Senator Murray Remarks on House CR Proposal, Senate Funding Minibus, Preventing Shutdown

Press Conference

"Thank you. As you all know, I've been working with Senator Collins from the start of the year to make sure we have an open, bipartisan appropriations process.

And just last week, 91 Senators voted to proceed to our first funding package, and every bill in that package passed our Committee unanimously this past summer.

That is because we are writing serious, bipartisan bills that can actually be signed into law. We stuck to the deal the President and Speaker shook hands on, that Congress passed, we kept out poison pills, and we asked for input from every one of our colleagues.

Now, we are working to move forward on that process.

And it is no secret that last week we were blocked from voting on amendments and having a real debate on the Senate floor by one Senator.

But I want you to know, we are determined to make sure a handful of Senators don't overrule the vast majority of us who worked on this package and want to see it move forward.

We are still working hard in hopes of securing a UC agreement, but we've also filed for a procedural vote that we will take tomorrow to get things rolling if necessary.

So here's my message to every Senator who has told me and Senator Collins that they want get back to regular order, they want to get back to bipartisanship, they want to avoid that massive, end-of-the-year omnibus: this is the chance to do that.

They need to join us on this procedural vote so we can keep this process on track.

Because if we aren't able to keep our bills moving on the floor--then an omnibus will be where we end up.

So, senators need to decide what they want. I personally do not want to let a few members cause chaos and stop other Senators--especially those who do not serve on the Appropriations Committee--from weighing in on these bills on the Senate floor. And I hope all of our colleagues agree!

Now, looking ahead, I'll say it again: there is no need for chaos or shutdown.

But I'm afraid to say that the proposal we have seen from House Republicans is not a serious proposal to keep our government funded. If they pass it--it is a bill with no money for Ukraine, no money for disaster relief, none of the critical funding the President has made a serious and reasonable case for.

And it would cut drastically domestic funding even further--because let's not forget the deal the President and Speaker agreed to forced us already to work with some very, really tough cut numbers, especially across the federal programs here at home that so many of our families count on.ukrain

So they are talking about a CR that would severely undercut the work of the Social Security Administration--those are the people whose job it is to make sure our seniors get the benefits they need--a CR that would gut the FAA, at a time when I think all of us can agree we need to be hiring more air traffic controllers and doing more to make sure air traffic is timely and safe.

And just in time for the Fall, House Republicans' CR would decimate LIHEAP, which is literally going to leave families in the cold and drive up their energy costs.

And all of that is to say nothing of the extreme and partisan border policies they are insisting be attached to the bill.

So listen, I hope you all get the point, I hope you all understand what an unserious proposal the House Republicans are making, and I hope it is clear what a gut punch it would be to working families everywhere in this country.

Now, in contrast: I'm working hard here in the Senate to make sure we do put together a bipartisan CR that will deliver on the necessary funding for disaster relief, supporting Ukraine, paying our wildland firefighters, and more.

Because we need to show the American people that Congress can come together, and help people, and solve problems.

That's exactly what we are focused on doing here in the Senate.

And I'm pleased to be joined today by two of my Chairs for the Subcommittees in Appropriations, and I just want to give a shoutout to all of our Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members in Appropriations.

They've had to put together these twelve bills under very difficult, challenging circumstances, and they've done so successfully. And I appreciate the work of all of them."

Source