[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1885-S1886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday evening, the House filed a 
landmark appropriations bill for the remainder of fiscal year 2018. 
Months of in-depth, bicameral, bipartisan negotiations and committee 
work have led us to this point. The result is legislation that neither 
side sees as perfect but which contains a host of significant victories 
and important achievements on behalf of the American people.
  First and foremost, in my view, this bill will mark the end of 
disproportionate and harmful cuts to the Department of Defense. It 
delivers the largest year-on-year increase in defense spending in 15 
years. These new funding levels will ensure that the training and tools 
available to our servicemembers remain on the cutting edge, and at long 
last, veterans will receive more transparent and more accessible care. 
This has been a top priority, on our side of the aisle especially, to 
deliver for our men and women in uniform, to deliver for the future of 
national security. This bill will get it done.
  Of course, our Armed Forces aren't the only vital priority this 
measure will address. It is a victory for families caught in the grip 
of the opioid epidemic. This bill scales up research, treatment, and 
prevention funding and provides for grants to first responders. It will 
confront the scourge of addiction head-on and help save lives. For 
rural communities, like many in my home State of Kentucky, this is a 
big deal.
  The measure is also a victory for safe, reliable, 21st century 
infrastructure. It will fund long overdue improvements to roads, rails, 
airports, and inland waterways to ensure that our growing economy has 
the support system that it needs.
  Importantly, the bill will also contain a number of provisions to 
provide more safety for American families. It expands funding for 
Federal law enforcement. It allocates new resources to border security 
and immigration enforcement, including an important step forward for 
President Trump's proposed wall. The total miles of new and upgraded 
walls and barriers funded by this bill exceeds even the 
administration's initial request for this fiscal year, and it also 
provides the necessary funds to keep Guantanamo Bay open and operating.
  The legislation also delivers for students and teachers across our 
Nation, who deserve to learn and work without fear of violence.
  At the insistence of the Speaker and me, this bill will include two 
important bipartisan, commonsense measures to address real issues 
facing the Nation: the Fix NICS bill and the STOP School Violence Act. 
Thanks to the leadership of Senator Hatch, this bill represents a major 
step forward for school safety. It provides millions of dollars in new 
funding for early intervention and prevention programs to stop school 
violence before it happens. These grants will include funding for 
training of students and school personnel for identifying and 
responding to safety threats, as well as for implementing enhanced 
technology and equipment to improve school safety. Thanks to the dogged 
efforts of Senator Cornyn, the Fix NICS

[[Page S1886]]

provision to repair and improve firearm background checks is also 
included. Both of these bipartisan accomplishments are the direct 
result of tireless work by those who have been most tragically affected 
by violence in America's schools.
  Here is how Mark Barden, a cofounder of Sandy Hook Promise, described 
the school safety provision: ``This legislation will save lives.''
  Likewise, the Parkland, FL, families recently wrote all four 
congressional leaders to ask that we include these two particular 
measures in this piece of legislation. I am proud that we could deliver 
for them and for the safety of schools around our country.
  Let's take one more look at just a few of the good things this bill 
will accomplish: No. 1, the largest year-on-year funding increase for 
our warfighters in 15 years; new resources for the fight against 
opioids and for border security and the President's wall; major 
enhancements for law enforcement and school safety. These provisions 
and the entirety of this omnibus represent months of bipartisan work. I 
look forward to considering it very soon.

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