Democratic leadership blocking game-changing appropriations bills from proceeding
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By U.S. Sen. Katie Britt
One of the most important jobs Congress has is funding the government. There is a specific process for doing so, but Congress keeps missing the mark.
I am committed to righting those wrongs. On the Senate floor last month, I stood up with Republican colleagues and again asked Senate Democrats to put the bipartisan committee-passed appropriations bills on the floor for consideration, starting with the Fiscal Year (FY25) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and the FY25 Defense Appropriations Act.
Unsurprisingly, our calls fell on deaf ears. There is no good reason the Senate shouldn’t have used August and September to debate and then vote on these bills. Without Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer allowing these bills to proceed to the floor, the critical resources our courageous service members and our veterans need for Fiscal Year 2025 remain on pause.
We must fix this. We must return to regular order.
This is how government funding should work:
- The president delivers his budget to Congress by the first Monday of February.
- The House and the Senate conduct congressional budget hearings.
- The Senate and House Appropriations committees each draft 12 individual appropriations bills followed by a markup and vote on each bill.
- The committee-passed bills go to each full chamber for individual consideration.
- After both chambers have passed their 12 individual appropriations bills, a Conference Committee forms to resolve the differences between each of the two chambers’ bills.
- The Conference Report – for each of the final bills – is voted on by both chambers of Congress.
- Upon passage, the bill goes to the president’s desk for signature by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
That is not what happened this year. That is not what happened last year. In fact, the last time Congress passed all 12 appropriations bills on time was Fiscal Year 1997. The last time it passed all 12 on time as individual bills was Fiscal Year 1995. Congress hasn’t funded the government properly in nearly 30 years.
This year, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced 11 of 12 bills. Unfortunately, under this Democratic Senate Majority, it doesn’t look like any of those bills will be considered individually any time soon. Sen. Schumer has refused to put a single one on the floor regardless of the fact all received strong bipartisan support, and six passed unanimously.
I have worked tirelessly on these bills, as have my colleagues. These bills will help advance our vital national interests. They will return Alabamians’ hard-earned dollars to our state to train our military, strengthen our communities, to support our law enforcement and emergency responders, and to invest in our future.