[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, we are 1 week away from the deadline to 
fund the government.
  It is an embarrassment that we return again and again to this 
precipice, realizing full well the disaster that shutting down the 
government creates for our Nation. Yet the House of Representatives 
goes through these contortions every time, ultimately, giving in to 
common sense and funding the government, at least temporarily.
  I was relieved to hear last night that there is a bipartisan funding 
agreement reached finally after days of negotiations, one that 
maintains current funding through December 20 and avoids a government 
shutdown a month before the election.
  Wouldn't it be great if the Senate and the House were to announce 
some dramatic, positive legislative measure on a bipartisan basis other 
than keeping the lights on in the Federal Government? That seems to be 
all they can achieve in the House of Representatives.
  Thankfully, the agreement includes necessary provisions related to 
extending veterans' benefits, including one that enables the only joint 
DOD-VA facility in the country--one you know well--Lovell, located in 
North Chicago in our home State, to continue providing healthcare to 
servicemembers and veterans alike.
  Imagine we were just hours away from the possibility of suspending 
basic lifesaving services at the Lovell institute for our veterans.
  I am pleased this bipartisan negotiation led to an agreement free of 
poison pills and partisan cuts, but it should have been done a long 
time ago.
  Unfortunately, many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
think funding the government is a partisan bargaining chip and not one 
of the most essential tasks in Congress.
  Just last week, the House rejected Speaker Johnson's partisan 
government funding plan that would have pushed our job to fund the 
government until next March in 2025. A half-year delay was being 
proposed by the Republicans in the House.
  It is no surprise that this unserious funding plan did not pass. Not 
only did the Democrats vote against it, but 14 Members of the 
Speakers's own party opposed it. He forced the vote anyway, wasting 
precious time on a proposal that even his own caucus question.
  Now time is of the essence. If both sides and both Chambers continue 
to work in good faith, we can fund the government through December 20 
with actions this week, before the September 30 deadline, but it will 
take cooperation from both Chambers. I hope we can find it.