Funding Bill Will Promote a Number of American Priorities
‘Yesterday, after months of committee work and bicameral negotiations, a government funding agreement that abides by the spending caps set in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 was filed in the House.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the government funding bill:
“Yesterday, after months of committee work and bicameral negotiations, a government funding agreement that abides by the spending caps set in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 was filed in the House. This legislation will promote a number of American and conservative priorities.
“It will help strengthen the border, with the largest border-security funding increase in a decade. It will help strengthen the military, with funding for a pay raise for our troops along with a critically-needed down payment on the long-overdue task of rebuilding our military. It will help streamline the federal bureaucracy, with the elimination or consolidation of more than 150 government programs and initiatives.
“It contains many other conservative wins too, like freezing funding for the IRS, cutting funding for the EPA, prohibiting funding for President Obama’s climate slush fund, and prohibiting a taxpayer bailout of Obamacare’s Risk Corridors. It maintains the Hyde Amendment, will help veterans, and will fund implementation of the law that shifts control of education back to parents, states, and local school districts.
“Additionally, this legislation will provide more of the resources we need to help communities across our country that continue to suffer from the opioid epidemic. It also permanently extends health care for thousands of retired coal miners from states like Kentucky — something I’ve fought for for a long time now, and something I was proud to secure in this bill as we put together the final package.
“Each of these measures is included in the funding bill we’ll take up later this week. I want to commend President Trump — and his team, including Director Mulvaney, Secretary Mattis, and Secretary Kelly — for quickly identifying national security priorities and working with the Republican Congress to enact some of them. Secretary Mattis has made clear that rebuilding our military and restoring combat readiness for today and tomorrow will require a multi-year bipartisan commitment to meet the needs of the force. The additional contingency operations funding provided in this legislation represents an important first step toward meeting that goal.
“While this funding bill is the product of bipartisan negotiations, it delivers some important conservative wins, including critical steps forward on defense and border-security. Senators should continue reviewing the bill text now so that we can pass it without delay after we receive it from the House.”
Related Issues: America's Military, Opioid Abuse, Education, Coal
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