Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Act On Key Priorities Before The End Of The Year
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the need for Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement to fund the government, pass the NDAA, approve disaster relief funding, and confirm well-qualified judicial nominees before the end of the year. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
The Senate gavels back into session for a very busy week. We must finish our work on the NDAA, we must keep the government open, act on the Social Security Fairness Act, act on WRDA and EDA, and confirm more of the President’s nominees. It’s going to take cooperation from our Republican colleagues to get these things done in a timely fashion.
First, as I said, we must pass our annual defense authorization bill, the NDAA. This afternoon we will take the first procedural vote on the NDAA package sent to us last week by the House. If cloture is invoked, I hope we can find a path to pass an NDAA as soon as tomorrow.
This year’s NDAA is not a perfect bill, but it nonetheless has some very good things that Democrats fought hard for that will strengthen military families and boost tech innovation here at home, something very important to me.
To be sure, the NDAA has some bad provisions Democrats would not have included. And there are other provisions that were left out of NDAA which we still hope can get done elsewhere. I want to thank Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Wicker, and all the members of the Armed Services Committee for their good work on this year’s defense bill.
On another matter, by the end of the week, the Senate must also pass a temporary extension of government funding before December 20th, or else the government will shut down right before Christmas.
Democrats have spent weeks working in good faith with our Republican counterparts on crafting a strong CR that will keep the government open while also providing much needed disaster relief for the American people.
We kept working through the weekend on finalizing an agreement, but our Republican colleagues are still sorting through disagreements on their end, and there are many.
Democrats will keep working to finish the job on passing a strong and bipartisan CR. We don’t want the government to shut down during the holiday season, and I expect that many, if not most, of our Republican colleagues feel the same way. So, let’s finish the job.
Besides keeping the government open, the Senate will also vote later this week on reauthorizing WRDA and the Economic Development Administration.
Reauthorizing WRDA, the Water Resources Development Act, is vital for strengthening America’s ports and waterways, preventing flood damage, protecting our wetlands, boosting our economy. Reauthorizing the EDA would also provide critical investments in infrastructure, workforce, and domestic supply chains that will help the U.S. out-compete the rest of the world.
The House passed WRDA and EDA with overwhelming bipartisan support last week. We expect to pass it here with equally robust support, and we’ll work with our Republican colleagues on finding a time to hold a floor vote. I thank them for working with us to get these bills done.
Finally, before I get to the Social Security Fairness Act, the Senate will also keep working on nominations. Later today, I will file cloture on the nominations of Benjamin Cheeks, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California, and Serena Murillo, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California.
Members should be ready to vote on – and confirm – these outstanding public servants as soon as Wednesday. I’ll have more to say on our outstanding nominees throughout the week.
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