U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, spoke on the Senate floor today about the effects of the ongoing government shutdown on U.S. military personnel and emphasized the need for Congress to pass full-year defense funding.
McConnell stated, “Government shutdowns have real consequences. I’ve said so countless times.”
He criticized Democrats for not resolving the shutdown sooner, saying, “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 acknowledged support from his colleague from Delaware: “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 explained that during this period, the President has been forced to reallocate unspent funds within the Defense budget in order to meet payroll obligations for servicemembers. He continued, “I certainly hope he won’t have to divert resources from urgent modernization again to make payroll in another two weeks. 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 highlighted bipartisan cooperation with Senator Chris Coons on legislation providing full-year defense funding: “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. I know the Ranking Member cares about the promises we make to the all-volunteer force and the challenges we expect them to face. I know he’s concerned about the erosion of Congress’ authority to set and fund national security priorities. So am I. And if we cannot appropriate, we will render ourselves irrelevant.”
Concluding his remarks, McConnell said: “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.”
