[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 50 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2216-S2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, my good friend mentioned Henry Clay. He 
would approve very much of the bill the House will be sending over 
later today. And the abortion provision my good friend refers to is one 
Democratic leaders have previously supported. It is a measure that has 
previously appeared in appropriations bills and a measure that has been 
previously signed by the President. So obviously that is not what this 
matter is about.
  As the majority leader indicated, the talks are continuing. But two 
positions

[[Page S2217]]

have emerged that are very clear. Throughout this debate, Republicans 
have consistently said that we prefer a bipartisan agreement that keeps 
the government running and provides critical funding and certainty for 
our troops. This is exactly what we have been working toward all along, 
and that is exactly what the bill the House Republicans are expected to 
pass today will do.
  Importantly, this bill will also include a modest reduction in 
Washington spending--a reduction well within the range that even 
Democratic leaders have described as reasonable.
  In fact, the bill House Republicans will send over to the Senate 
today is nothing more than a smaller version of the larger bill that 
Democrats say they want. So let's be specific, very specific.
  The Obama administration and the Secretary of Defense have said they 
need an annual defense bill. The House bill we will get today does 
that. It passes the Defense appropriations bill. Senate Democrats have 
said they want the Government to keep running. The House bill we will 
get today does precisely that. Democratic leaders have identified a 
number of cuts they believe are reasonable. The spending cuts in the 
House bill we will get today go no farther than that. Democratic 
leaders have said they want no controversial policy riders. That is 
what we just heard our majority leader talking about. But the policy 
provisions in the bill we will get today are provisions that members of 
the Democratic leadership have already voted for and that the President 
himself has previously signed into law. It will be pretty hard to argue 
that is controversial.
  Here is the bottom line: The bill does everything Democrats have 
previously said they want. It cuts Washington spending by an amount 
that Democratic leaders believe is reasonable. The policy prescriptions 
it contains have been previously agreed to by Democratic leaders and 
signed by this President. Most important, this is the only proposal out 
there that keeps the government open, the only one that is coming over 
from the House.
  In other words, if a shutdown does occur, our Democratic friends have 
no one to blame but themselves because they have done nothing 
whatsoever to prevent it, since they have produced no alternative to 
the bill the House is sending over today. This is the only proposal 
currently on the table that will keep the government open.
  There are two options at this point. Democrats can either take up and 
pass this reasonable bill that falls well within the bounds of what 
their own leadership has defined as acceptable or shut down the 
government. That is it, that is the choice. So rather than talking 
about a shutdown, I hope our Democratic friends join us in actually 
preventing one. There is only one way to do that, by quickly passing 
the House bill and sending it to the President for his signature before 
tomorrow night.

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