ICYMI: Senator Murray on Senate Republicans’ Pro-Billionaire Budget Resolution, Trump and Musk’s Devastating Funding Freeze and Mass Firings
ICYMI: Senator Murray speaks at Budget Committee markup of resolution, offers common sense amendments rejected by Republicans
Washington, D.C. — Tonight on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, put forward an amendment to Senate Republicans’ pro-billionaire budget resolution to address defense and nondefense funding needs equally—tackling national security concerns and pressing domestic challenges like supporting biomedical research, child care, the housing crisis, and much more.
Rather than the $342 billion Republicans are proposing in mandatory funding through the partisan reconciliation process, Murray’s amendment would have provided $171 billion in discretionary funding for defense and $171 in discretionary funding for domestic needs. Unlike the partisan approach taken by Republicans, the funding under the Murray amendment would be available to address a range of critical needs and help hardworking families get ahead. Senator Murray has long emphatically argued that Congress must not leave funding for families and domestic priorities behind.
Republicans blocked Murray’s amendment, #878, in a 47-53 vote.
Senator Murray said on the Senate floor when offering her amendment, #878:
“My amendment does two things: First, it strikes the reconciliation instructions. Secondly, it creates a reserve fund to implement a bipartisan, multi-year agreement to provide $171 billion in discretionary funding for both defense and nondefense.
“Democrats do agree: we need more resources to invest in our national security, address challenges at the border, and counter China—but we cannot leave the rest of our budget in the dust while we do that.
“So let’s deliver investments to do both—and make sure we also support our veterans, agriculture, disaster response, biomedical research, the FAA, child care, and more.
“These are all big challenges; Democrats stand ready to work with our colleagues—as we have in the past, including through our bipartisan efforts on the Appropriations Committee.
“But that can only happen if Republicans are willing to work with us. And working with us means actually working with us—not telling us to accept Elon Musk cutting a trillion dollars in fiscal year 2025 to our priorities, which is assumed in this Republican budget plan. And at the same time, spending $342 billion on their own priorities.
“It also means not sitting on your hands while Elon and Trump rip up our bipartisan laws. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.”
Earlier today, Murray delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor where she laid out in detail how Republicans’ budget resolution is a blueprint for deep, painful cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP that help working families—all in service of passing more tax giveaways for billionaires. Murray also underscored how the Trump administration’s lawless mass firings and funding freeze is hurting people and jeopardizing critical services in every part of the country, and why a clean full-year CR is not an acceptable solution to government funding.
Last week at the Senate Budget Committee mark up of Senate Republicans’ Budget resolution, Senator Murray, a senior member and former chair of the committee, put forward six amendments to steer Republicans toward a bipartisan approach to spending, affirm Congress’ power of the purse, reverse cuts to NIH, deliver transparency into the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and more. Republicans unanimously opposed every amendment Murray and other Democrats offered. In her opening remarks, Murray also called for Elon Musk to come before the Committee to discuss his already in-motion efforts to decimate programs people count on.
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