[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 187 (Monday, November 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Madam President, on avoiding a government shutdown, it is a critical 
week here in the U.S. Capitol. This Friday, at midnight, the Federal 
Government is going to shut down unless Congress acts first. The last 
thing the American people want to see is another unnecessary and 
painful government shutdown.

  Democrats certainly don't want to have a shutdown, and many of our 
Republican colleagues have likewise claimed they don't want to see one 
either. Even the mere act of approaching a shutdown is damaging. Last 
Friday, when Moody's announced they lowered the U.S. credit rating to 
``negative,'' citing ``continued political polarization'' as one of its 
reasons, that proved to be true.
  The answer for avoiding a government shutdown is what I have been 
saying all along: Bipartisanship is necessary. I have said on multiple 
occasions that if we are going to work together to keep the government 
open, Speaker Johnson will have to avoid pushing steep cuts or poison 
pills that Democrats can't support.
  For now, I am pleased that Speaker Johnson seems to be moving in our 
direction by advancing a CR that does not include the highly partisan 
cuts that Democrats have warned against.
  The Speaker's proposal is far from perfect, but the most important 
thing is that it refrains from making steep cuts while also extending 
funding for defense in the second tranche of bills in February, not the 
first in January.
  Today, the House Rules Committee will take up the Speaker's bill, and 
that will give us the first indication of how committed Republicans are 
to keeping the government open.
  The next few days will tell all in the House, and I hope the Speaker 
does not buckle to the loud voices on his hard-right flank to add 
partisan cuts as the price for keeping the government open.
  In divided government, extremists on one side cannot expect to 
dictate the agenda for the rest of Congress, especially when their 
views are so out of line with the majority of Congress and the majority 
of the American people.
  I hope Speaker Johnson recognizes that he will need support from 
Democrats in both Chambers if he wants to avoid causing a shutdown. He 
needs to stay away from poison pills and steep, hard-right cuts for 
that to happen.