Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Senate Making Progress On Appropriations Legislation With Strong Bipartisan Support

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Senate’s upcoming vote on David Uhlmann to be Assistant Administrator at the EPA and on the Senate working in a bipartisan manner to pass appropriations bills. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

As the Senate works to finish the NDAA, we’ll also vote this morning on an important executive nominee: David Uhlmann, to be Assistant Administrator at the EPA. Mr. Uhlmann is one of the nation’s top prosecutors of criminal polluters, and he has broad support from leading officials from both former Democratic and Republican administrations.

Off the floor, we will also make great progress on the appropriations bill.

This morning, the Appropriations Committee is marking up three more bills, continuing the great work of our appropriators over the past few months.

This is never an easy process – but hats off to Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins. They’re working really well together and we’re on track to pass all of our appropriations bills through committee, through regular order, with strong bipartisan support.

It’s hard to do. It is hard to do. But they’re doing a great job and it’s precisely how the appropriations process should work. Both sides coming together, finding common ground, advancing bills that invest in American families, keep our communities safe, and keep our government open.

It’s this kind of bipartisan cooperation that prevented any government shutdown in the last Congress, when Democrats had majorities in the House and in the Senate. Not one shutdown, not even for a day. We didn’t shut the government down. Americans don’t want to see one this year.

There’s a lot of work left to do, but today’s markup is another example that our appropriators are moving forward on a good path, and I thank them again for their efforts.

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