Roy Blunt: “I have had the chance to listen for almost a better part of an hour to my two neighbors, Senator Harkin and Senator…”

“I have had the chance to listen for almost a better part of an hour to my two neighbors, Senator Harkin and Senator Coburn, one from Oklahoma and one from Iowa, both of whom, as many of us know, have totally different views of why we are here and what is going to happen based on what we do in the next few days and the days that follow after that. First of all, why are we here? The new spending year starts a week from yesterday. It starts next Tuesday. Has the Senate passed a single appropriations bill? No. Why are we doing this again? Why are we so committed over the last 5 or 6 years to management by crisis? I think in the last 6 or 7 years now, the appropriations process has not worked one time. It wasn't too many years before that when we passed all of the appropriations bills for the year that ended September 30 and began October 1 in July--all of them, individually. That is how the government worked and was supposed to work. Here we are a week away, and why are we here? Why does everything have to ride from crisis to crisis? That is why people are frustrated, people are upset. Senator Harkin, my good friend, we are both frustrated and upset. We would like to see this process work. The Appropriations Committee would like to see the process work. Why do we go from standing on one edge of the cliff, and the next time people pay any attention, we are on the edge of another cliff again? We need to work together to make this process work.…”