“The Schumer Shutdown Plan reads like a draft of the future platform for the 2028 Democrat National Convention… Democrats have a long and spirited history of wasting American tax dollars. This plan is no different.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor exposing the extreme poison pills in the Schumer Shutdown Plan.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“Keeping the government open is a fundamental responsibility of elected officials. It always needs to be bipartisan. Today, that requires Democrat cooperation. Right now, Democrats are threatening once again to shut down the government. We are trending towards another classic Schumer shutdown.
“Democrats are in the minority in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Yet they have come up with a half-hearted, bait-and-switch plan. It is a plan they designed to attempt to deceive the American people. Democrats are trying to avoid being blamed for their reckless obstruction. The American people will not be deceived.
“Let’s be clear. The Schumer plan is a shutdown plan. It is far from a clean extension of current funding. In fact, it is a Trojan Horse packed with reckless and radical liberal fantasies. It is not serious – and Democrats know it. The Democrats want a ransom payment of more than $1 trillion to keep the government open for only 4 more weeks. That is more than $1 trillion of new spending. At the same time, they are proposing eliminating the $50 billion Rural Hospital Stabilization Fund. That’s a lifeblood for rural hospitals in my community.
“The Schumer Shutdown Plan reads like a draft of the future platform for the 2028 Democrat National Convention. There are COVID bonus payments. This is in spite of the fact that the COVID crisis ended years ago. Liberal states are rewarded for giving taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants. They want able-bodied, working-aged individuals who refuse to work to continue getting Medicaid. Remember, these work requirements are overwhelmingly supported by hardworking Americans of all political persuasions. They want to send taxpayer dollars overseas to pay for climate projects. They want taxpayer dollars to keep going towards $40 million for low-emissions development in West Africa. They want taxpayer dollars to keep going towards $25 million for climate resilience in Honduras. They want taxpayer dollars to keep going towards $13.4 million for civic engagement in Zimbabwe.
“Democrats have a long and spirited history of wasting American tax dollars. This plan is no different.
“The Schumer Shutdown Plan seems designed to score political points with the far left. This is a clarifying moment for the American people. Democrats know they cannot pass their fantasy plan – and they know it because they want the government to close.
“Republicans are proposing a clean, short-term extension of funding. It is designed to keep the government open and functioning. A clean, short-term continuing resolution would easily pass the Senate in normal times. A clean CR keeps the government open. A clean CR gives appropriators from both parties the time to complete their work in regular order. Let me point out that the Appropriations Committee is already producing bipartisan bills. Let me also point out that under Joe Biden Democrats supported 13 short-term CRs to keep the government open. 96 percent of Democrats voted for them. So why not now? I’ll tell you why. It is because Democrats are putting politics ahead of the essential work of governing. Senator Schumer is clearly making unreasonable demands knowing what he is proposing could never pass the Senate.
“All Republicans propose is to continue to fund the government for the next seven weeks. That will allow us to continue the appropriations process and keep the government open in the process. Senator Schumer himself said last year that passing a clean CR ‘will avert a harmful and unnecessary’ shutdown. Now, he wants to cause a harmful and unnecessary shutdown.
“He said passing a clean CR gives appropriators ‘time to finish drafting all 12 bills.’ Let me point out that those bills were then stuck in Senator Schumer’s drawer, and he kept them there and never brought them to the Floor of the United States Senate. He even said, ‘If both sides work together, if we reject poison pills that can never become law… then the task before us becomes much, much easier.’ Senator Schumer should listen to his own advice from when he was Majority Leader. The proposal he came out with last night is loaded with poison pills which will never become law.
“Let me repeat. There were 13 short-term continuing resolutions under President Biden, when Senator Schumer was Majority Leader. 96 percent of Democrats voted yes on all of them. Voting yes for a short-term continuing resolution was not controversial for Democrats back then.
“I recognize the Minority Leader now has a political problem. His radical base is demanding a government shutdown. They expect, they insist, they command Senator Schumer to deliver it. Senator Schumer’s political problem may soon turn into a major problem for American families, for our soldiers, for our Border Patrol Agents, for seniors living on fixed income.
“As Senators, our job is to keep the government open. Senate Republicans are ready to keep the government open. Democrats can either join us or drag the nation into a Schumer shutdown. The choice is theirs.”
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