John Thune Slams Chuck Schumer For 'Implicitly Threatening' To Allow Government Shutdown

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of "implicitly threatening" to let the government shut down.

Transcript

00:00This process is well underway here in the Senate.

00:02The Senate Appropriations Committee under Chair Collins has released four bipartisan appropriations bills.

00:07And this week we're doing something a bit unusual.

00:10We're bringing appropriations legislation to the floor.

00:15Why do I say that's unusual, Mr. President?

00:18Well, because last year, despite the fact that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved 11 out of the 12 yearly appropriations bills

00:27with bipartisan support,

00:30the Democrat leader never brought a single one of those bills to the floor.

00:34Not one.

00:36And one of the things that I've been determined to do as leader is to restore us as much as possible to a regular order appropriations process.

00:44To have bills move through the committees and then come to the Senate floor for debate and amendment.

00:50And that's what we're doing this week.

00:52With consideration of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2026.

00:58This legislation was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in a robustly bipartisan vote of 26 to 3.

01:06And I hope it will receive equally robust bipartisan support on the Senate floor.

01:12The MilCon VA Appropriations Bill provides critical funding for veterans' health care, veterans' benefits,

01:17and construction projects at military bases and installations around the globe.

01:22As a resident of a rural state, I'm particularly pleased by the bill's funding for telehealth services,

01:28as well as for the Office of Rural Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

01:32This funding will help reduce barriers to care for rural veterans,

01:37as will the bill's provision preventing the VA from closing hospitals, something that I work to include.

01:43I'm also pleased to see that the bill continues to fund modernization of veterans' health care records

01:48by providing funding to triple the number of VA sites that use electronic health records.

01:54And on the military construction front, I'm happy to announce that the bill contains funding

01:59for a number of key facilities for the new B-21 bomber, the future of our long-range bomber fleet,

02:06which will have its first home at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

02:11National Guard facilities in South Dakota, like National Guard facilities around the country,

02:16will also see funding for essential construction projects thanks to this legislation.

02:20Mr. President, considering the military construction VA bill on the floor is a big step in the right direction,

02:27appropriations-wise, and our work this week doesn't have to end there.

02:32As I said, the Appropriations Committee has reported a total of four appropriations bills so far.

02:37All of them have been bipartisan.

02:39And I know that the fiscal year 2026 agricultural appropriations bill is a major priority for all of us,

02:45Democrat or Republican, who live in states that depend upon agriculture.

02:49Whether it's funding for agricultural research programs, resources for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,

02:56assistance to ranchers to comply with animal disease traceability requirements,

03:01the $223 million for the Agricultural Marketing Service to expand markets for American agricultural products,

03:07or resources for the Farm Service Agency to ensure that farmers have access to necessary capital,

03:13this year's agricultural appropriations bill will be a key resource for farmers and ranchers.

03:19Then there's the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill, which, among other things,

03:23provides essential funding for federal law enforcement officers as well as support for state and local law enforcement.

03:31And there's the fiscal year 2026 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,

03:35which funds the work we do here in Washington for our constituents and, this year,

03:40also adds additional funding to confront growing threats to member security.

03:45Mr. President, I'm very grateful to Chair Collins, Vice Chair Murray,

03:49and all of the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee for their work on these bills.

03:52And I hope that we'll be able to consider some of these

03:55alongside the MilCon VA Appropriations Bill this week and next.

04:01Mr. President, Democrats have indicated that they want a bipartisan appropriations process,

04:07and we are giving it to them.

04:08And I hope we will see bipartisan passage of appropriation bills on the Senate floor.

04:13It was disturbing to see the Democrat leader implicitly threatening to shut down the government

04:19in his July Dear Colleague letter.

04:23But I'm hopeful that he does not represent the views of Senate Democrats as a whole.

04:29Members of both parties should have a strong interest

04:32in a regular-order bipartisan appropriations process.

04:35And I'm pleased that we managed to begin on a bipartisan basis this week.

04:41And I hope, Mr. President, that the process will continue in a bipartisan way

04:46as we move toward September's deadline.

04:49Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

04:52Mr. President, I yield the floor.

04:53Thank you very much.

04:54Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I yield it.

04:57So we have to ask, get on their chops.

04:59Let me share the Abdullah.

05:00And I thank you so much for a long time.

05:01Mr. President, I insisted I continue to see the Q&A,

05:04and Mr. President, I come to mind theence of our W也 office for a long time.

05:06Mr. President, I'll give a mich ofvel.

05:07Mr. President, I Pleased to say the moment.

05:08Mr. President, I've been a be watching with my thoughts.

05:09Mr. President, I brought my business with him on a board podcast

05:12for a call.

05:15And I don't think it's been a long time Windsor

05:17if this all happened.

05:19Mr. President, I think.

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