Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Senate Priorities This Work Period

Washington, D.C.–Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Senate’s priorities for this work period. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:    

Today, the Senate will continue working to confirm two district judges and two executive nominations. Last night, I filed cloture on four additional nominations: another circuit court judge, another district judge, a Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and an EPA Assistant Administrator. This sets up a busy rest of the week here on the Senate floor.

And at the same time, the Senate will continue to move forward on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, known as the NDAA.

Passing the NDAA is important for many reasons: to strengthen our defense and keep our country safe, to outcompete the Chinese government, and to give our troops well-deserved pay raises.

The NDAA has routinely been a bipartisan effort with both sides working in good faith, and that’s been the case so far this year too. I want to thank Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Wicker for moving the NDAA through committee quickly and with bipartisan cooperation.

As we turn to the NDAA, I am hopeful we can come together here in the Senate on legislation related to our ongoing competition with the Chinese Government, on artificial intelligence, and perhaps some other important issues.

I hope we can see that bipartisanship continue here on the floor and that we can pass the bill quickly, without being dilatory. The House is having a whole lot of trouble moving on this must-needed legislation, something I believe we can and should avoid in the Senate.

Finally, as Americans’ faith in the judiciary is at an all-time low thanks to the MAGA-majority Supreme Court, Senate Democrats will continue to move forward on legislation to restore trust in our court.

Supreme Court justices should not be accepting lavish gifts and vacations from billionaire MAGA extremists, who bankroll hard right causes and taint our judicial system by bringing those same cases before the same judges.

The highest court in the land must be held to equally high ethical standards. I support the efforts of Chairman Durbin and the Judiciary Committee to advance ethics reform in committee, and I hope we can move on such legislation in this chamber.

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