[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5865-S5866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Madam President, now on the CR, the Senate is back in session for 
what will be three very busy, fast-paced, and consequential few weeks.
  This afternoon, we will hold our first vote on cloture on the 
nomination of Adam Abelson to be a district judge for the District of 
Maryland.
  For the information of Senators, I have also filed cloture on the 
nomination of Jeannette Vargas to be a district judge for the Southern 
District of New York.
  For the rest of the week and for the rest of the work period, we will 
be confirming more of President Biden's outstanding judicial nominees.
  And now, as everyone knows, one of the most important things we must 
do this work period is avoid a government shutdown. Today is September 
9. Funding for the Federal Government will expire in 21 days unless 
Republicans work with Democrats on a temporary extension.
  As has been done time and time again, keeping the government open 
will require bipartisanship. Keeping the government open will mean no 
poison pills or reckless partisan posturing. And keeping the government 
open will mean tuning out the bully tactics of the hard right.
  Sadly, our House Republican counterparts are not off to a promising 
start. Last week, House Republicans released, without even consulting 
the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate or the President, a 6-
month CR that is transparently unserious and seemingly designed for 
scoring political points instead of avoiding a shutdown. In fact, it is 
so unserious that the White House has already issued a veto threat.
  It is a shame that the House of Representatives is once again wasting 
time catering to the hard right instead of doing the hard work of 
responsible, bipartisan governance. Speaker Johnson's slapdash 
continuing resolution isn't a serious effort to fund our government. If 
House Republicans were serious, they would sit down and craft a bill in 
a bipartisan fashion--consulting with me, the House Democratic leader, 
and the White House--and they would craft a bill that, in a bipartisan 
fashion, would actually achieve our common goal of funding the 
government.
  If House Republicans were serious, they would not kick the can down 
the road for half a year, jeopardizing our military readiness and troop 
pay and interrupting critical domestic investments. If House 
Republicans were serious, they would work across the aisle to craft a 
CR that does not allow a lapse of critical healthcare programs like 
community health centers. They would work with the Senate to make sure 
we extend vital programs that protect our border and our economy, like 
E-Verify and H-2B visas.
  If House Republicans were serious, they would work with Democrats to 
avoid the farm bill expiration in December and prevent the horrible 
dairy cliff that would so hurt our farmers. If the funding provided by 
the farm bill expires before we act, thousands of dairy farmers could 
be very seriously

[[Page S5866]]

harmed and put in real jeopardy, and it would send costs straight up 
the roof for consumers on a whole lot of agricultural-based goods.
  So the House Republicans' CR is simply unserious. It is pure partisan 
posturing.
  Democrats will do everything we can to avoid a Republican-
manufactured shutdown. We are ready to work on a bipartisan bill that 
will keep the government open. Any extraneous provisions that hinder 
that goal should be set aside.
  Despite all this, Speaker Johnson knows deep down that he needs to 
work with Democrats to get anything done because that has been true 
this entire time. And it is a good sign, Madam President, that the 
Johnson CR finally accepts the bipartisan top-line spending agreement I 
reached with him months ago, as part of the deal to prevent a default. 
It is clear that any final agreement will maintain that funding level.
  So let's stop wasting time and put together a bipartisan funding plan 
that fulfills our obligations to prevent a costly and unnecessary 
Republican government shutdown.