[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7787-S7788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Omnibus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have good news. With days left before 
Christmas, Democrats and Republicans have reached an omnibus agreement, 
completed at 1:15 a.m. early this morning.
  In the very early hours of the morning, Chairman Leahy and Ranking 
Member Shelby released a long-sought, bipartisan, bicameral Omnibus 
appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023.
  The omnibus is the last thing we have to do to close out a very 
successful 117th Congress, and we have taken another step--a major 
step--towards reaching the goal line.
  After a lot of hard work, this package represents an aggressive 
investment in American families, American workers, and America's 
national defense. It will give our troops a raise, make healthcare more 
affordable for millions, and it fulfills the promise Democrats made to 
defend democracy at home and abroad through the ECA.
  It was no easy feat to piece this bill together, and if our amazing 
appropriator staff needs a quick power nap at their desks this morning, 
no one is going to blame them.
  I want to thank Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Shelby for working 
on this omnibus for months without cease. I can't think of a more 
fitting sendoff for our two esteemed appropriators than this. If this 
omnibus goes down as Senators Leahy and Shelby's final legislative 
contribution as Senators, then I say bravo, thank you, and well done.
  I also want to thank my colleagues in the House--above all, Speaker 
Pelosi and Chair DeLauro for their relentless work.
  The clock is now ticking until government funding runs out this 
Friday. Between now and the end of the week, the watchwords for the 
Senate will be ``speed'' and ``cooperation.''
  For the information of Senators, we are going to get going on this 
process today. Members should be ready to vote to lay the omnibus 
before the Senate as soon as this afternoon. We must finish passing 
this omnibus before the deadline on Friday, when government funding 
runs out, but we hope to do it much sooner than that because we are 
mindful that a nor'easter is barreling down the east coast on Thursday 
and Friday.
  Let me say this again. The sooner we pass the omnibus, the better. We 
have until Friday before funding runs out, but we ought to get it done 
well before then.

[[Page S7788]]

  I hope no Senator will stand in the way of our finishing our work. We 
cannot afford a shutdown. More importantly, the American people need us 
to act quickly. As I said, the American people need us to act quickly 
to avert the looming danger of a government shutdown. Nobody wants a 
shutdown. Nobody benefits from a shutdown. So I hope nobody here will 
stand in the way of funding the government ASAP.
  Now let's turn to the omnibus itself. This funding bill is 
overflowing with very good news for our troops, for the Ukrainian brave 
fighters, for American jobs, for our families, and for American 
democracy.
  After a lot of hard work, Democrats will fulfill our promise to pass 
reforms to the Electoral Count Act into law. Two years after January 6, 
the attack on our Capitol remains an indelible stain on our democracy, 
and updating the Electoral Count Act is one of the ways we can prevent 
another January 6 in the future. It is so important to do.
  I want to thank Senators Manchin and Collins and the group they put 
together to put the ECA together and Senators Klobuchar and Blunt on 
the Rules Committee for their help in making this happen.
  I said months ago we would do everything possible to pass ECA reform, 
and now we are following through. Many thanks, of course, go to all my 
colleagues who made this possible.
  The omnibus is also going to fulfill our promise to stand with our 
friends in Ukraine with billions more in emergency economic and 
military aid. The bitterness of winter has descended on Eastern Europe, 
and if our friends in Ukraine hope to triumph over Russia, America must 
stand firmly on the side of our democratic friends abroad. They are not 
asking for, nor do they want American troops, but they do need the 
weaponry to defend themselves against a brutal Putin.
  On the homefront, the omnibus will make healthcare more affordable 
and more expansive for millions upon millions of Americans. For the 
first time ever, every child in America who qualifies for Medicaid or 
CHIP will now be guaranteed at least one year of continuous health 
coverage. This is a major change that will make a big difference in 
improving healthcare for millions of kids.
  We will permanently extend a policy from the American Rescue Plan 
that let States give a full year of postpartum coverage for mothers on 
Medicaid and CHIP. This is something huge, something I have so strongly 
believed in and fought for. It is a major step to address America's 
crisis in maternal health and mortality.
