Mr. President, I rise today to express support for this resolution, and indeed the full series of tariff resolutions my colleagues Senator Kaine and Wyden have put forward, which would overturn President Trump’s tariff taxes on American consumers.

These tariffs are part the President’s effort to use trade policy to benefit his friends and himself at the expense of American families. He’s used trade to prop-up Argentina’s president before a key election because that country’s president has said nice things about Trump….and he’s used trade to punish the entire country of Brazil for the prosecution of its former leader, a political ally of Trump.

And while he is cutting special-interest trade deals, President Trump is whacking households with more than $15 billion in additional costs each month.

Zoom in and the financial punishment President Trump is inflicting on Americans is even clearer.

Grocery prices continue to climb, with essentials like coffee and beef 19% and 15% more expensive than they were a year ago, respectively.

The average new car price just crossed $50,000 for the first time in our nation’s history… investment bank UBS reports tariffs have increased home construction costs by $9,000… and Ashley Furniture, the largest U.S. and indeed global furniture manufacturer announced this month it was raising prices by as much as 12% due to the President’s tariffs… and that was before new 25% furniture-specific tariffs came into force.

In total, researchers at Yale report tariffs are costing families $1,800 this year.

The President has essentially claimed these costs are a figment of our imaginations…repeatedly claiming that foreign companies, not Americans pay his tariffs. But his claims don’t match Americans’ reality or the economic data.

A recent Goldman Sachs report found that foreign exporters have been paying only about 9% of tariff costs… In fact, Goldman, the nonprofit Peterson Institute, and investment bank Morgan Stanley have all reported that most of the President’s tariffs are being absorbed by American companies and small businesses, and consumers.

Indeed, our nation’s two largest auto manufacturers, General Motors and Ford, have each reported billions of dollars in new tariff-related costs… Nike told its investors it will pay $1.5 billion in tariff costs this fiscal year… and defense manufacturer Raytheon announced $220 million in tariff costs in the third quarter alone.

Make no mistake, small businesses in every corner of our country are paying these same costs… but with much tighter margins than giant corporations. Many of these main street businesses may not survive.

And increasingly, companies are passing the cost of these tariff taxes onto American consumers.

It’s not just higher costs… when companies shoulder new costs they hire fewer workers. Unsurprisingly, job growth has stagnated under President Trump. Payroll company ADP found the private sector actually lost 32,000 jobs last month… while those Yale researchers estimate the Trump tariffs will eliminate half a million jobs this year.

And while President Trump likes to demonize any dissent towards his policies as political or the work of “enemies,” data and economic warnings around his tariffs are coming from every corner of our country.

I’ll close by noting that I do not want to be on the floor delivering this speech. I do not want to have criticize the President for his economic decision-making.

But instead of pursuing thoughtful, impactful, and cost-reducing policies, President Trump has decided to whack American small businesses and families with billions and billions in new costs. And as a member of the Senate, I cannot sit by quietly while our President makes Americans suffer simply because their needs do not match his priorities.

I was hopeful that President Trump would come to his senses before Congress and the courts act, but he has not. That is why I am on the floor and that is why we must pass this resolution… which is one of the first steps to eliminating these Trump-induced costs on households and businesses.

Passage today would signal to Americans that Congress’s priority is their financial well-being, not the wealthy, well-connected, and Donald Trump’s personal pals.

Most importantly, it would start the process of eliminating over $15 billion in new, monthly costs for families.

I urge my colleagues to prioritize hardworking Americans… not Donald Trump and friends… by passing this resolution.

I yield the floor.