Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Need To Complete Important Senate Business In A Bipartisan Manner Before The End of 118th Congress
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the need to approve funding, pass vital bipartisan legislation including funding the government, the NDAA and confirming well-qualified judges. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
There is much the Senate has yet to accomplish before the end of the year. It will be a busy time.
Government funding is scheduled to run out on December the 20th. Both sides must work together to prevent a shutdown before then. Nobody wants to hear the words “Christmas-time shutdown” a few weeks from now. I can’t think of something the American people would want less during the holidays.
Just as we’ve done repeatedly over the past couple of years, both sides must compromise and work together to make sure the government remains funded.
We also need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA, to provide for our troops, and hold the line against America’s adversaries. I hope our Republican colleagues work with us to advance key policies to outcompete the Chinese Communist party and secure America’s leadership on some of the most cutting-edge technologies of our time, from AI to innovations in biotech and quantum computing and more.
We’ve gotten the NDAA done for over the last six decades without fail, and we must do it again this year.
Another issue that requires our attention is disaster aid, to support communities across the country in times of disaster. No state or community is immune from disaster, we’ve seen that over the last few years – from hurricanes in Florida, and wildfires in Hawaii, floods in the Northeast, droughts on the West Coast, and everywhere in between.
If we want to help these communities recover and rebuild after disasters, we must pass comprehensive, robust funding that leverages all programs across the federal government to help our communities in need.
It's been a hallmark of America. When one of the regions of our country – one of the parts, the towns, villages, the counties, the states – have had real trouble because the hand of God, through weather and disaster has affected them, the whole country rallies to their side. That's been a tradition. A few haven’t abided by it in instances on the other side. But it’s a tradition we must keep, and hopefully we can move forward on disaster aid.
We also need to make progress on the farm bill, and I commend Chair Stabenow for her bipartisan work on this matter. Democrats are serious about getting a farm bill done – one that represents the needs of everyone, from farmers and ranchers to hungry Americans.
And finally, as we continue to work through these matters, the Senate continues to make progress on confirming President Biden’s highly qualified nominees.
Today, the Senate will confirm another judge on the U.S. Tax Court and the Director of the Office for Government Ethics. And we’ll advance Embry Kidd’s nomination for circuit court judge for the Eleventh Circuit.
So, we have a lot of work left to do on several fronts, but I am encouraged so far by the cooperation from both sides.
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