[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5499-S5500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. The American people deserve for the Federal Government 
to spend their money in a considered, deliberate fashion, and until 
very recently, we have been on a track to conduct a smooth, regular 
appropriations process for this year.
  More than a month ago, leaders in both parties, in both Chambers, and 
at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue all agreed to terms that had been 
negotiated by the Speaker of the House and the President's team. It 
specified topline funding levels and put guardrails around the 
appropriations process to keep out poison pills and all of our other 
disagreements.
  So yesterday, to keep us on track, I began the process to advance the 
first set of appropriations bills. The next step is a vote tomorrow to 
begin consideration of a package of House-passed funding bills that 
Speaker Pelosi grouped together. They include several of the domestic 
funding bills along with the legislation to fund the Department of 
Defense. There should be no reason for Democrats to vote against this 
first procedural step.
  As Chairman Shelby and our committee colleagues continue to process 
Senate legislation, proceeding to this floor action will help to keep 
us on track toward passing as many of the 12 bills as possible this 
month before we turn to a temporary continuing resolution.
  So it has been distressing to hear troubling signals from the 
Democratic side. We have heard that they may choose to filibuster the 
Defense funding bill. They may block the very increase of defense 
funding that they all just agreed to a month ago.
  Progress on our shared priorities, good faith cooperation in areas of 
disagreement--it seems all of this may be taking a backseat to a 
familiar litany of partisan stumbling blocks. My Democratic colleagues 
seem eager to bog down the funding process with all their outstanding 
disagreements with the President, in other words, taking exactly the 
kind of partisan approach we had successfully avoided last year and in 
which both sides pledged just last month--just a month ago--to avoid 
this time as well.
  A couple of weeks ago, everyone at the table seemed to understand 
that the world was too dangerous to leave funding for our military 
vulnerable to poison pill riders or political copouts. I wish Democrats 
would keep bearing that in mind today.
  So whatever rationale my colleagues across the aisle may offer for 
these new disruptions, let's get one thing straight: Holding defense 
funding hostage for political gain is a losing strategy, not only for 
Members of this body, not only for the appropriations process, but a 
losing strategy for the safety and strength of our Nation.
  As partisanship bogs us down here in Washington, Moscow and Beijing 
are not exactly slowing down to wait for us. Our two most capable 
great-power adversaries are expanding their own capabilities and 
modernizing their forces by the day.
  In the current international system, delivering on our promises to 
America's men and women in uniform is not

[[Page S5500]]

a simple matter of routine maintenance on equipment. If we would like 
the U.S. military of the future to remain the world's preeminent 
fighting force, then, the stakes are much higher. As Russia rattles its 
saber and develops weapons such as hypersonic cruise missiles and quiet 
submarines, we need to continue funding for research and development of 
our own cutting-edge capabilities.
  We have to provide for the modernization of infrastructure and update 
defenses against cyber threats so that China's ever-bolder meddling in 
this domain cannot bring about the cyber hegemony it craves. We cannot 
turn our back on our interests and partners in the broader Middle East. 
In Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and beyond, we face ongoing 
terrorist threats. Iran's violent aggression certainly highlights the 
need for vigilance and for strength. All of this is needlessly more 
difficult if we don't fund the military's modernization and readiness. 
The stakes are too high for us to fail.
  We cannot afford to abdicate our responsibility to deliver timely 
funding to the critical priorities of the Federal Government, least of 
all to the men and women in uniform who keep us safe. So I would urge 
each of my colleagues to engage in this process, honor our agreement 
that we made just 1 month ago--just a month ago--and keep us on track 
to deliver for our country.

                          ____________________