Susan Collins: “I rise to urge the passage of the American Relief Act. This bill will avert a costly government shutdown. Although it is…”

“I rise to urge the passage of the American Relief Act. This bill will avert a costly government shutdown. Although it is after 12 midnight, we are going to avert it. It will deliver much needed assistance to individuals, small businesses, and communities working to rebuild and repair in the wake of natural disasters. It provides much needed aid to our farmers across the country, who have been hit by a tidal wave of harmful economic conditions. I want to thank the many Senators who have contributed to this legislation. In particular, I want to recognize Chair Murray for her leadership of the Appropriations Committee during this Congress. I hope that in the next Congress, we can bring appropriations bills to the Senate floor in a timely fashion to avoid this kind of end-of- the-year pile-up. I do urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I, too, want to recognize and thank my outstanding staff for their hard work. Social Security Fairness Act Finally, Madam President, I do want to say that it is a great accomplishment that tonight the Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act, which will be sent to the President for his signature. This is long overdue. I want to share with my colleagues one really important fact, and that is that 83 percent of those who are affected by the government pension offset, which we repealed tonight, are lower income women.…”