[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7788-S7789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Omnibus

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, President Biden's proposal for fiscal 
2023 was a massive real-dollar increase for liberal domestic spending 
and a significant real-dollar cut for our national defense. Thanks to 
the tireless work from Senator Shelby and a number of

[[Page S7789]]

our colleagues, the Government funding bill that we will be taking up 
this week does exactly--exactly the reverse of what the Biden 
administration asked for. This bill will significantly grow the 
baseline for defense and significantly cut the baseline for nondefense, 
nonveterans, after inflation, a big real-dollar increase in the defense 
baseline, and a big real-dollar cut for the nondefense, nonveterans 
baseline. This is an impressive outcome for the Republican negotiators; 
and, more importantly, it is the outcome that our country actually 
needs to keep helping Ukraine and our other friends, to keep out-
innovating and out-competing Russia and China and to keep our brave men 
and women in uniform equipped with the best training tools and 
technologies the world has ever seen.
  The administration's original version for the Federal budget--
starving defense while shoveling cash into miscellaneous domestic 
spending--was so out of whack that Democrats in Congress actually 
joined us in rejecting it.
  Then there was some discussion that Democrats might only agree to 
make sufficient investments in our Armed Forces if they got to jack up 
domestic spending even higher as compensation. Of course, that didn't 
make any sense either. The Commander in Chief's own political party 
does not get to take our troops hostage in order to demand even more 
unrelated goodies.
  The Republicans' position all along was quite simple: Defending 
America and out-competing our rivals is a fundamental governing duty. 
It is the basic business that we are supposed to take care of, not 
something for which Democrats get special rewards. And that is 
precisely what is finally happening. Compared to where the negotiators 
started, we transferred huge sums of money away from Democrats' 
spending wish list, toward our national defense and Armed Forces, but 
without allowing the overall cost of the package to go any higher.
  There is no question that an omnibus spending bill less than 1 week 
before Christmas is not the right way to run the appropriations process 
or the Senate Chamber. Things should be done differently--more 
responsibly, with more foresight and more planning.
  And when Republicans controlled the majority, things were, in fact, 
done differently--more responsibly, with more foresight. When 
Republicans last controlled both chambers, we worked to conduct a more 
normal appropriations process. The subcommittees were more empowered to 
do their work. We worked to break things into multiple bills and move 
minibuses across the Senate floor before the 11th hour.
  Instead, as Republicans spent this whole year calling on the 
Democratic leader to prioritize his basic responsibilities like 
government funding and the NDAA, this majority spent literally month 
after month chasing shiny objects while procrastinating on core duties.
  So I share many of my colleagues' dissatisfaction with the 
dysfunctional Democratic-run process that has brought us here. But, 
unfortunately, as we stand here today, going back in time and forcing 
Democrats to spend the last 11 months running the Senate more 
responsibly is certainly not an option. From where we stand today, 
there are literally two options before us: No. 1, we can pass this 
bill, give our servicemembers and commanders the resources they need, 
flip the President's broken budget request on its head and actually cut 
baseline, nondefense, nonveterans spending in real dollars while we are 
at it; or we can fail to pass this bill and give our Armed Forces 
confusion and uncertainty while the Chinese Communist Party continues 
to help their military commanders pour money into new research and new 
weapons.
  Between the two actual options before us, this is not a close call. 
The Senate should pass this bill.