Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. 3746: Paul No. 107; Braun No. 91; Marshall No. 110; Sullivan No. 125; Hawley No. 93; Kennedy No. 104; Cotton No. 106; Budd No. 134; Lee No. 98; Kaine No. 101; Kennedy No. 102; that at 7:30 p.m., if any of these amendments have been offered, the Senate vote on the amendments in the order listed, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption with the exception of the Lee amendment, Kennedy amendment No. 102, and the Kaine amendment; that there be 2 minutes for debate, equally divided, prior to each vote and with 6 minutes, equally divided, prior to each of the votes on the Kennedy amendments; that following disposition of the above amendments, the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on the passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all without intervening action or debate.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am pleased--so pleased--to announce that both sides have just locked in an agreement that enables the Senate to pass legislation tonight, avoiding default.
For the information of my colleagues, this is what will happen on the floor: In a few minutes, the Senate will begin holding votes on 11 amendments--10 from the Republican side and 1 from the Democratic side.
To finish our work tonight, after the first amendment, we are limiting each vote to 10 minutes. So I ask my colleagues to stay in their seats or near the floor during the votes. Let's keep this process moving quickly. After we finish voting on the amendments, we are immediately considering final passage, and by passing this bill, we will avoid default tonight.
America can breathe a sigh of relief--a sigh of relief--because, in this process, we are avoiding default. From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star. The consequences of defaulting would be catastrophic. It would almost certainly cause another recession. It would be a nightmare for our economy and millions of American families. It would take years--years--to recover from. But for all of the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.
I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their cooperation. Let's finish the job and send this very important bipartisan bill to the President's desk tonight.
Mr. President, I also want to dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs.
This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling deal limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/ supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, or combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance.
I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, about an hour ago, I entered a statement into the Record, and I would like to read it so the Members can hear it.
I want to also dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs. This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's evil ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance.
I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore our national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries.
Mr. President, I want to remind Members, we were indulgent in the first vote. That is over. We are doing 10-minute votes. Please stay in your seats so we can finish this bill at a reasonable hour.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, that was 12 minutes. We are getting down to 10. Everyone should be here. Call the vote.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Ten minutes forty seconds. We have got 40 seconds to go, and we can get it all in 10. Vote on Amendment No. 125
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Mr. SCHUMER. That took 9 minutes 40 seconds. Keep going.
(Applause.)
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we are slipping a little--11 minutes. Let's stay in our seats.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, 10\1/2\ minutes. We are getting a little better than last time. Let's get it down to 10. Stay here. We are all getting to know each other now.
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Mr. SCHUMER. All right, everybody, that is our record--9:20. Let's beat it.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first, I want to thank everybody for cooperating. I think we got the most votes in the least time.
Second, and more importantly, we are about to vote on something so important to the country, and so many of us on both sides of the aisle will know that if we do this, we will not default. That is very, very important.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The next vote is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
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