Democrats Do Not Get Concessions in Exchange for Protecting America
‘Here’s the simple fact: Protecting America and supporting our troops is not some partisan Republican priority that we will cajole and reward Democrats into accepting. Providing for the common defense is a basic, minimum responsibility of being in government. Passing a defense authorization bill and appropriating the money our military needs are not right-wing demands that Democrats get unrelated goodies for going along with.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding national defense:
“Yesterday, I explained a simple and obvious reality that will determine whether the NDAA and government funding legislation succeed or fail.
“Here’s the simple fact: Protecting America and supporting our troops is not some partisan Republican priority that we will cajole and reward Democrats into accepting.
“Providing for the common defense is a basic, minimum responsibility of being in government. Passing a defense authorization bill and appropriating the money our military needs are not right-wing demands that Democrats get unrelated goodies for going along with.
“A Commander-in-Chief’s own party does not get to take our troops hostage for unrelated policy aims. Democrats will not be getting special rewards for doing their job.
“Yesterday, I praised the bipartisan deal that our Senate and House Armed Services Committees have struck on the NDAA. The House was supposed to advance the bill yesterday. But instead, the Democratic majority fell into disarray.
“Some Democrats want to scuttle the defense bill by attaching unrelated liberal demands that would guarantee its collapse.
“Attaching partisan non sequiturs to this carefully-negotiated NDAA would achieve one and only one outcome:
“It would ensure that neither the NDAA nor their wish list become law.
“The only outcome that partisan game-playing would produce is the collapse of this bill. A massive injury for the United States Armed Forces, at the hands of President Biden’s party, on President Biden’s watch.
“The House needs to send us the agreed-upon, bipartisan NDAA without delay.
“The same reality applies to appropriations, as well.
“Democrats just spent two years using the partisan reconciliation process to lavish trillions of extra dollars on liberal, domestic demands while our Armed Forces languished on the back burner. The Biden Administration printed and spent trillions on things like welfare and solar panels like there was no tomorrow, but they couldn’t even assemble a budget proposal that sufficiently funded our troops.
“So my friends across the aisle have zero standing to demand even more liberal domestic spending in exchange for giving our Armed Forces what they need.
“Our Commander-in-Chief and his party have spent huge sums on domestic priorities outside the normal appropriations process without a penny for the Defense Department. Obviously, we won’t allow them to now hijack the government funding process, too, and take our troops hostage for even more liberal spending.
“Protecting America is our job. Republicans will not be bribing our Democratic colleagues with special treats, as if they need to be bargained into defending America.
“The sooner the Democrats fully accept this reality, the sooner we can get on with the people’s business. That goes for both the NDAA and government funding.”
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Related Issues: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Energy, NDAA, Democrats' Reckless Taxing And Spending Spree, America's Military
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