National Security Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I have been warning for months about the need to meet this moment of global uncertainty and chaos with a robust, national security supplemental--not delay, not half steps, but investments that show the world we are serious about standing by all of our allies, providing humanitarian aid, and maintaining America's leadership on the world stage, which is why I am glad the House sent us legislation that includes every pillar of the package we passed overwhelmingly here in the Senate.

And I hope now we can all come together to pass these policies once again. We cannot send the message that division has won out against action, that isolationism has won out against leadership, because the challenges that we face and that our allies face are immense, urgent, and interconnected.

Putin is waging a brutal invasion of Ukraine, which is running low on supplies.

The war between Israel and Hamas threatens to escalate into a far more dangerous regional conflict. Civilians caught in conflict desperately need food, water, medical care, and other humanitarian aid. And the Chinese Government is making aggressive moves to grow its influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Those are the stakes of this moment, as I have reminded my colleagues time and time and time again. Inaction cannot be an option. We need to meet this moment, address all the challenges before us, and show the world American leadership is still strong.

I believe that strongly, and I know, when push comes to shove, a clear majority of Members on both sides of the aisle, in both Chambers of Congress, feel the same way.

That is why I have come to the floor so many times over the past several months to lay out in painstaking detail how much is at stake, how crucial it is that we meet this moment with a robust package that addresses the many interconnected challenges before us. It is why here in the Senate we took action over 2 months ago now and overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan national security supplemental. I and many others--Vice Chair Collins, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell--all worked very hard over months to craft legislation that could pass both the Senate and the House, that both Democrats and Republicans could get behind.

So I am glad we are now working to pass the national security supplemental the House sent over, particularly since it is materially identical to the Senate package we cleared with such great support.

I have to say I am relieved to see Speaker Johnson finally do the right thing, ignore the far right, and send us what is essentially the bill we wrote and passed months ago. But let's be clear about a few things. This delay has not been harmless. Putin's forces have been on the march. His missiles and Iranian-made drones have been striking critical Ukrainian infrastructure. We measure time in hours; Ukrainians are measuring it in how many bullets they have left, how many more missiles fall on their cities, and how much closer Putin's tanks are getting. That was clear even before I said that 2 months ago.

The path forward, the path we are finally now on, was painfully clear because unfortunately we have seen this movie before in debt limit negotiations and in funding the government.

I believe Congress can actually work together. We can actually hammer out a compromise.

This is not the bill either party would have written on their own but one that gets the job done. Let's be clear. The package before us gets the job done. It gets aid to soldiers in Ukraine, who are counting their bullets and wondering how long they can hold out. It gets support to Israel, which faces serious threats on all fronts. It gets support to our allies in the Indo-Pacific, where the Chinese Government has been posturing aggressively. It gets critical humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza, including kids who are caught in the crossfire who are in desperate need of food and water and medical care.

That was a redline for me. I pushed hard at every stage of this to make sure we provide humanitarian aid. At every stage of these negotiations, I made clear Congress will not advance a supplemental that fails civilians. I will not let us turn our backs on women and children who are suffering and who are often hit hardest by the fallout of chaos and conflict.

Madam President, at a time when the world is watching and wondering if the United States is still capable of meeting the challenges before us, if we are still united enough to meet them, this package won't just send aid, it will send a message. It will show our allies that our word is still good and that we will stand by them in times of need. It will show dictators that our warnings are serious and that we will not let their flagrant attacks go unchecked. And it will show the world that American leadership is still alive and well and that we are still a strong protector of democracy and provider of humanitarian aid. That is a message that is well worth sending now more than ever.

I wish we were able to wrap this up much sooner. I am glad we are at this final threshold now. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the final package.

Before I wrap up, I absolutely have to recognize some of the people who have worked incredibly hard to get us here today. It starts with my vice chair on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins, and our House colleagues, former Chairwoman Granger, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Chairman Cole, and their staffs for help getting this package through the House. It includes Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell, as well, and in the House, Leader Jeffries and Speaker Johnson.

We also would not have gotten here without Members on both sides of the aisle coming together and understanding that this is a moment we cannot leave our allies behind and then all pulling in the same direction so we can deliver support to our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, humanitarian aid to civilians, and that message to the world.

