U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, spoke on the Senate floor about the impact of the ongoing government shutdown on U.S. military personnel and the need for full-year defense funding.
McConnell addressed what he described as a delay by Democrats in resolving the shutdown. He stated, “Government shutdowns have real consequences. I’ve said so countless times.
“Incredibly, it seems to have taken Democrats a month to remember that the proverbial stove is, in fact, hot. And yet, they’re not ready to turn it off… Just turn it down a notch… Just low enough that they can take the political heat.”
He agreed with another senator from Delaware regarding risks faced by military families: “My friend from Delaware is right: Our military deserves a lot better than a government shutdown that jeopardizes their paychecks and the services military families count on.”
McConnell pointed out that during this period, “the President has had to scrape together unobligated balances within the Defense budget in order to uphold the nation’s promise to servicemembers through another pay period.” He added his hope that further diversion of resources would not be needed for payroll but said responsibility lay with Democrats: “But that ball, of course, is in the Democrats’ court. And I hope they’ll realize soon that the surest way to help servicemembers and civilian DoD employees is to simply turn government funding back on… and pass full-year appropriations.”
He also referenced bipartisan cooperation with Senator Coons on a bill for defense appropriations: “I’m grateful for Senator Coons’ collaboration on the bipartisan bill that earned overwhelming support in committee and would add $22 billion above the President’s defense request. This, by the way, is the bill that almost every Democrat voted against considering two weeks ago.”
Emphasizing Congressional authority over national security funding and expressing concern about its erosion, McConnell concluded: “The way to provide real certainty and deliver serious, full-year appropriations is to open the government and pass our bill. It’s that simple.”
