Social Security dominates Senate floor as recess clock ticks

In a floor statement, Sen. Cassidy framed the stakes with actuarial precision: "In 6 years, the program, the trust fund goes insolvent. And when that happens, according to the actuaries, there will be either an almost 29% benefit reduction or a 40% increase in payroll taxes on working Americans." He and Durbin have introduced the PROMISE Act, which would establish a bipartisan process — not prescribe a solution — for Congress to consider Social Security reform proposals.

"Mr. President, people won't even set up a process! We're not talking about a solution. We're talking about a process that would come to a solution!" Cassidy said from the floor. Durbin backed him directly: "The longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes to save Social Security. And we absolutely, positively have to save it."

On a separate track, Warren led seven lawmakers — including Schumer, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H. — in a letter to Johnson and Thune demanding transparency. The letter quoted Johnson stating Republicans have "a plan" to adjust Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security if they retain power, and concluded: "A plan you will not show the voters before they vote is not reassurance. It is a warning and revealing of Republican priorities."

Three Republican senators — Jon Husted, R-Ohio; Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.; and Ashley Moody, R-Fla. — each issued separate releases Wednesday describing their participation in a White House roundtable on federal fraud convened by Vice President JD Vance. The releases describe a coordinated rollout: all three senators arrived with existing legislative portfolios on fraud and left with commitments to push further.

"Every dollar that is misused because of waste, fraud and abuse is a dollar we cannot invest in our local communities and strengthening our economy," said Husted. Schmitt went further, committing to draft a new anti-fraud legislative package: "In the Senate, I am proud to lead the Anti-Fraud Task Force to work alongside this Administration to strengthen federal oversight and hold criminals accountable." Moody, who served previously as Florida's attorney general, said the roundtable "served as a springboard for future cooperation and successful intergovernmental coordination in shutting down fraud where it may appear."

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., separately addressed Medicaid fraud on Fox Business, saying: "The amount of fraud in the Medicaid program is unbelievable. First off, the way it's structured to where these states can use all sorts of gimmicks to get all this free federal money."

In a floor statement, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previewed a Thursday Agriculture Committee markup of a new five-year farm bill drafted by Chairman Boozman. Thune described the bill as building on commodity program changes enacted in last year's Working Families Tax Cuts.

"After a lot of hard work from members of the Agriculture Committee, Chairman Boozman released the text of a five-year farm bill, which is slated for a markup tomorrow and will, I hope, be headed soon to the floor," Thune said. The bill would include Thune's CRP Flexibility and Improvement Act, which he said allows grazing options "including fencing and water distribution — on all CRP acres" and increases the annual CRP payment limit "for the first time in the program's 40-year history." Thune also cited provisions on fertilizer price reporting, precision agriculture standards, and improvements to the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program.

The Senate Commerce Committee passed the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act by voice vote Wednesday, a milestone for legislation that Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., first introduced in February 2022. The bill would require platforms to enable the strongest privacy settings by default, prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors, and require independent audits of social media companies.

"For years, heartbroken parents have demanded Congress take action to protect America's children from Big Tech's exploitation, and today is a major victory for the courageous families who refused to give up," said Blackburn and Blumenthal in a joint statement. "We look forward to getting this bill to the President's desk." More than 240 organizations have endorsed the legislation, according to the release.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., led 25 Democratic colleagues in a letter demanding the EPA withdraw its proposal to roll back the 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFAS compounds. The senators warned that rescinding the standards would expose Americans to chemicals linked to kidney and testicular cancer, immune suppression, developmental harm, thyroid disease, and liver damage.

"Safe drinking water is not a partisan issue. Families across the country expect that when they turn on the tap, their water is safe to drink," the senators wrote. They also argued EPA's proposal likely violates the Safe Drinking Water Act's anti-backsliding provision. The letter is addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and signed by senators including Warren, Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Gillibrand, and 21 others.

Warren, joined by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Blumenthal, and Duckworth, wrote to the Pentagon's Inspector General requesting an investigation into $3.2 billion in federal awards flowing to companies linked to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump through their investment firms 1789 Capital and American Ventures.

