Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I was struck by some things the Democratic leader said this morning about funding the Government. First he said it was not the Democrats' responsibility to work toward sensible solutions because ``we've helped in any way we can, we've not held up anything procedurally.''

That was just minutes before his party voted again to hold up a bill procedurally that would fund the military at a time with unprecedented international threats. Then he said this: ``We've made it clear that we're not going to proceed to appropriations bills''--talk about a mixed message.

His party has crowed for months about its filibuster summer strategy of blocking every last funding bill in the hopes of taking Americans to the brink. They have now succeeded in taking us there. They think it is the only way to force America to accept their demands for more debt and more bureaucracy. But that is not what Americans want. Americans want Democrats to now work with us responsibly to help our country get out of the situation that they, in fact, have engineered.

The bill before us would do that. It would keep the government funded through the fall while adhering to the bipartisan spending levels already agreed to by both parties. For 1 year, it would defund Planned Parenthood and protect women's health by funding community health clinics with the $235 million instead. This would allow us to press the pause button as we investigate the serious scandals surrounding Planned Parenthood.

I know Democrats have already blocked virtually every bill to fund the government this year, but I am asking them to allow the Senate to fund the government now. I know Democrats have relied on Planned Parenthood as a political ally, but they must be moved by the horrifying images we have seen. Can they not resolve to protect women's health instead of their powerful political friends?

I am not happy that we have been forced into pursuing a CR instead of the normal appropriations process. After all, for the first time in 6 years, a Senate under new leadership actually passed a budget. After all, for the first time in 6 years, a Senate under new leadership passed all 12 necessary bills to fund the government out of committee. It is truly regrettable to see the actions of the party on the other side that led us to this point. The bill before us now represents the best option to keep the government funded, to protect women's health, to press the pause button on funding for a scandal-plagued organization as we investigate further into some truly shocking allegations.

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