Schumer, Democrats’ Inability to Govern Creates December Mess

Monday on the floor, I discussed Senate Democrats’ failure to complete the basic functions of governing, including providing for the national defense, avoiding default on the national debt, and funding the government. Excerpts of my remarks are below, and video can be found here.

“This year our Democratic colleagues, who control the Senate agenda, have ignored some of the Senate's most important and basic responsibilities, leaving us with a whole lot to do and not a whole lot of time in which to do it.”

“In September, when the Senate should have passed a group of bills to fund the government for the next fiscal year, our colleagues instead kicked the can down the road.”

“Instead, our Democratic colleagues found time for partisan dead-on-arrival messaging bills, while they failed to bring a single appropriations bill to the floor with a December the 3rd deadline.”

“At some point in the coming days, weeks, or months, we don't know exactly when - only Secretary Yellen knows - the U.S. will run up against the debt limit.”

“Democrats had a clear road map and ample time to increase the debt ceiling on their own and avoid a financial crisis, but they stubbornly refused. They said they didn't have enough time. Well, they don't have that excuse now.”

“If our Democratic colleagues want to exclude Republicans and continue spending on a purely partisan basis, they will have to raise the debt ceiling in a partisan fashion.”

“Before the Senate addresses either one of these crises, there's another item on the agenda: the National Defense Authorization Act.”

“This bill has been waiting in the wings for months, ready for floor action, and both the Chairman of the Armed Service Committee and the Ranking Member have had to push the Majority Leader to actually bring this to the Senate floor, even at this late date.”

“So two weeks ago before the Thanksgiving holidays, the Senate finally began consideration of the Defense Authorization Act.”

“The fact it has not been done yet is simply inexplicable.”

“Our Democratic colleagues are laser-focused on their multitrillion dollar tax-and-spending spree. After months of party infighting and countless iterations of this bill, the Democratic leaders in the House, most notably Speaker Pelosi, finally managed to pass a partisan version of this bill. They couldn't even convince every Democrat to vote for the bill.”

“The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business pegs the price close to $4.6 trillion over ten years. That's the budget window, more than two and a half times the amount Democrats have previously stated. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget agrees with that estimate. They estimate that the true cost of this bill would be approximately $5 trillion over the next ten years.”

“Of course, that flies in the face of President Biden's estimate that it would cost nothing.”

“Last week, I sent a letter to the leaders of the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation requesting a true cost estimate for this bill. The American people deserve a full and complete picture of a real-world price of this legislation.”

“Our Democratic colleagues control the Senate agenda. They control the House, and they control the White House. They control every lever in the legislative process here in Washington, D.C., and this is how they've chosen to use that power.”

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