Patrick Leahy: “we are now 4 weeks into the fiscal year. The Federal Government--the most powerful nation on Earth--is running on…”

“we are now 4 weeks into the fiscal year. The Federal Government--the most powerful nation on Earth--is running on autopilot, and we only have 4 weeks until the government shuts down unless Congress takes action. And it is not a theoretical exercise. The actions we take, or don't take, in this Chamber with respect to the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bills affect people's lives and also the direction of this Nation. These bills provide for our national defense, help educate our Nation's children, provide medical care for our veterans, ensure that we have clean air and water, invest in science, and provide a social safety net for our Nation's most vulnerable populations. Now, we can, and we should, do our job and finish these bills in the coming weeks, and we should be ready to go. I mean, 2 weeks ago, I made public nine Senate appropriations bills. When you combine this with the three bills the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up way back in August, all 12 bills have been released. The House has marked up all of their bills, and all but three of them have already passed the House. But in order to finish our work, we need to have an agreed-upon top line that has been worked out in a bipartisan and bicameral basis-- something that has been done so many times in the past. We can't finalize bills until we know how much we are able to spend. And I have been calling for these negotiations for months. But we need all the party to come to the table.…”