Administration-Pelosi Budget Deal Will Provide Necessary Funding to Rebuild and Modernize Our Military
‘Yesterday, the administration informed congressional leaders that Secretary Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mulvaney, and Acting OMB Director Vought had reached a deal with Speaker Pelosi to prevent a government funding crisis and deliver on President Trump’s top priorities… In fact, in my view, it’s the most important obligation of the entire Congress: Securing the resources we need to “provide for the common defense.” This deal does it.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the deal reached by the Trump Administration and Speaker Pelosi to avoid a government funding crisis:
“Yesterday, the administration informed congressional leaders that Secretary Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mulvaney, and Acting OMB Director Vought had reached a deal with Speaker Pelosi to prevent a government funding crisis and deliver on President Trump’s top priorities. The agreement secures the most important priority of the Republican conference. In fact, in my view, it’s the most important obligation of the entire Congress: Securing the resources we need to ‘provide for the common defense.’ This deal does it.
“Over the past two and a half years, Republicans in Congress have worked with the president to stop and reverse the decline in the strength and readiness of our armed forces. After years of insufficient funding that hurt readiness and tied commanders’ hands, Congress and President Trump have secured badly-needed funding increases to rebuild and modernize the United States military.
“But there’s still more work ahead. The progress that we’ve made remains tenuous. America’s adversaries aren’t taking their foot off the gas anytime soon, so we can’t either. We have to keep up the momentum. And this agreement provides the stability of funding our military deserves and requires. Thanks to tough negotiating by the Trump Administration, this deal delivers for the security of our nation. It delivers for our men and women in uniform. It protects the progress of the last two years and provides the fuel for further progress.
“That’s the bottom line. The nature of divided government means this certainly isn’t the agreement that Republicans would have written all by ourselves. For example: I’ll never understand why our Democratic colleagues treat funding the United States armed forces like a Republican priority that somehow needs to be matched up with additional spending that Democrats like in order to make it palatable for them.
“It seems to me that every one of us, both sides, should jump at the chance to fund defense adequately. But alas, that’s not a mystery that was going to be solved for me in the immediate future. The fact is, the federal government is coming up on urgent deadlines with respect to the debt limit and beginning the appropriations process. The full faith and credit of the United States cannot be in question. And the last thing Americans need is for Washington D.C. to throw a big wrench into this red-hot economy that’s creating historic levels of job opportunities and growing their take-home pay.
“And so, faced with our Democratic colleagues’ reluctance, the Trump Administration took the high road. They did what needed to be done for our armed forces and veterans and negotiated a successful deal. In fact, compared to current law, the administration has secured a larger increase for defense spending than for non-defense. Let me say that again: A larger increase for defense than for non-defense compared to current law.
“What’s more, the administration successfully kept left-wing poison pills and policy riders far away from this agreement. We know that some on the far left had been hankering to claw back Hyde Amendment protections, or cut away at reprogramming authorities and flexibility that presidents rightly possess. I applaud the fact that no left-wing riders like that were allowed into the deal. This is the deal that was necessary to continue rebuilding our national defense after years of neglect — and it’s the deal that was possible in divided government. I am proud to join President Trump in support of it and I’ll be proud to support it when the Senate votes on the agreement before we adjourn at the end of this month.”
Related Issues: America's Military, Budget
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