Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THUNE. We are down to the wire here. In just a moment, the Senate will vote on whether or not to keep the government open.

Right here--24 pages. Not partisan. Not complicated. Simple. Straightforward. Clean. Nonpartisan. Short term. Until November 21 so we can finish the appropriations process--something, I might add, that never happened when the Democrats were in the majority.

Last year, we never considered an appropriations bills on the floor even though 11 of them were reported out of the Appropriations Committee--not a single one on the floor.

We want to fund the government to give our appropriators, Democrat and Republican, a chance to work on bills that have been coming out of the Appropriations Committee with big bipartisan margins--a pretty novel concept, right?

Well, in just a moment, we are going to vote on whether to keep the government open, and all indications are the Democrats are going to reject the clean, nonpartisan funding extension here before us and choose to shut the government down.

Now, my friend the Democrat leader and a number of other Democrats have spoken at length on many occasions about the pain--the pain--that government shutdowns cause Americans. Since he mentioned it, I will show this poll. This is a poll right here, the New York Times.

By the way, this morning, the Democrat leader used one of my other charts. Thank you for doing that. It makes my point. I am guessing he-- do you want to use this one? Maybe not.

But this one is the New York Times, and based on the questions on views on whether Democrats should or should not shut down the government if demands are not met, 65 percent, should not; 27 percent, should.

Now, granted--I mean, I don't think the issue here is who gets the blame, who gets the political blame. That is not what this should be about. This issue, honestly, folks, is about the American people.

But a lot of Democrats, a lot of Republicans, and a lot of Independents want us to keep the government open, so why are the Democrats doing this?

As was mentioned, 13 times when they had the majority, we did short- term continuing resolutions. Republicans delivered and voted with Democrats to fund the government.

Well, I know why we are doing this. The Democrats' far-left base said ``Jump,'' and the Democrat leader said ``How high?'' But the far left's determination to oppose anything President Trump has ever said or done is not a good reason for subjecting the American people to the pain of a government shutdown.

So I would say to my Democrat colleagues who still care more about their constituents than the dictates of far-left interest groups: Think about what you are doing. Democrat leaders may be determined to take government funding hostage for their own partisan purposes. You don't have to join them. We can pass a clean, nonpartisan bill and get back to the business of the American people.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source