charter is antithetical to the U.S. Constitution. Congress must pursue a sound, traditional foreign policy of noninterventionism, based on U.S. interests and the original intent of the Founding Fathers.

Senate Joint Resolution 58 would reverse a December 2023 Department of Energy rule setting stricter energy-efficiency standards for non-weatherized and mobile-home gas furnaces at 95-percent annual fuel utilization efficiency. The rule seeks to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and methane, though it would increase sulfur-dioxide and mercury emissions due to higher electricity use.

The Senate passed S. J. Res. 58 on May 21, 2024 by a vote of 50 to 45 (Roll Call 176). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to regulate furnaces and other appliances.

S. 4445, also known as the “Right to IVF Act,” would, in the words of the bill, “protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization.”

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4445, but on a motion by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on September 17, 2024 by a vote of 51 to 44 (Roll Call 242; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because IVF is not included in the powers delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. Moreover, in February 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children, just as should be the case with embryos in the mother’s womb. The destruction of frozen embryos — which is common in the IVF process — is the destruction of innocent human life.

On November 18, 2024, President Biden submitted to Congress his plan to cancel $4.65 billion in Ukrainian debt owed to the United States. To block this debt forgiveness, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 117) to disapprove the president’s proposal.

The Senate rejected Paul’s motion on November 20, 2024 by a vote of 37 to 61 (Roll Call 295). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the $4.65 billion, which is just a small fraction of U.S. aid to Ukraine, not only should not be canceled, but never should have been loaned to Ukraine in the first place. Moreover, the United States should not interject itself into the Russia-Ukraine war by providing aid to one of the combatants, and should instead follow a noninterventionist foreign policy that puts America first.

H.R. 10545, also dubbed the “American Relief Act,” would extend funding for federal-government operations at current levels through March 14, 2025, thereby averting a partial government shutdown that would otherwise have begun on December 21, 2024. The bill would also provide $110 billion for disaster aid, including $30.8 billion for farm losses, among other provisions. It does not include, however, a two-year suspension of the debt limit that was in an earlier version under a different bill number (H.R. 10515). Ironically, President-elect Donald Trump wanted the debt-limit suspension in the bill, but Democrats did not — the latter preferring to raise or suspend the debt limit under Trump’s (not Biden’s) watch.

The Senate passed (and thus cleared for the president to sign) the stop-gap funding bill on December 21, 2024 by a vote of 85 to 11 (Roll Call 339). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the misnamed American Relief Act will continue the Washington spendathon, thereby continuing to run up government debt without providing any relief. Instead of kicking the can further down the road, Congress must cut spending now, not later.