09.10.24

Senator Murray Rips House GOP CR as Dangerous and Derelict, Urges Responsible Bipartisan Path Forward

ICYMI: White House Fact Sheet on House GOP CR

***VIDEO of Senator Murray’s Remarks***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at Senate Democrats’ weekly leadership press conference to outline exactly why the partisan House Republican Continuing Resolution is dangerous and damaging to American interests.

“There is an awful lot happening in the world to let House Republicans leave our government on autopilot for six months,” began Senator Murray. “There are real consequences to a reckless six-month CR: new programs that will not get started, finished programs that will not wind down, opportunities missed, agencies like the Social Security Administration will be spread thinner and thinner, despite doing important work for the American people.”

“When it comes to keeping our military strong, and ready, and properly funded—we cannot afford to be our own worst enemy,” continued Senator Murray. “We should not allow our government to teeter on the verge of a MAGA Republican shutdown because Donald Trump wants to pick another fight. How many times have we had to learn that lesson? How many more times will we have to go through a Trump-driven chaos cycle before Republicans just let us move forward?”

In closing, Murray pointed to the strong bipartisan track record of the Senate Appropriations Committee since the beginning of this Congress, and reiterated her call for a bipartisan path forward, “I’m here today to urge the House Republicans to get to the table, get serious, and put the American people first.”

The six-month House Republican CR would force federal agencies to operate under last year’s spending bills until March. Notably, the House Republican CR would also push government spending decisions right up against the April deadline to complete full-year bills before indiscriminate sequestration cuts would go into effect across the entire federal government, including the military. House Republicans’ CR also fails to extend important federal health care programs like community health centers, it would allow vital programs that protect our border and our economy like E-Verify and H2B visas to lapse, and it would fail to extend the Farm Bill policies farmers across the country are relying on. The partisan House Republican CR also fails to provide adequate funding to ensure the necessary amount of disaster relief during hurricane season.

Senator Murray’s full remarks as delivered are below:

“Thank you. There is an awful lot happening in the world to let House Republicans leave our government on autopilot for six months. There are real consequences to a reckless six-month CR: new programs that will not get started, finished programs that will not wind down, opportunities missed, agencies like the Social Security Administration will be spread thinner and thinner, despite doing important work for the American people.

“Work like keeping our skies and our food supply safe, work to stop deadly illegal drugs, prepare for extreme weather events, or respond to public health threats—even work to counter aggression from our adversaries.

“Why would House Republicans keep our military from moving forward? When it comes to keeping our military strong, and ready, and properly funded—we cannot afford to be our own worst enemy.

“And if House Republicans kick the can down the road for an entire six months, that’s not just a de facto cut across the entire government—it means we will be staring down even more damaging sequester cuts on the near horizon. 

“Some MAGA Republicans actively want damaging cuts. Some want a disastrous shutdown—they want more chaos for Trump.

“So, they have been demanding exactly the kind of partisan CR that Speaker Johnson is putting forward—one that they know will not pass.

“We should not allow our government to teeter on the verge of a MAGA Republican shutdown because Donald Trump wants to pick another fight. How many times have we had to learn that lesson? How many more times will we have to go through a Trump-driven chaos cycle before Republicans just let us move forward?

“Everyone knows including the SAVE Act on the House Republicans’ CR is a partisan scare tactic and a poison pill.  If House Republicans want to show how serious they are about avoiding a damaging shutdown, avoiding a spending freeze that leaves our nation unresponsive and unprepared for the future, and avoiding devastating sequester cuts that would set us back decades—I have a solution for them. It’s not rocket science. In fact, two years running now Senator Collins and I have written some incredibly bipartisan funding bills here on the Senate side.

And here’s how we did it: we don’t attach our wish list to a must-pass government funding bill. We sit down and figure out what both of us can agree to. And we focus on what will make life better for the American people. So, I’m here today to urge the House Republicans to get to the table, get serious, and put the American people first.”

###