Senator Murray Remarks as Senate Advances CR in 77-18 Vote

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks***

Washington, D.C. — This afternoon, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan Continuing Resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown in a 77-18 vote. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the floor ahead of the vote urging speedy passage of the CR so Congress can continue negotiating and pass the strongest possible bipartisan, bicameral full-year appropriations bills in the coming weeks after Senate and House leadership reached a framework funding agreement last week. The CR now heads to the House, which is expected to vote on the measure today.

“I have been working nonstop with my colleagues in both chambers to keep this process moving as quickly as we possibly can so that we can write and pass the strongest possible funding bills,” Senator Murray said on the Senate floor. “Passing this measure will allow us the time we need to hammer out those funding bills for Fiscal Year ‘24—after many months of needless delays. I think we all want this to be a drama-free and reliable process. So I hope that House Republicans will work with us to make that possible now too—which means leaving extreme partisan demands at the door.”

The bipartisan Continuing Resolution extends funding through:

• March 1 for four appropriations bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
• March 8 for the remaining eight appropriations bills: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

A section-by-section of the CR is available HERE.

Legislative text is available HERE.

Senator Murray’s remarks before the Senate vote, as delivered, are below:

“I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting to pass this CR so we can continue the work of negotiating—and then passing—full-year funding bills without a shutdown causing needless harm and chaos for folks back home.

“We know a shutdown come end-of-day Friday would be devastating.

“And I’ll be frank: just the fact that our agencies have to continually plan around the potential of a shutdown near constantly is a huge opportunity cost.

“A shutdown tomorrow would force staff administering our nation’s veterans and nutrition assistance programs—and so much else—to either work without pay or stop working altogether.

“The Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said a shutdown this week would force the Board to hit pause on investigations it is conducting—including the recent incident when a door plug blew out mid-flight.

“This should not be an acceptable option to anyone.

“Now, I have been working nonstop with my colleagues in both chambers to keep this process moving as quickly as we possibly can so that we can write and pass the strongest possible funding bills.

“Passing this measure will allow us the time we need to hammer out those funding bills for Fiscal Year ‘24—after many months of needless delays.

“I think we all want this to be a drama-free and reliable process. So I hope that House Republicans will work with us to make that possible now too—which means leaving extreme partisan demands at the door.

“We are all working as quickly as possible, but we aren’t going to lose sight of the millions of Americans who count on the programs we fund—whether it’s WIC for so moms and babies we don’t want to go hungry or lifesaving health care research. 

“We have a lot of work left to do; it has to happen in a bipartisan way.

“So let’s pass this CR now and then work to make sure it is the last by keeping our focus on finalizing serious appropriations bills—which means: no partisan poison pills, and understanding that there needs to be a bipartisan agreement when it comes to key investments in our country’s future.”

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