On the recordDecember 2, 2021
I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, we are here today to prevent the Republicans from shutting down the Federal Government tomorrow. Republicans in the U.S. Senate are holding the FY 2022 appropriations process hostage by refusing to do any work, let alone negotiate with Democrats. Rather than doing their job of funding the Federal Government, Senate Republicans want to kick the can down the road, wasting the first 4\1/ 2\ months of the fiscal year. As chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, it is clear that Republicans are undermining our national security. They are increasing waste and inefficiency, they are weakening our military readiness, and they are sending a signal to our troops and the millions of workers in the defense industry that they are not a priority. The American people should be sick and tired of hearing Republicans in Congress talk about how we need a stronger national defense while doing everything in their power to weaken our national defense. This is a time of instability in the world. Russia is knocking on the doorstep of Ukraine. China is at the doorstep of Taiwan. There are serious national security threats in the world.…
