[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, if Republicans and Democrats keep 
working in good faith to fund the government, then I hope we are just 
days away from completing the appropriations process. The job is not 
done, but we are very close.
  A few days ago, Congressional leaders announced an agreement on the 
last six funding bills. These bills will make significant investments 
for our national defense, for the well-being of our servicemembers, for 
keeping the United States competitive against the Chinese Communist 
Party, and so much more.
  Today, appropriators continue working on the legislative text, and, 
despite the tight deadline, they continue to make very good progress. 
They are very diligent. They work through the night. And we salute them 
on both sides of the aisle--my staff, Patty Murray's staff, Susan 
Collins' staff, and Leader McConnell's staff--for trying to get this 
done, as well as all of the other members of the appropriations 
subcommittees.
  We don't yet know precisely when the House will act, but, as soon as 
they send us the funding package, I will put it on the Senate floor. 
And from there, as we all know, it will take cooperation to get on the 
bill and consent from every Senator to keep this process moving 
quickly.
  Even with bipartisanship, it is going to be a tight squeeze to get 
this funding package passed before the weekend deadline. I ask my 
colleagues to be flexible, to be prepared to act quickly, and to 
prioritize working together in good faith so we can finish the 
appropriations process.
  If we proceed like we did 2 weeks ago with the first six funding 
bills, then the odds are good that we can get this done without 
excessive delay or headaches.
  Again, I want to thank my Senate colleagues, Chair Murray, Vice Chair 
Collins, Leader McConnell, the Speaker, and all the appropriators for 
working in good faith to finish the job.