Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday about Speaker Mike Johnson’s delayed vote on a Republican federal budget continuing resolution (CR) and its serious shortcomings in areas such as veterans care, defense, border security and health care.
Schumer stressed the need to approve bipartisan legislation to prevent a government shutdown starting October 1 also in a press release.
Senator Schumer on the Senate floor referred to House Speaker Mike Johnson postponing a scheduled vote on his federal budget proposal and He commented that no one should be surprised that Johnson is having difficulty putting it to a vote. because “it is not a serious effort to keep the government open. It is a political document, not a substantial one.”
The following were Schumer’s comments outlining the problems with Johnson’s proposed federal budget, which can also be viewed here:
“The President’s proposal suffers from many fatal flaws; most notably, it omits and neglects so many critical programs that Americans rely on every day. For one, the President’s proposal underfunds the Department of Veterans Affairs by $12 billion. That means veterans exposed to burn pits and who developed cancers and other illnesses would struggle to get the care they need,” Schumer said.
“The President’s proposal would also be a disaster for our military. You can’t run a military on a six-month funding patch. The Secretary of Defense warned that it would hurt defense readiness, cripple recruiting, jeopardize crucial investments in our defense industrial base, and delay weapons repairs and modernization. Again, you can’t run a military on a six-month plan at a time. You have to have contracts. You have to do research. You have to do planning.”
Schumer went on to note that: “The Speaker’s proposal is also a failure on border security, immigration, and law enforcement: His bill would effectively end a crucial law enforcement effort to stop drug trafficking, cartels, and money laundering. It fails to expand funding for E-verify, H-2B visas, and programs that stop drugs like fentanyl. All of this from a Republican proposal, the party that supposedly loves to talk about border security. But talk is all it is if you strip these things out of the bill.”
Senator Schumer also addressed other shortcomings of Johnson’s measure regarding the lack of budget for Social Security and health care.
“And of course, if you are one of the millions of Americans who rely on Social Security or disability benefits, beware. The Speaker’s proposal contains no additional funding for the Social Security Administration’s operating budget, which would result in benefit delays, understaffed or closed field offices, and longer wait times for applications.”
“The House Speaker’s joint resolution (CR) fails to deliver on health care. It would jeopardize federal funding for telehealth services, which is one of the most important ways rural Americans get access to the care they need. The CR also fails to expand funding for Community Health Centers, which are often the only resource for millions of Americans living in poverty or near poverty, but who are in the gray area just above the Medicaid line. With Community Health Centers, they get good health care. Those resources would disappear.”
“And the Speaker’s plan does nothing about the farm bill, which if it expires would send farmers into the dairy abyss in December, risking farm closures and skyrocketing costs for products like milk and cheese. It would therefore cost the average consumer.”
Schumer denounced hidden agendas in the Republican federal budget bill
“Now, we all know what the end result is for the far right. A six-month hiatus means we would have a funding fight again in March, at the start of a new administration,” Schumer said in his speech to the Senate. “It is quite clear that the far right wants to delay this fight until then in the hopes that they can pass most of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda,” Schumer said.
“And we all know what Project 2025 is all about. The far right wants to turn our country upside down and institute the most conservative agenda America has ever seen in modern history.
“Proposal 2025 would mean the end of the Department of Education. It would eliminate Head Start programs, which help millions of poor children get a head start on their education. It would end funding that helps children receive free or reduced-price lunches at school. It would increase the cost of child care, which would exasperate parents and make it harder for them to make a living.”
“Project 2025 would also betray our veterans. It would lead to cuts in disability benefits by narrowing qualifying medical conditions. It would revive a Trump-era commission that would defund veterans hospitals, including the only VA hospital on Long Island, the Northport VA.”
“How cruel can you be? How can you think it’s okay to do this to the brave Americans who wore the uniform?” Schumer asked.
“Project 2025 would lay the groundwork for the nightmare scenario of a national abortion ban. It would clear the way for states to monitor women’s pregnancies and threaten federal health funding if they don’t comply. All of this is outrageously sinister. Yet it is precisely what the far right is promising the American people if Donald Trump returns to power.”
“And let’s face it, there is no better opportunity for Republicans to impose these cruel policies on the American people than in a fight over government funding in early March.” the Senate leader stressed.
“So a six-month continuing resolution – particularly one that doesn’t fund important programs, some of which I described a few minutes ago – is not the answer to avoiding a shutdown later this month. President Johnson shouldn’t bother simply delaying his vote: he should throw it out, scrap his plan, and start over.”
“Johnson, scrap your plan. Don’t just delay the vote. Find a better one that can be passed on a bipartisan basis. Leader Jeffries, the President, and I will gladly and willingly work with the Speaker to keep the government open, just as we worked with him earlier this year on funding levels that honored our agreement in the debt ceiling debate.”
“I hope, I pray, that President Johnson will soon recognize the inevitable: we need a bipartisan plan to keep the government open,” Schumer concluded.
Continue reading:
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