Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Filing Cloture To Advance The National Security Supplemental Package And Announcing President Zelenskyy Will Address Senators Via Secure Video At A Briefing Tomorrow

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on moving forward with a Senate vote on the urgently needed supplemental package. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

A few moments ago, I filed cloture on a motion to proceed on a shell bill for a national security supplemental.

The step I am taking tonight will ensure the process for the supplemental moves forward, and that hopefully disagreements on immigration do not prevent us from doing what we must do to protect America’s security. 

I urge every single Senator to think about where we are in this moment in history. America’s national security is on the line around the world—in Europe, in the Middle East, and in the Indo Pacific. Autocrats, dictators are waging war against democracy, against our values, against our way of life. That’s why passing this supplemental is so important—it could determine the trajectory of democracy for years to come. We are at a moment in history.

Tonight I’d like to announce that the Administration has invited President Zelenskyy to address Senators via secure video as part of our classified briefing tomorrow, so we can hear directly from him precisely what’s at stake in this vote. I ask that all Senators - all Senators - attend this important briefing. 

In the coming days, I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and support moving forward on the supplemental package. We can’t ever put a price on defending democracy in its hour of need, because if Ukraine falls, Putin will keep on going. Autocrats around the world will be emboldened. Democracy, this grand and noble experiment, will enter an era of decline.

History will render harsh judgment on those who abandoned democracy. I urge all Senators to work with us to move forward on a national security supplemental. 

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