Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, first of all, let me acknowledge the final comments from the Senator from Oklahoma.

Thank you for making us all pause and remember that important time and important lessons that we all need to have learned from here. Thank you very much. Debt Ceiling

Mr. President, like so many of my colleagues, I spent last week back home hearing from folks in my State. Everywhere I went, I heard from people about how the investments that we make here in Congress actually matter in their daily lives; how the funding that we provide from here helps students at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland pursue their dreams and get a higher education and find a good-paying job. It helps entrepreneurs in Tacoma start a business and grow it from the ground up. It helps pregnant moms who rely on the Rainier Valley Midwives Center to get the care they need to have a healthy pregnancy.

I saw how our Federal investments make cutting-edge biomedical research possible at the Allen Institute in Seattle, leading to breakthroughs that save lives and give people more time with their loved ones.

Again and again, I heard about the resources that we send back home pay off in a truly meaningful way. And it is true: The investments we make in our country are critical. They are critical in helping our families succeed; keeping our communities safe; and keeping our Nation strong, secure, and competitive.

We aren't simply spending; we are investing. We are investing in fighting deadly fentanyl and upgrading our crumbling infrastructure. We are investing in keeping America on the cutting edge of clean energy and scientific innovation. We are investing in rebuilding American manufacturing and bringing industries of the future back home here to our shores.

I could go on and on.

But the point is, the funding decisions we make right here in this Chamber are not just numbers on a page. They are investments in people, in families, in our communities, and, ultimately, in our country's future. And they are also crucial to keeping our country secure and on the cutting edge as competitors like the Chinese Government work hard to outpace us.

As we all know, our adversaries are not restricting their investments in their futures. They are not. And they are not teetering on the verge of calamitous default for the sake of partisan politics. And, yet, instead of listening to people back home, instead of listening to the flashing red warning signs from our competitors, House Republicans have been insisting on draconian cuts and harmful changes to the programs that are a lifeline for struggling families and the lifeblood of our global leadership.

House Republicans' push to slash this funding for key Federal programs is alarming, and the way they have tried to make their cuts is downright reckless. We have to be clear about what they have done here. Instead of working through the budget and appropriations process--as we do every year to craft our Nation's budget and determine how we spend money--House Republicans just decided they would threaten to tank our economy and force the United States into default to extract partisan concessions. They have absolutely not been shy about it.

We heard from House Republican leaders and even the leader of the Republican Party talk openly about taking our economy and the American people ``hostage.'' That is damning--House Republicans admitting to using the full faith and credit of the United States of America as a political weapon.

Needless to say, that is not how this should work. Negotiating is not one side saying: Give me everything I want or else. Negotiating is coming to the table saying: Here are my concerns; here are my principles; here is what I am hearing from families in my State; where can we find common ground? That is what people elected us to do. That is what they sent us here to do.

Frankly, that is what I think many of us here want to do. I have heard from so many of my colleagues about their desire to return to regular order, and I have been working with Senator Collins to do that on the Appropriations Committee. But let's get one thing straight-- hostage-taking is not regular order. It is just not. That is not the way we should arrive at the top lines for our spending bills. And it is time we put an end to this dangerous brinksmanship at the next possible opportunity by scrapping this debt ceiling and taking the threat of default off the table once and for all. No other country handles its credit like this.

Hostage-taking is no way to have a conversation about our Nation's fiscal future.

And let's be clear. For House Republicans, this never was truly about the debt anyway. Republicans added trillions to the debt under President Trump through tax giveaways for billionaires and giant corporations, but they refuse to even talk about asking billionaires to pay at least as much in taxes as a firefighter or a nurse. They won't talk about closing giant loopholes for Big Oil or Big Pharma. They definitely won't talk about capping tax giveaways to the wealthy. Instead, House Republicans want to give handouts to the rich and massive corporations. They want to make life harder for struggling families by cutting the programs they rely on and make competing globally harder for our Nation by capping our ability to invest in our future. They agreed to raise the debt ceiling three times under President Trump without batting an eye, but their tune changes when a Democrat is in the White House.

President Biden and congressional Democrats have been clear from the outset that default is not an option and should never have been a threat because it would be catastrophic to our Nation's economy, to the financial security of our families, and to the stability of the global economy. So I applaud President Biden for his laser focus on taking default off the table.

While I know the President has pushed hard to hold the line on recent progress and protect vulnerable people who need support and reject the House Republicans' most extreme demands, we have to be clear-eyed and honest about how this bill fails to meet our current moment--especially how it will limit our ability now to make the investments we need to strengthen our economy and invest in America's future.

I will vote for this legislation because default is not an option, but I do so with deep concern and with a determination to prevent us from ever being in this situation again and lessen the damage of these cuts at every possible opportunity. That can include working with the administration and my colleagues to consider a supplemental, but that conversation has to consider more than just defense and Ukraine because there are other really important priorities, like border security, disaster relief, and other nondefense items, that we should not let be shortchanged.

This is absolutely not a bill I would have written, and the fact that the choice here is between a bill that cuts resources for American families or trashing the Nation's credit and causing a global economic meltdown is an indictment of House Republicans, who decided taking our Nation's credit hostage was an acceptable thing to do.

Understand that the programs being cut make a real difference in people's lives. I know that firsthand. I am someone who grew up knowing what it meant to get by on a tight, tight budget. I had a big family-- six brothers and sisters. My dad was a World War II veteran. He ran a mom-and-pop store on Main Street, selling everyday goods in Bothell, WA. We never had a lot, but we always got by, and a lot of times, that was because our government had our backs.

When my dad got sick and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, my mom had to figure out how to support seven kids and find a job that would make that possible. A Federal workforce training program helped her get a job as a bookkeeper to keep my family afloat. Me and my siblings--all seven of us--got through college thanks to Federal assistance because our government invested in Pell grants and other programs. My family and I had to rely on food stamps for a brief time. We didn't go hungry because of Federal investments in nutrition.

So I will say it again. The funding decisions we make right here in this Chamber are not just numbers on a page; the policy we write and sign into law has a direct consequence on people's lives, and every Member of Congress needs to recognize that.

So rest assured I remain very focused on keeping our appropriations process moving forward here in the Senate, marking up our spending bills in a timely, bipartisan way. I want to make it clear right here on the Senate floor that I will be doing absolutely everything I can to protect the investments that help those families get by and ensure that this great country lives up to its promise, from childcare, to housing, to lifesaving research, and more. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will be a voice for working families in my home State and all across the country.

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