"We are concerned about a growing cloud of corruption amid questions about whether the President's family and administration officials may be abusing their positions to influence DoD awards," the lawmakers wrote. They specifically cited Trump's public statement that his children "have inside information" regarding their investment portfolios, and asked the IG to evaluate proposed ethics requirements in the FY2027 NDAA. "Our service members in harm's way and the taxpayers footing the bill deserve to know that those dollars are being spent through a competitive process, not funneled into the bank accounts of administration cronies," the lawmakers concluded.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Schiff, and Blumenthal introduced the Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act, which would require the Justice Department to turn over all investigative records to Congress and the DOJ Inspector General when a president pardons someone connected to an investigation in which the president, a family member, or a political appointee is a target.

"Time and time again, Donald Trump has proven he is only interested in using his power to benefit himself," said Cortez Masto. "His abuse of the presidential pardon power to inflame lies about the 2020 election, obstruct investigations into his own misconduct, and enrich himself is unacceptable." Blumenthal said Trump's pardons "have cost taxpayers and crime victims billions in forfeited restitution and put child predators back into our communities." The bill would also require pardon recipients to file financial disclosure reports if they made gifts or donations to the president.

Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the bipartisan Mystic Alerts Act to route wireless emergency alerts through satellite communications when ground-based cellular infrastructure fails during disasters. The bill was prompted by last summer's Central Texas flooding that killed more than 100 people after cellular systems went down and residents never received warnings.

"Texas will never forget the July 4th flooding tragedy that devastated Camp Mystic and other communities in Central Texas," Cornyn said. "Seconds matter during fast-moving disasters like flash flooding, and damaged ground-based infrastructure can slow down emergency alerts that might save lives." Ossoff said the bill "will help upgrade America's emergency alert systems to keep Georgia families safe and informed."

Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Blackburn led nine Republican colleagues in introducing the Title IX Clarification Act, which would define "sex" in Title IX as biological sex and prohibit applying anti-discrimination requirements on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in federally funded education programs.

"President Trump has taken decisive action through executive orders to protect young women on campuses across the country. Now, we must ensure these protections are codified into federal law," said Britt. Blackburn said the legislation would "ensure that common sense, not leftist ideology, governs federal education funding tied to Title IX requirements to protect young women." Cosponsors include Sens. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and six others.

With five days until the August state work period, multiple Republican senators publicly flagged the Senate's remaining pre-recess workload Wednesday. Banks described a full plate in two separate media appearances, listing the continuing resolution, crypto legislation, a bill on college sports, and Reconciliation 3.0 — which he described as also containing the SAVE America Act.

"We have a lot to do in the Senate; count me in on the list of growing Senators who are willing to stick around here all August long to get all that done if that's what it takes," Banks said. Scott separately said on Fox Business: "We have to get [SAVE America Act] done before we leave town. We've got to get the budget done; make sure we don't shut down government." Scott also said a Senate vote to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress is upcoming.

Three bipartisan bills on distinct health and science topics dropped Wednesday. Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced the MATCH IT Act to standardize how patient demographic data is entered into health IT systems, aiming to reduce medical errors caused by misidentification. "Patient misidentification is a serious problem that has led to medical mistakes and even patient death," Warner said.

Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Warner introduced the Civil Nuclear Export Act to enhance Export-Import Bank financing tools for American civil nuclear companies competing against Russian and Chinese state-backed entities. "In order to meet U.S. and global energy demands, we need to advance the next generation of nuclear energy technology," Warner said. Separately, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. — himself a stroke survivor — introduced the Stroke Act, authorizing $25 million annually over five years across CDC and NIH for stroke research, a national stroke registry, emergency response improvements, and a public education campaign. "Every second matters when someone experiences a stroke," Luján said.

In a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., pressed witnesses on what he called "predatory AI surveillance pricing" — the use of consumer data, including browsing history, to set individualized prices. Hawley described the practice as "one of the biggest scams in American history."

Hawley highlighted a public incident in which JetBlue's corporate account advised a customer to clear browser cookies before booking a bereavement fare. "AI surveillance pricing is the unholy trinity of everything Americans hate: spying on people, ripping them off, and taking away jobs," Hawley said. Witness Dr. Lindsay Owens, president of the Groundwork Collaborative, told the subcommittee the airline example showed companies using consumer desperation — not just income — as a pricing input: "This isn't about the rising jet fuel prices. That's not what's going into an end to their pricing decision. Desperation is driving this decision."

