Susan M. Collins

Mr. President, Claims · 56 wordslater tonight, my colleagues will be asked to pass the continuing resolution before us to prevent a government shutdown. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to craft this stopgap funding measure. The continuing resolution that we produced is bipartisan and is supported by the administration. Reasoning · 34 wordsAfter three unnecessary lapses in funding during the fiscal year 2026 cycle, putting the possibility of yet another harmful shutdown off the table should be a priority for each and every one of us. Procedure · 5 wordsThis continuing resolution is straightforward.Procedure Claims · 87 wordsIt continues current government funding levels until December 11, with limited anomalies aimed at avoiding disruptions in crucial government activities and programs.¹ For example, our legislation includes necessary adjustments for programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children--better known as the WIC Program--to address program costs and participation levels. It allows the USDA loan programs to operate uninterrupted for our Nation’s farmers.² It gives the Department of Housing and Urban Development the resources it needs to maintain housing assistance for thousands of families, ³Positioning · 9 wordsand we all know how absolutely critical that is.PositioningUnearned certainty Claims · 73 wordsThis continuing resolution also includes anomalies to prevent construction delays for several classes of U.S. Navy vessels, including the DDG-51s.⁴ It includes language to counter emergent cyber security threats, and it would help Federal law enforcement handle and plan for national security events. The resolution allows the administration immediate access to the full funding amounts for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and for the Forest Service and Department of the Interior’s wildfire suppression efforts.⁵ Positioning · 18 wordsWe have only to look at the news to know just how critical those efforts and programs are.Positioning Claims · 156 wordsThis bipartisan agreement also prevents the Office of Management and Budget from implementing a proposed rule regarding Federal financial assistance--from taking effect for the coming months.⁶ I advocated for significant changes to the proposed rule in a July 6 letter to the Agency, citing its potential to politicize the grant-making process and harm small, rural communities; ⁷our university, college, and nonprofit laboratories; our hospitals; our families; and biomedical research in general. There have been nearly 500,000 comments on this proposed rule, the vast majority of them against the changes that are proposed.⁸ I don’t think that in the time I have been privileged to serve in the Senate, I have ever seen a proposed rule generate that many negative comments. This CR also gives Congress the time that it needs to continue our work on bipartisan appropriations bills. Last cycle, we were successful in getting 11 out of the 12 bills passed and signed into law.⁹ Reasoning · 40 wordsI hope we can do that this time as well, and the additional time the continuing resolution will give us should help bring that about. It is so important that Congress not abrogate its power of the purse--our constitutional responsibility. Claims · 70 wordsSenate passage of this continuing resolution would be a major step toward averting a damaging shutdown that could harm vital programs and throw the lives of Federal workers into disarray. We saw what happened in the shutdowns that occurred during the last cycle that were both unwarranted and unfair to so many of our Federal employees, particularly those who are forced to work without knowing when they would be paid. Promise · 7 wordsWe cannot allow that to happen again. Claims · 25 wordsI very much appreciate the overwhelming bipartisan vote earlier today of 91 to 6, with 1 person voting ``present,’’ to move forward with this legislation.<sup>10</sup> The ask · 20 wordsI urge another ``aye’’ vote tonight so that we can keep our government open and working for the American people.