Most importantly, we wouldn't have gotten here without the tireless work of our dedicated staff. The stakes have been high, the nights have been very long, and the men and women working to get this package together and get it across the finish line have absolutely risen to the challenge.

Madam President, from Vice Chair Collins' team, I want to recognize Betsy McDonnell, Matt Giroux, Ryan Kaldahl, Paul Grove, Viraj Mirani, Lindsay Garcia, Patrick Magnuson, and Lindsey Seidman for their hard work.

I owe a huge thanks to many members of my excellent team. Excuse me for one moment. It is a list, but every one of them deserves recognition and for us to all hear who they are. From my team, I want to thank Evan Schatz, John Righter, Carly Rush, Kate Kaufer, Mike Clementi, Robert Leonard, Ryan Pettit, Abigail Grace, Brigid Kolish, Gabriella Armonda, Katy Hagan, Kimberly Segura, Laura Forrest, Alex Carnes, Drew Platt, Kali Farahmand, Sarita Vanka, Doug Clapp, Jennifer Becker-Pollet, Aaron Goldner, Kami White, Elizabeth Lapham, Jim Daumit, Michelle Dominguez, Jason McMahon, Mike Gentile, Ben Hammond, Valerie Hutton, and Dylan Stafford.

I know there are many others as well, including House staffers who have worked tirelessly on this. I want to personally thank each and every one of them.

Madam President, we hammer out a lot of meaningful bills here. Just about every bill we pass touches the lives of the American people directly--every one. But, as I said before, in this moment of global uncertainty, the balance of world power and the strength of American leadership are at stake. So I am deeply grateful to every Member, every staffer, and every person who came together to make sure we pass this test by passing the resources that are so clearly needed.

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Mrs. MURRAY. A bipartisan majority has been working for months to get this aid across the finish line and, after so long, we are at the threshold. Any further delay will waste time we do not have, that our allies do not have. That is exactly what this motion is. We need to get this bill passed ASAP.

Let's remember: This bill is essentially the same bill we already passed overwhelmingly 2 months ago. There is no reason, no excuse for delay, not when bombs are falling on our allies, not when civilians, including kids, are suffering and starving, not when the world is watching to see if America is still united enough to lead.

I urge my colleagues to vote no on the table motion.

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, it has been no easy task to get us to this point. The world has been watching; the clock has been ticking; but we are finally at the finish line.

I am not just glad but relieved we are finally about to pass the bill from the House that, as many of us noted, includes every pillar of the package we passed overwhelmingly here in the Senate back in February, essentially identical in the funding that we are providing.

I think it is fair to say, thanks to the bipartisanship and a shared commitment to doing what is best for America, the Senate has made its voice heard in this process.

In particular, I want to, once again, thank my counterpart and vice chair, Senator Collins. We don't agree on everything, but we both had a real appreciation for the seriousness of this work and the importance of negotiating a bill that would pass both Chambers. As I have said, this package is not the product I would have written just by myself; it is the result of a difficult bipartisan process. Crafting this package has required serious, sober discussion, not partisanship, not political show.

So thanks to Senator Collins, Leader Schumer, the minority leader, and many others, this legislation provides the resources necessary to make the world safer for America and its allies. We are delivering investments to address the challenges of today and investing in our strategy for the future. This package makes clear that Congress understands that the conflict in Ukraine is not disjointed from future aggression by the Chinese Communist Party.

From the beginning I was clear: The challenges we face around the world are interconnected. We have to deliver a comprehensive package. Half steps cannot cut it. This package ensures that America keeps its word to all of our allies and stands by all of our commitments.

Especially important to me: in passing this package, we do not lose sight of the human reality on the ground, the fact that in the middle of every conflict are civilians--people displaced from their homes, people facing obstacles getting basic medical services, and kids and families who desperately need food and water.

I made certain at every step that this bill delivers badly needed humanitarian assistance for Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and many other regions caught in conflict.

So now we are at the finish line. Let's vote to stand by our allies, to say to dictators like Putin that they cannot invade sovereign democracies freely and unchecked and that America will not ignore the humanity and the cries for help from civilians who are caught in the middle of conflict and crossfire whom we must protect.

Tonight, Moscow and Beijing are watching closely to see whether we have the vision to recognize how these crises are related and the resolve to come together and respond forcefully to them. Our adversaries are cheering for dysfunction. Let's show them unity instead. Let's show them the strength of democracy. Let's vote yes.
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