[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S5963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               AUTOPILOT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am disappointed that Congress has agreed 
to put government funding decisions on autopilot for the first 6 months 
of fiscal year 2013 through another continuing resolution. This means, 
in effect, that a half year's worth of hearings, briefings, and 
drafting of a dozen appropriations bills will have been for naught.
  I recognize there are many factors at play this year as the clock 
ticks toward the end of a fiscal year and toward November. But 
continuing resolutions are no way to run a government, and the 
consequences for the American people's priorities, and for the agencies 
and the dedicated workers who implement our policies, will be dramatic.
  The world does not stand still, and time does not stand still. 
Circumstances that should be reflected in our budget decisions are 
changing all the time. Budgets are about choices. Budgets are about 
setting priorities. Doing this carefully and thoughtfully through 
hearings, through fact-finding and through negotiations among the 
people's representatives in Congress is not an easy process, but it was 
not meant to be easy. Setting the process on autopilot is anathema to 
making the right decisions for our country.
  As the veteran reporter David Rogers put it today in Politico:

       Continuing resolutions do only one thing well: `continue.' 
     They don't allow for new starts and typically set funding at 
     the current rate enjoyed by an agency--with no room for new 
     ideas.

  In fact, it is worse than that. As chairman of the State and Foreign 
Operations Subcommittee I am particularly mindful of changes that have 
occurred around the world in the past year. The situation in the Middle 
East and North Africa is one of many examples. Our posture in Iraq and 
Afghanistan is changing significantly. Humanitarian crises in Syria and 
South Sudan are far greater than anyone envisioned 1 year ago. At a 
time when the Chinese are ratcheting up their strategic investments 
across the globe to advance their national interests, the United States 
is stuck in neutral.
  I sympathize with the chairman and vice chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee and all the committee staff, who have worked 
hard to draft and report bipartisan bills. The State and Foreign 
Operations bill was reported on May 24 by a nearly unanimous, 
bipartisan vote. It has the strong support of Ranking Member Graham, 
who worked closely with me in drafting it, as well as minority leader 
Senator McConnell. With a day or so of floor time we could pass it and 
go to conference. That is the way it should be. Yet continuing 
resolutions are becoming increasingly common because they are a 
convenient and temptingly easy way to avoid hard decisions. 
Unfortunately, the American people lose, the country loses, and a great 
deal of time, effort and money are wasted.

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