[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 154 (Friday, September 19, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S6780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GOVERNMENT FUNDING

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the House has just passed a short-term, 
clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution to fund the government for a 
few additional weeks while we continue bipartisan work on 
appropriations bills, and, today, we will be voting on that clean, 
nonpartisan CR as well as on the CR the Democrats introduced Wednesday 
night.
  On the floor yesterday, the Democrat leader said: The contrast 
between the Republican bill and the Democrat bill is glaring.
  Well, he has got that right. The contrast between the Republican bill 
and the Democrat bill is glaring. The Republican bill is a clean, 
nonpartisan, short-term continuing resolution to fund the government to 
give us time to do the full appropriations process, and the Democrat 
bill is the exact opposite. It is what you might call not a clean CR--a 
dirty CR--laden down with partisan policies and appeals to the 
Democrats' leftist base.
  When I became majority leader, I made it very clear that I wanted the 
Senate to return to the regular order consideration of appropriations 
bills. I was not and am not interested in funding the government 
through last-minute, backroom deals. The right way to fund the 
government, whenever humanly possible, is through regular order here in 
the Senate. That means taking appropriations bills through committee, 
where Republicans and Democrats alike have a chance to make their 
voices heard, and then bringing those bills to the Senate floor for 
more debate and amendment. That process is good for Senators of both 
parties, to say nothing of being best for the American people.

  But Democrats can't take ``yes'' for an answer, so instead of working 
with Republicans to fund the government through a clean, nonpartisan 
continuing resolution so that we can get back to bipartisan 
negotiations on appropriations, Democrats are yielding to the desires 
of their rabidly leftist base and are attempting to hold government 
funding hostage to a long list of partisan demands.
  The kind of clean CR Republicans have put forward used to be 
something Democrats embraced. In fact, Democrats voted in favor of 
clean CRs no fewer than 13 times during the Biden administration. Yet, 
now that Republicans are offering a clean CR, it is somehow a no-go. It 
is funny how that happens.
  The Democrat leader has tried to defend his party's double standards 
by suggesting that this is a special case. Really? Really? Why is it 
always a special case with Democrats?
  The truth is, the only thing special about this case is that 
Democrats can't stand the fact that the American people elected Donald 
Trump. So we all have to live with their endless temper tantrum, which 
apparently may now include shutting down the government.
  I could spend some time talking about the measure Democrats put 
forward yesterday. I could talk about how it would allow noncitizens 
and able-bodied adults who won't work to stay on the Medicaid rolls, 
while at the same time ripping away the historic investment in home- 
and community-based services for Americans with disabilities. I could 
talk about how it would eliminate a transformational investment in 
rural healthcare, dilute Medicaid resources for those most in need, and 
a whole lot more. But suffice it to say that it is a fundamentally 
unserious proposal designed to appease Democrats' liberal base, and it 
has zero chance of making it through Congress. And they know that.
  I can't stop Democrats from opposing our nonpartisan continuing 
resolution. If they want to shut down the government, they have the 
power to do so. But if they think they are going to gain political 
points from shutting down the government over a clean, nonpartisan CR--
something they voted for 13 times under the Biden administration--I 
would strongly urge them to think again.
  The ball is in the Democrats' court. They can vote with the 
Republicans on a clean, nonpartisan CR to fund the government and allow 
the Senate to complete additional appropriations work or they can vote 
for their own partisan CR and move the country one step closer to a 
shutdown. For the sake of the American people, I hope they will choose 
to vote with us.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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