Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Pass A Bipartisan National Security Supplemental

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the need to pass a national security supplemental. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Senate and White House negotiators are getting closer to reaching a bipartisan agreement on a national security supplemental.

For the first time, I believe the odds are a little better than fifty percent that we can get something done.

But certainly it’s not a done deal yet. We have a number of disagreements we’re still working through.

On issues as complex as immigration and national security, what matters is not just what we do, but how we do it. The smallest details matter immensely and it takes time to work through those details.

Nevertheless, talks are trending in the right direction, and I remain optimistic that we’ll get it done soon here in the Senate.

And the good news is once Congress avoids a shutdown, it is my goal for the Senate to move forward to the national security supplemental as soon as possible.

Now yesterday, I joined with Congressional colleagues for a meeting with President Biden at the White House to talk about the latest on supplemental negotiations.

It was a respectful, positive and constructive meeting, and everyone walked out with a sense that we need to get something done.

While both parties have plenty of disagreements, all sides did agree on a couple of important points:

First, Congressional leaders understood that we need to pass additional emergency aid for Ukraine.

Again, both sides might disagree on a lot of things, but on Ukraine, everyone agreed that we must act.

I made it very clear in the room that right now, the war in Ukraine is beginning to turn against Ukrainians. While Ukrainian fighters have no shortage of courage and resolve, they will soon face a shortage of supplies, of ammunition, of armaments that America provided to a large extent.

If we don’t pass another round of aid, then a mere month from now the situation could become dire for Ukraine. And a year from now, America and NATO will be on our back foot, paying a far higher cost to ensure Putin does not sink his tentacles deeper into the European continent.

Second, everyone agreed that we need to do something to fix the situation at the border. The President said over and over again he is willing to work with Republicans on the border. But it has to be bipartisan, as Republican leadership knows.

You cannot – cannot – do things with one party in a divided Congress.

Anyone who says it’s my way or the highway on border is not serious about reaching an agreement. It must be bipartisan.

So, we feel good and remain hopeful about the direction of the talks, but I caution my colleagues that nothing has been finalized yet. There’s still more work to do.

But we are going to stay the course. Our national security demands nothing less. Our friends in Ukraine demand nothing less. The future of Western democracy demands nothing less.

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