  Many elements of the Momnibus are in this bill, good elements of the 
Momnibus, particularly for women of color, who have long been 
discriminated against when it comes to birth and postpartum coverage.
  The omnibus also represents a new offensive in the battle against 
America's mental health crisis. We all know that crisis is at record 
levels. We all know we have to do something about it. This omnibus 
does. Overdoses and substance abuse are at record levels. I fought hard 
to make sure this package will allow seniors to get Medicare coverage 
for counseling, funding to train new psychiatrists, create new mental 
health mobile crisis units, and instruct Medicare to cover intensive 
outpatient mental health care.
  We are also going to attack the opioid crisis head-on by expanding 
options for medication-assisted treatment while also making never-
before-seen investments in suicide prevention, maternal mental health, 
pediatric mental health, and so much more.
  We will also keep making healthcare more accessible than it was in 
years past. We will ensure Medicare beneficiaries can keep using 
telehealth through 2024. That is huge, particularly in rural areas.
  We will invest new resources to hire and train more doctors, nurses, 
and other healthcare workers, who have been in high demand over the 
past couple of years.
  We are also increasing support for rural and low-income hospitals 
that very often have to get by with precious little help.
  So on the healthcare front, the omnibus is an aggressive, generous, 
and far-reaching package, and I salute all those, including Chairman 
Murray and Chairman Leahy, for their work on this.
  On the manufacturing and science front, the omnibus secures the first 
major downpayment in building the tech hubs across the country that we 
have authorized through the CHIPS and Science Act. This means real 
dollars to create the silicon valleys, the silicon forests, the silicon 
heartlands and prairies of tomorrow. Again, I want to thank Chair 
Cantwell for her steadfast leadership on this issue, as well as my 
colleague on the other side of the aisle, Todd Young.
  Under the omnibus, we will also secure the largest increase for the 
National Science Foundation of all time, including a surge in funds for 
the new Technology Directorate and for STEM workforce training that 
will spur chip growth across the country and give training to millions 
who have been left out of the increase in jobs in tech.
  Also included are billions to support universities, national labs, 
manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and workers with the support necessary 
for the United States to beat back China and remain technologically 
competitive on the world stage.
  That is not all. There is much more to celebrate in this package. We 
will keep our promise to our veterans by fully funding provisions of 
the PACT Act so veterans suffering from burn pit exposure can get the 
care they deserve. We will help veterans with their mental health 
needs, reform VA long-term care services, and support veterans who 
struggle with homelessness.
  We say to our veterans: You have been there when we needed you; this 
omnibus is there when you need us.
  For students, we have secured the largest increase in Pell grants in 
over a decade--an increase of $500; the maximum Pell Grant will now be 
$7,395, providing ladders-up for millions of kids who come from poor 
and working families. That is a great thing.
  For the first time in history, we will also bring Indian Health 
Services into parity with all other healthcare providers. This historic 
provision helps fulfill the Federal Government's trust responsibility 
to our tribes. We will provide more resources, healthcare coverage, and 
the dignity they deserve.
  We have secured billions for more childcare access, billions for 
homeless assistance grants, billions for Rural Housing Services, over a 
billion for HOME Investment Partnership Programs, and over a billion 
for the Housing for the Elderly and Housing for Persons with 
Disabilities Program. So from start to finish and from top to bottom, 
this omnibus is bold, generous, far-reaching, and ambitious.
  It is not everything we would have wanted, of course. When you are 
dealing in a bipartisan, bicameral way, you have to sit down and get it 
done and that means each side has to concede some things; but it is 
something that we can be very proud of--all of us.
  Now we must get this done before Friday--well before that, if 
possible.
  I want to thank every single colleague and staff Member who worked 
relentlessly to put this piece together; not only Senators Leahy and 
Shelby but their subcommittee chairs and ranking members. It was a 
herculean feat for our dedicated appropriators. The process may have 
been difficult, but I am confident we are now in a position to pass 
this bill quickly. And I am even more confident that once we finish our 
work on this package, America will be a healthier, more prosperous, and 
more secure country thanks to the work we have done here and now.
  Thanks to my colleagues. Let's finish the bill very soon.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.