Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Work Together To Finish The Appropriations Process

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today spoke on the Senate floor on the continued need for both parties to work together to complete the appropriations process and avoid a government shutdown. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

If Republicans and Democrats keep working together in good faith to fund the government, then I hope we’re just days away from completing the appropriations process. The job is not done, but we are very close.

A few days ago, Congressional leaders announced an agreement on the last six funding bills. These bills will make significant investments for our national defense, for the wellbeing of our service members, for keeping the U.S. competitive against the Chinese Communist Party, and so much more.

Today, appropriators continue working on the legislative text, and despite the tight deadline they continue to make very good progress. They're very diligent. They work through the night, and we salute them on both sides of the aisle – my staff, [Appropriations Chair] Patty Murray's staff, [Appropriations Vice Chair] Susan Collins’s staff, and Leader McConnell’s staff – for trying to get this done, as well as all the other members of the Appropriations subcommittees.

We don’t yet know precisely when the House will act, but as soon as they send us the funding package, I will put it on the Senate floor. And from there, as we all know, it will take cooperation to get on the bill and consent from every Senator to keep this process moving quickly.

Even with bipartisanship, it’s going to be a tight squeeze to get this funding package passed before the weekend deadline. I ask my colleagues to be flexible, to be prepared to act quickly, and to prioritize working together in good faith, so we can finish the appropriations process.

If we proceed like we did two weeks ago with the first six funding bills, then the odds are good we can get this done without excessive delay or headaches. Again, I want to thank my Senate colleagues – Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, Leader McConnell, the Speaker and all appropriators – for working in good faith to finish the job.

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