Patrick Leahy: “as the distinguished Presiding Officer knows from all his involvement and the negotiations that have been going on, we…”

“as the distinguished Presiding Officer knows from all his involvement and the negotiations that have been going on, we do have an emergency security supplemental issue before us. So I am speaking now to urge that the Senate take up and pass H.R. 3237, which is the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, which the House sent over, and we add a Leahy-Shelby substitute amendment. Let me describe a little bit for my colleagues what the Leahy-Shelby substitute amendment is. It is the result of bipartisan compromise between myself and Vice Chairman Shelby. We have been working on this for weeks and weekends. Our staff has been working late into the night. And I want to thank Senator Shelby both for his hard work and his friendship. This $2.1 billion package is designed to address the aftermath of the violent insurrection that took place on January 6, is designed to heal the remaining scars of the COVID pandemic on the Capitol Complex, and provide the resources we need to ensure the safety of our Afghan partners as we conclude our mission in that country. Let me tell you why there is urgency in this. If we don't act, then the Capitol Police will deplete salaries funding in literally a matter of weeks. The National Guard all over the country will be forced to cancel needed training to carry on their mission at home and abroad.…”