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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, the Senate gavels in this week with a lot to do. Off the floor, we will keep working on government funding, the NDAA, and try to move the ball forward on the farm bill and helping communities battered by disaster.

On the floor, the Senate will focus this week on confirming more of President Biden's judicial nominees. The majority will keep working to confirm as many of President Biden's judicial nominees as we can before the end of the year. That will be one of the Senate's top priorities.

We will begin today by voting on the confirmation of Embry Kidd to serve as circuit court judge for the 11th Circuit. Judge Kidd boasts an impressive legal resume and is exceptionally qualified to serve on the Federal bench. I am confident he will make a great addition to the 11th Circuit. If confirmed, Judge Kidd would be the 45th circuit court judge and the 216th Federal judge confirmed to a lifetime appointment under President Biden and this Senate Democratic majority.

The judges we have confirmed represent perhaps the widest range of backgrounds and experiences ever seen under any President. We have more judges that worked as defenders, legal aid attorneys, civil rights lawyers, Federal prosecutors, voting rights lawyers, and more women and people of color than we have ever had under one administration.

After we vote today, we will keep going. Tonight, I will file on additional judges whom we will move forward on the floor this week. We also have several more nominees coming out of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, and we will work quickly to move them out of this Chamber and onto the bench.

So let me repeat: The Senate is going to keep prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and for the rest of the year.

Now, on disaster aid, in addition to confirming more judges and administrative officials, the Senate also has much to do on the legislative side. We must keep the government open after December 20. We must pass the annual Defense authorization bill, the NDAA, just as we have done for over six decades. We hope to keep making progress on the farm bill. I see the Senator from Michigan here, and she is working diligently on that.

But today I want to focus on disaster aid, something both Democrats and Republicans have long supported and which impacts people in every State of the country. Earlier today, the OMB, the Office of Management and Budget, released a letter addressed to Congress calling for swift action on disaster aid, along with a detailed breakdown of where that money is needed.

Right now, a host of Federal programs from various Agencies are running critically low on the funding they need to function. In some cases like the SBA, Small Business Administration, funding has already dried up. Without congressional action, the Federal Government may not be ready to respond to the next wave of disasters when they strike.

Many of the programs in need of replenishing focus on the long-term elements of disaster recovery. When disaster strikes, obviously, the first priority is getting people out of danger, providing for their needs. But then homes need to be rebuilt. Schools need to be reopened. Farmers need help recovering their losses from ruined crops. Roads and bridges and railways need funding for repairs. Businesses need loans to get back on their feet. All of these priorities are running critically low on Federal dollars.

A month ago, Speaker Johnson said getting disaster aid would be his priority upon Congress's return this month. I hope the Speaker honors that commitment and works with Democrats to get disaster aid done as soon as we can. We should not kick the can down the road nor withhold vital resources the Federal Government needs to properly help recovering communities.

It is a longstanding tradition that when any community is hit by disaster in this great country, we all rally together to help our fellow Americans. With just a few exceptions, this has almost always been nonpartisan. That is how it should be on issues like this that impact communities of all kinds and in all places.

We must work together to get disaster aid done as soon as possible so that we will be ready the next time disaster strikes.

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