00:00Without objection. Madam President, I also ask unanimous consent that I be
00:07permitted to complete my remarks before we proceed to the vote. Without objection.
00:15Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, today the Senate has the
00:20opportunity to begin consideration of an appropriations bill that is vital to
00:29those now serving in our military, as well as those who have served our veterans.
00:38I urge my colleagues to support closure on the motion to proceed to the fiscal year
00:462026 Military Construction Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill
00:55when we vote this afternoon. Madam President, this bill addresses key military infrastructure
01:05needs, including housing improvements for military families, and it takes care of our nation's
01:14veterans to whom we owe an enormous debt, a debt that can never be fully repaid. I am the daughter
01:24of a World War II veteran who was wounded twice in the Battle of the Bulge, earning two purple hearts
01:33and a bronze star. I know from my father's service and from his example how deep our gratitude should be
01:47to our veterans. I want to commend the subcommittee chairman, Senator Bozeman, and the ranking member,
01:56Senator Ossoff, for their cooperative work on this important bill. In a moment, I will describe some of the major
02:06aspects of this appropriations bill, but first I would like to share a few thoughts on how we have arrived at this point.
02:16When Vice Chair Murray and I took the helm of the Appropriations Committee last Congress, we committed to working together to get our
02:29committee back to the business of writing bills and advancing them through regular order so that each and every senator could have a voice on the Senate floor, offering amendments, debating the bills, and
02:35voting on them. This is a fundamental responsibility of Congress, and I want to express my gratitude to the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Thune, for giving us the opportunity to bring the first of the
02:54fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills to the Senate floor. I would note, Madam President, that this is something that did not happen last year under Democratic control of the Senate, despite our appropriations and
03:09committee working so hard and reporting 11 of the 12 fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills. But not a single one was brought to the Senate.
03:16Senate floor by the Democratic Leader, by the Democratic Leader.
03:40by the democratic leader now there is no doubt that this is a challenging legislative environment
03:50we are currently operating under a year-long continuing resolution the delays in completing
03:58the fiscal year 2025 process and the fact that we're in the first year of a new administration
04:06contributed to a late and incomplete budget request from omb in the face of these challenges
04:17the members of the appropriations committee have worked so hard for months analyzing the president's
04:26budget request holding dozens of hearings reviewing the enormous number of requests and input
04:36from other senators getting in put from outside groups that were affected and drafting legislation
04:47so far our committee has reported four of the 12th annual appropriations bills and we have another two
04:56on the agenda for this thursday madam president i would point out to the presiding officer
05:05and to everyone who is listening that each of these bills reported to date has been approved by
05:14overwhelming bipartisan support reflecting the collaborative approach taken by the appropriations
05:24committee turning now to the bill at hand last week our committee reported by a vote of 26 to 3
05:35the house passed military construction and veterans affairs funding bill with the senate substitute amendment
05:44the senate version includes vital resources to support our service members it also invests in critical military
05:56infrastructure for example it includes funding for the portsmouth naval shipyard in kittery maine a pillar of our defense
06:07infrastructure that maintains and modernizes our navy's submarine fleet it invests in the air national guard's air refueling wing in bangor maine
06:21program known as the maniacs which delivers essential aerial refueling support to military operations around the globe these are
06:32just two of the many examples of how this bill helps to sustain key defense installations in maine and across the country the bill also includes funding to ensure
06:48ensure that our veterans receive the care and the benefits that they have earned through their service
06:57to our country millions of americans wear the honorable title of veteran and i'm proud that our great state of maine
07:09has one of the highest percentages of veterans in the entire country this bill includes funding for the va
07:19health care system including maine's only va hospital tokens it includes investments to improve mental health
07:29health care such as veterans suicide and homelessness prevention programs it includes support for family caregivers
07:39something that former senator elizabeth dole has worked so hard on and it expands care for rural veterans
07:51madam president i'm also proud that my hometown of caribou maine
07:57was the location of the va's very first community-based outpatient clinic known as cbox allowing veterans to receive
08:08care much closer to their homes this model was so successful that today the va operates more than 750 of these
08:21cbox across the country the senate measure also funds important veterans benefits such as disability pensions the gi bill
08:34and employment training programs i know for my colleagues that the senate's substitute amendment was put together
08:43with input from 89 senators who submitted a total of 989 requests i see my colleague the chairman of the senate finance committee
09:00on the senate floor i'm sure he can relate to these numbers my point madam president is this is not a bill
09:11a bill that simply reflects the views of the members of the appropriations committee
09:18the members of this committee went through 989 requests from 89 senators in drafting this legislation
09:32so it clearly reflects the input of our colleagues just as it should before i close i would like to
09:43thank vice chair murray for her leadership and commitment to an appropriations process that works
09:51i am hopeful that closure will be invoked today to allow us to proceed to consideration of the military
10:03construction and veterans affairs funding bill discussions are underway on whether to add to this vehicle
10:12the legislative branch appropriations bill which was approved with only one dissenting vote
10:21and the agriculture fda and related agencies appropriations bill which received unanimous support
10:33when our committee reported those bills earlier this month i will have comments on those other bills
10:43at a later time another possible addition is the commerce justice science bill
10:50which was also reported um last week from our committee finally mr president i would note that the
11:03responsibility of the purse is vested in congress through article one section nine clause seven of our great
11:17constitution that clause dictates that no money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law
11:31the appropriations process is one of the key ways it is the key way that congress carries out
11:41this significant constitutional responsibility mr president we must not abdicate our responsibility
11:56our constitutional responsibility for the purse i ask my colleagues for their support and i thank you mr
12:09president and i thank you mr president and yield the floor