Warren published a confirmation from Jules Hurst III — Trump's Pentagon comptroller nominee — that the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., is projected to cost an additional $1.4 billion through January 2029. The figure breaks down as $605.1 million in FY2027, $625.8 million in FY2028, and $198.3 million in FY2029, assuming an average of 2,500 personnel under what the Pentagon calls the "Make DC Safe and Beautiful" mission.

"While American families are getting flattened by skyrocketing costs, Donald Trump is spending $1.4 billion to keep troops on the streets in Washington for years on end. The National Guard are not pawns and taxpayer dollars are not a piggy bank for Trump's political stunts," Warren wrote.

Sens. Schiff and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., joined Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and 18 Democratic colleagues in urging the State Department to halt certain U.S. arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, which the senators say continues to arm the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan ahead of a potential siege of El Obeid.

"Words are not enough. The United States must use the leverage and influence at our disposal to prevent further atrocities in El Obeid and help bring this brutal war in Sudan to an end," the senators wrote. They cited a July 3 warning from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk — "This is not a drill. It is a red alert" — and noted that an estimated 500,000 civilians face risk in El Obeid after the RSF's earlier siege of El Fasher bore "the hallmarks of genocide" according to UN investigators.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. — ranking member and chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, respectively — jointly pressed FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas for a briefing on the national shortage of generic chemotherapy drugs including carboplatin, cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and ifosfamide.

"We must do everything we can to make sure no cancer patient goes without life-saving chemotherapy drugs," Gillibrand said, adding that fixes "cannot come at the expense of patient safety or a secure supply chain." Scott said: "When older Americans are battling cancer, a delay or shortage in treatment availability is a matter of life and death." The senators asked FDA to detail quality evaluation standards for potential imported drugs, identify which foreign manufacturers are being considered, and outline steps to prevent future shortages.

The Senate confirmed a new CDC director Wednesday. In a statement, Sen. Ossoff said he voted against the nominee, Dr. Schwartz, citing concerns about her independence against what he described as sustained political attack on the agency.

"The CDC is currently under political attack by this Administration, which has gutted and demoralized the CDC workforce and disbanded critical CDC offices focused on maternal health and disease monitoring," Ossoff said. "After speaking with Dr. Schwartz, I lacked sufficient confidence in her independence. Accordingly, I voted against her confirmation." Ossoff said he remains willing to work with Schwartz to support the CDC's mission.

Several other bills landed Wednesday. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., introduced the Double the Wage for Overtime Act, which would raise overtime pay from 1.5 times to double a worker's regular hourly rate for hours beyond 40 per week. "Workers have not seen their overtime rate double in nearly 90 years," Gallego said, citing Economic Policy Institute analysis showing the change would affect roughly 13.4 million workers.

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced the Build to Scale Reauthorization Act of 2026 to extend the Economic Development Administration's startup and innovation ecosystem grant program through FY2030 at $50 million annually. Sens. Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito, both R-W.Va., introduced legislation to streamline Trump Account enrollment — the savings accounts established for newborns — by embedding enrollment into the Social Security Administration's existing hospital-based birth registration process. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Husted introduced the First-Time Homebuyer Empowerment Act to allow up to $35,000 in unused 529 education savings to be applied penalty-free toward a first home down payment.

Signals

• volumeWednesday's 35 releases ran 66.6% below the Wednesday baseline of 104.8, consistent with pre-recess wind-down five days before the August state work period.
• coordinatedThree Republican senators — Husted, Schmitt, and Moody — each issued separate releases about the same White House anti-fraud roundtable with VP Vance on the same day, all citing existing legislative portfolios and future commitments.
• coordinatedBlackburn and Blumenthal issued a joint release on KOSA's committee passage, the same day Blumenthal was named in Warren's DoD oversight letter and Cortez Masto's pardon transparency bill — appearing in three separate releases across the partisan divide.
• voteThe Senate confirmed a new CDC director Wednesday; Sen. Ossoff's release is the only senator statement on the vote found in today's release set.
• recessFive days remain before the August state work period; multiple senators — Banks, Scott — publicly flagged the pre-recess legislative queue in media appearances released today.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has issued nothing in 22 days; Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., has been quiet for 20 days — notable given the active pre-recess legislative period.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC22d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK20d