-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as the Senate begins our work in 2024, three things are true. First, there is a lot we have to do at the start of the year, including funding the government, working towards a national security supplemental, confirming more nominees through the Senate, and much more.
We made good progress on many bipartisan bills last year, which we would like to bring to the floor this year.
Second, the only way we are going to get anything of consequence done is through bipartisan cooperation.
Third, the Senate is off to a good start.
A few days ago, I announced, alongside Speaker Johnson, that congressional leaders have reached a significant milestone for government funding. We have agreed to top-line funding numbers for fiscal year 2024. This now clears the path for appropriators to begin drafting the 12 appropriations bills.
Yesterday, I spoke with Chairman Murray, and then I met in my office with Leader McConnell, and we are all on the same page that we want to move as quickly as we can to finish the appropriations process.
We have only 10 days until the first deadline on January 19. So both parties must continue working together to minimize the risk of a government shutdown.
Now, it wasn't easy to come to an agreement on top-line numbers, but Democrats are very pleased with the ultimate outcome. From the beginning, Democrats had one goal in mind, our North Star, to keep nondefense funding levels at $772.7 billion, the exact same number we agreed to in June of last year when we avoided default.
Many on the hard right, particularly those in the Freedom Caucus, wanted to see that number brought down significantly, and that would have made certain devastating cuts to all sorts of programs that help millions of Americans. But Democrats, who control the Presidency and have a majority in the Senate, said no, no, no to draconian cuts. We told the hard right that they cannot bully or threaten their way to getting the kind of draconian cuts that the vast majority of Americans and many, many Republicans oppose.
You hear it when Republicans go home to their districts and brag about some of the very things that these hard-right people want to cut.
So we held the line, and, as a result, we have successfully protected vital priorities, like housing programs, veterans' benefits, healthcare, nutrition, small business support, the NHS, and funding for Federal law enforcement.
Hard-right Republicans wanted to use the appropriations process to gut Democrats' clean energy investments that we passed in the IRA. Those too will be absolutely protected. And even though the hard right is always obsessed with starving the IRA of resources, this agreement protects important funding the IRS needs to hold ultra-rich tax evaders accountable.
This work will not be undermined. The IRS has made great progress, brought in lots of money that always should have been there, but because very wealthy people are able to hire lawyers and accountants to evade taxes, they got away with it--no more. All in all, this top-line agreement is a good outcome for the country and a strong start to the year.
Now, certainly, there is more work to do. Agreeing to a top-line number is important, but so is the next step: translating that number into 12 appropriations bills that can pass the Senate, pass the House, and reach the President's desk.
None of us want to see a government shutdown. So we will do everything possible to ensure we avoid one in the coming weeks.
If Republicans in the House follow the approach we have taken in the Senate--the bipartisan approach where Democratic and Republican appropriators have worked collaboratively, despite our disagreements-- then we can minimize the risks of a shutdown. But if House Republicans bend to the insatiable whims and demands of their hard-right flank, if they corrode the appropriations process with poison pills and extremist policy proposals, then they will be responsible for moving us closer to a shutdown. I hope that does not happen, but we will not be bullied by a few hard-right radicals.
Now, on the supplemental, Mr. President, as the new year begins, Senate Democrats remain committed to working with our Republican colleagues on passing a national security supplemental package. This work has not been easy, but it is a matter of the highest national urgency that we act. At stake is the security of our country, the security of our friends, including Ukraine and Israel, and nothing less than the future of Western democracy.
We must address these issues. Negotiators have been hard at work for weeks and worked straight through the New Year's break in hopes of reaching an agreement. The keyword in these negotiations has been persistence--persistence--and I remain hopeful that we are going to get something meaningful done.
At times, progress has been slow, and, sometimes, progress has been immensely encouraging, but, either way, the important part is we are making progress, and we are closer now than we have ever been to getting an agreement.
Congress has not acted on immigration in a comprehensive way in decades. So it should surprise no one that it is going to take time. Of all the difficult issues we face in this Chamber, immigration is near the top. But regardless of how difficult passing this supplemental is, so much, so much hangs on our success. The world is still watching how the United States will respond this year to the crises in Europe and the Middle East and to the growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Our friends are watching closely too. Most of all, adversaries like Vladimir Putin are watching.
I recently read in the press that while Ukrainians remain determined to defend their country, they are running out of ammunition. According to one observer, they can fire only one salvo back for every five or so the Russians are firing at them. History will not look kindly on this episode if the United States fails to act.
So getting a supplemental done is important right now--as important as it has ever been. I know my friend the Republican Leader feels the same way, and negotiators are going to keep working until we get this done.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source