Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Announcement Of A Bipartisan, Bicameral Framework For The Omnibus Agreement To Fully Fund Our Government
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the bicameral, bipartisan agreement on a framework to fund the federal government in fiscal year 2023 that includes many priorities including more aid for Ukraine and the Electoral Count Act. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:
Last night, Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Shelby, and Chairman DeLauro announced the appropriators have agreed to a framework for an omnibus agreement that will fully fund the federal government in fiscal year 2023.
This is very welcome and important news: Congress now has a roadmap for funding the government before the conclusion of the 117th Congress, something the large majority of us want to see. We still have a long way to go, but a framework is a big step in the right direction.
A yearlong omnibus is by far the best option we have for making sure our kids, our senior citizens, our veterans, our small business, our defense, and all of the families that benefit from this don’t see vital government services lapse or shrink. It means we can fully implement the investments secured; we fought so hard for the PACT Act, we have to fund it. We fought so hard for the CHIPS and Science Act, we have to fund it. A CR will not fund these bills, but an omnibus agreement will. And they were all bipartisan with large support from both sides of the aisle.
And an omnibus is also a balanced approach because it will contain wins that both sides want to see, like the Electoral Count Act and funding for our friends in Ukraine. If we can come to an agreement on an omnibus, I am optimistic that these bills, which are so important to Democrats and Republicans alike, the ECA and funding for Ukraine can become law.
But before we pass a funding bill, however, we also must ensure sure the government doesn’t shut down, so we’re going to have to pass a one-week continuing resolution ASAP.
The House is set to act on a one-week CR as soon as tonight, and when that bill comes to the Senate we should be ready to act quickly, as soon as tomorrow if we can.
The appropriations process, of course, is not over, so the responsible and prudent thing to do right now is pass a one-week CR quickly, without the unwelcome brouhaha that has provoked shutdowns in the past.
And remember, as we go through this appropriations process, the experiences of the last decades show that those who risk shutdowns in order to make political points always lose in the end.
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