McConnell Speaks in Support of Regular Appropriations Process
‘So, I’m praying for Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Leahy that the curtains will part here and we’ll figure a way to move forward. Because I don’t think either side can take advantage of the other given the divided government that we have. We’ll get there if we don’t get bogged down in too many foxholes here at the beginning of the process. So, thank you both for your leadership and trying to get us forward. Let’s see how many of these bills we can pass before the end of the month.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks at today’s hearing in the Senate Committee on Appropriations regarding the need to fund the government:
“Well colleagues, I thought the hard part was going to be reaching the caps agreement this summer. Obviously, we have very different priorities on both sides, but we struggled through that, the Speaker and the president finally reached an agreement. And I hope we won’t get so bogged down here that we don’t achieve what we really, on a bipartisan agreement wanted to achieve, which was to avoid a CR, avoid a government shutdown. I would say to my friends on the Democratic side, no matter what the Senate skirmish looks like, in the end, the Democratic majority in the House should be able to protect what your priorities are.
“So, I know we have some glitches here as we’re trying to get started – let’s try to work them out. In the end, there’s adequate protection for both sides -- the majority of Democrats in the House, and from our point of view not only the Senate but the president. I hope we can move forward particularly on this defense bill which I think adequately addresses our concerns about both the Russians and the Chinese, and also allows funds to help Ukraine – which I and others on this side have been particularly interested in.
“So, I’m praying for Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Leahy that the curtains will part here and we’ll figure a way to move forward. Because I don’t think either side can take advantage of the other given the divided government that we have. We’ll get there if we don’t get bogged down in too many foxholes here at the beginning of the process. So, thank you both for your leadership and trying to get us forward. Let’s see how many of these bills we can pass before the end of the month. The Speaker, in my view, wisely collected defense, labor-h, foreign ops, and energy. And we’re hoping still, that we can move that same rather large minibus across the floor before the end of the month. That would be 70% of the government funded before the end of the fiscal year produced by a divided government. The public may not notice it, but I think that’s noteworthy and I think that still ought to be our goal.”
Related Issues: China, Appropriations, Russia
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