[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S27-S28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I spoke yesterday about the need to 
fund the Federal Government by January 19. Members in both parties, 
including leadership on both sides, have publicly stated their desire 
to approach this issue in a serious and collaborative manner, and those 
sentiments were renewed in a productive meeting we had yesterday. I am 
optimistic that we can begin 2018 with a bipartisan, 2-year funding 
agreement that meets several critically important objectives.
  To begin with, any agreement must provide our Armed Forces with the 
resources they need to fulfill their missions. That means setting aside 
the misguided notion that new defense spending needs to be matched 
dollar for dollar by new nondefense spending.
  Some describe this notion as parity, but, of course, there was no 
parity at all in the damaging cuts that the Budget Control Act 
inflicted on our national security. Since fiscal year 2013, 
discretionary defense spending has been cut by $85 billion more than 
nondefense spending.
  That number has real consequences for the men and women in harm's way 
who serve our country. Last year, Secretary of Defense Mattis 
testified: ``No enemy in the field has done more to harm the combat 
readiness of our military'' than these self-inflicted budget 
reductions.
  Nothing about this issue needs to be partisan. During the Obama 
administration, Defense Secretaries Panetta, Hagel, and Carter all 
similarly warned that sequestration cuts would handicap our men and 
women in uniform. Those were all Secretaries of Defense during the 
Obama administration. Unfortunately, at a time when our country faces a 
myriad of threats and strategic challenges around the globe, experts 
agree that this is exactly what has happened.
  Congress has a golden opportunity to put aside political calculations 
and prioritize the actual needs of America's all-volunteer military. 
There is no reason that an arbitrary formula, which bears no 
relationship--none--to the real needs of our Armed Forces, should 
dictate the degree to which we fund them. Our men and women in uniform

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are doing their jobs. Our job is to give them the resources they 
require.

  Funding our Armed Forces is not the only area that is ripe for 
productive, bipartisan negotiation. Last December, the Senate made 
progress moving toward a long-term reauthorization of the Children's 
Health Insurance Program. Unfortunately, though Senate Republicans were 
prepared and eager to move forward, we were not able to put that in the 
continuing resolution. Approximately 9 million children, including 
thousands in my home State of Kentucky, depend on CHIP for healthcare 
coverage. Their parents depend on it for financial security and for 
peace of mind. Instead of giving them a 5-year reauthorization in time 
for the holidays, partisan objections forced Congress to settle for a 
short-term patch.
  This month we can set this right. I know colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle are eager to find a long-term solution--5 years, full 
reauthorization. Let's get this done for working families.
  Furthermore, as Senators from both parties have stated, Congress 
should act now to provide relief for communities across the country 
that were devastated by disasters in 2017. Last year's hurricanes 
crippled Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and dealt blows to 
communities from Florida to Texas. Wildfires caused serious damage 
across the Western United States. For many Americans in these areas, 
life is nowhere near back to normal. It is time to complete our work on 
the supplemental disaster relief legislation.
  It is imperative that none of these urgent priorities be held hostage 
to our ongoing discussions around immigration policy. Senators with 
diverse viewpoints have been discussing how to address the unlawfully 
established DACA Program while also improving border security, interior 
enforcement, and addressing other important parts of our broken 
immigration system. As I have stated, if a compromise solution emerges 
that meets the President's conditions, it will be brought up for a vote 
in the Senate. In the meantime, let's continue productive negotiations 
and secure a bipartisan funding agreement.

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