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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on an issue. I spoke about this on the floor, but the issue, once again, came to a head last week with another continuing resolution, another effort to sort of just kick this can down the road, and our inability, as a Senate, unfortunately, to spend the time necessary to pass appropriations bills.
Now, whether you want it to be minibuses or individual appropriations bills, my cup of tea is to have individual appropriations bills. But the fact of the matter is, I have been in the Senate now for almost 13 months--a year and a month--and we have spent exactly 8 hours--8 hours--that whole time dealing with appropriations bills.
The facts are damning. We have an overall debt of $34 trillion. Before you blink an eye, it will be $40 trillion.
This Senate, which is supposed to be the most deliberative body in the world--a unique place where 100 people come together, with unlimited debate--to debate the important issues of our time. But nothing could be more important about setting our priorities than what our annual budget is--how we spend, literally, trillions of tax dollars.
And for me, my perspective on this is that I know how hard people work back home. I know many other Senators do. My dad worked 7 days a week on the midnight shift. There are a lot of people out there who work hard, and money is taken out of their paycheck every single week-- or every other week or every month--and sent here. And I think people are of the belief that we spend time here talking about priorities--how that money should be spent, how it should be saved. Can it be sent back to them? What about military spending? What about transportation?
We don't do any of that. We don't do any of it. What we do is, a couple of people get in a room and decide how we are going to do that. And then it is unveiled, with no time to read it, and you either vote on this or you are in favor of shutting down the government.
I am sorry. That is a false choice. There is a better way to do it.
And, I can tell you, I have had conversations, not just among Republicans but among Democrats--rank-and-file Senators--who are begging for reform, thirsty for reform, a process where you can come out here and say, ``I have got an idea; I have got an amendment,'' and have it voted on, Republican or Democrat, and let the chips fall where they may. But we have got to get away from this deadline politics. It is killing us--financially, by way of trust with voters. This is not the way.
And, by the way, we haven't debated any of those appropriations bills, really, and we are getting ready to talk about a supplemental request now, which is being negotiated in secret, that will, at some point, be foisted upon us. My guess is--I hope I am wrong--that the Democratic leader isn't going to send it to a committee.
All this language that we are told has taken months to parse out because it is complicated, for this Senate--Republican or Democrat--the message to individual Senators is: Yes, vote on it, tomorrow.
This is nuts. You know, no legislature does this. But this is where we are at. As I have talked to people, maybe it is a lack of muscle memory of voting on hard things. Maybe it is just an unwillingness. But I think it has to do with control.
Senator Schumer wants to control this process and have as little public viewing of all of this as possible, whether it is normal appropriations or supplemental appropriations. And, again, I might win some votes; I might lose some votes. But something is getting lost here, and I think it is time for Senators to come together and demand something better.
This can't be the way. When you run for office and getting around Missouri--Missouri is a big State. I like to say that Kennett, MO, in the Bootheel, is closer to the Gulf of Mexico, as the crow flies, than from the northwest of Missouri. It is a big State. You work hard. You want to listen to your constituents. You want to come up here and advocate for the positions that they care about. We don't do any of that.
So we have got another test. You know, the CR thing was kicked again to March. We have a supplemental budget request now coming. Let's just try it. Let's give people time to review things, to ask questions, to offer amendments.
Maybe we get to a conference committee. I mean, with the NDAA, at least we were able to do that, and I am proud to serve on the Armed Services Committee.
But I just wanted to take this opportunity to just point out that it feels like the only time we have these conversations is when we approach a deadline, and then it goes away. And it really disempowers everyone in this Chamber, except for a few people. And I don't think that is the best way to run a railroad, and it certainly isn't the best way to run a country.
So, Mr. President, I am just hoping for something better. I have been discouraged, again, the first 13 months. We spent 8 hours on perhaps the most important thing we can do around here every year, and we are in desperate need of reform.
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