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Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the September 30 government funding deadline is rapidly approaching, and Republicans will be putting forward a continuing resolution to fund the government until mid- November and give Congress time to complete additional work on appropriations bills, and I hope my Democrat colleagues will work with us to quickly pass this legislation.

We will be putting forward a clean resolution to ensure there is no reason for Democrats to oppose this bill and delay passage. My hope would be that we can get this done as soon as this week and then continue bipartisan work on appropriations bills.

But I have some concerns because incredible as it may seem, Democrats seem to be looking to shut down the government. That is right. At least a portion of their base seems eager to pick a fight with the Trump administration and congressional Democrats--or at least congressional Democrat leadership seems to be following along.

I can't imagine what Democrats think they are going to gain from this. Do they think that hard-working Americans are going to thank Democrats for shutting down the government? Apparently, Democrats think ``that it's perfectly fine to have VA offices close or to endanger nutrition programs that help seven million moms and kids or suspend disaster aid for farmers.''

Oh, wait. That last line wasn't actually mine. That is a quote from the Democrat leader just last year. He was deeply concerned about the consequences of shutting down the government then. But now? Well, apparently, VA offices and nutrition programs and disaster aid for farmers can be sacrificed when Democrats want to make a political point.

During a funding debate in 2023, the Democrat leader had this to say:

If we are going to keep the lights on beyond this Friday, our Republican colleagues will have to work with Democrats in a bipartisan way to pass a clean extension.

``To pass a clean extension''--well, that is exactly--exactly--what we are offering Democrats, a clean extension.

Two years ago, that seems to have been the standard for CRs, according to the Democrat leader. But today? Well, today, the Democrat leader is ready to hold the CR hostage and shut down the government over extraneous policy measures.

It really is amazing how the rules change for Democrats depending on their perceived political advantage; although, again, it is hard to imagine what Democrats think they are going to gain from doing this. The Democrat leader is not the only Democrat who has spoken at length about the negative effects of a shutdown on the American people. Democrats' far-left base might be enthusiastic about a shutdown, but I don't think Democrats should expect a lot of thanks from mainstream voters--the very same voters the Democrats lost in the last election.

I have spoken many times about my commitment to restoring regular order in the Senate and, in particular, regular order on appropriations bills. We have made progress on that this year, passing a package of three bipartisan appropriations bills before the August State work period--the first time that has happened, literally, in years. And just last week, the House passed a motion to go to conference on that package. And I intend for the Senate to do the same so that we can pass these bills into law. But we need more time to consider the 2026 bills, which is why we are considering this short-term continuing resolution-- this short-term, clean continuing resolution for just 7 weeks.

This should be an easy bipartisan vote. We should pass this bill on a bipartisan fashion and then get back to work on the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills and the other essential work here in the Senate.

I hope that Democrats will think better of their shutdown plans and join us.

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