Political Quotes

“Madam President, I have been impressed that our Eastern European allies have been able to act so quickly in providing aid of all kinds to Ukraine, including weapons these countries need for their own defense to deter Putin. Even the notoriously bureaucratic European Union has acted with unprecedented speed. When asked by Eastern European diplomats why Congress is taking so long to pass aid for Ukraine, I do not have a good answer. It always takes time to negotiate and draft an appropriations package to get it just right. But the Ukrainians do not have the luxury of time. We should have passed a Ukraine supplemental last week, even if imperfect. It would have passed overwhelmingly, sending a strong message to Ukraine, our eastern flank allies, and the aggressor Putin. Now, the much needed Ukraine supplemental has been rolled into a giant Omnibus bill. This package has some things I strongly support, or even helped write. But these provisions are riding along with a big growth in spending, which I do not support. I typically vote against giant take-it-or-leave it omnibus bills. They are no way to legislate. Senators who are not on the Appropriations Committee never see the contents of an Omnibus spending bill until we face a deadline for government funding running out--and an up-or-down vote; with no amendments. I urged my party's leadership to insist on a separate vote on the Ukraine funding package in their negotiations with Democrat leaders, but here we are, nevertheless.…”