[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 134 (Saturday, August 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Appropriations

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, we reached an 
agreement with Democrats on an appropriations package, and I am pleased 
to report that as of last night, we passed three of the fiscal year 
2026 appropriations bills: Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, 
Legislative Branch, and Agriculture. Those are the three appropriations 
bills that we were able to pass last night.
  I would say it is a very good start on appropriations, and a striking 
contrast, I might add, to last year when the Democrat leader failed to 
bring a single appropriations bill to the floor for a vote, 
notwithstanding the fact that 11 of the 12 passed out of the 
Appropriations Committee with big bipartisan margins.
  And I want to thank Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Collins, as 
well as Senators Hoeven, Boozman, and Mullin. I also want to thank 
Senator Moran, who had done outstanding work on the Commerce-Justice-
Science appropriations bill. And that would have passed last night had 
it not been for the opposition of a single Democrat Senator.
  Thanks are due to all the members of the Senate Appropriations 
Committee, which has now reported out 8--8--of the 12 fiscal year 2026 
appropriations bills.
  The Senate is currently in its best place on appropriations in years, 
and I am grateful for all those who worked cooperatively and in good 
faith to make last night's votes happen. It is good to have the Senate 
back on a regular-order track on appropriations, and I will continue to 
work for a regular-order process as we continue, and I hope that 
Democrats will join us in that effort.
  It was disturbing to hear the Democrat leader threaten to shut down 
the government in his July 8 ``Dear Colleague'' letter. And I hope--I 
really hope--the Democrats will not embrace that position but will 
continue to work with Republicans to fund the government.
  As I said, we are in the best place we have been in years, but we 
have a lot of work to do. And I hope that we will be able to continue 
the good work we began last night with continued bipartisan 
cooperation.