As the deadline of another government shutdown approaches, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are publicly touting an agreement.
“.@SenateDems have argued that we need to fund our military AND our middle class programs. I am proud to say our budget does both,” Schumer tweeted. The Senate Minority Leader also tweeted, “Today I urged my colleagues to let this budget go forward, through both chambers & onto the President’s desk, where President Trump seems ready to sign it. It will help America in so many ways.”
McConnell has also been supporting the agreement: “Short-term funding bills have handicapped our military's ability to engage in long-term planning and investment. This budget agreement will give our men and women in uniform the resources they need.”
However, some Republicans staunchly oppose the agreement. Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL) has referred to it as a “debt junkie spending bill,” tweeting, “With this debt junkie spending bill we’re going to push the annual deficit through the trillion dollar mark! America simply cannot afford it.”
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a statement today supporting the agreement and saying that, “It also opens the door for floor debate on the Dream Act to fix the crisis that President Trump created by shutting down DACA. Senator McConnell has guaranteed a fair and open process for Senators to finally act to protect Dreamers, and I am ready for that fight.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) declared in a tweet that she will oppose “any long-term spending deal that does not protect” Dreamers: “Senators on both sides of the aisle have a moral obligation to fight for Dreamers as hard as we'd fight for our own families,” she asserted, adding, “I have made clear, again and again, that I won’t vote for any long-term spending deal that does not protect them. The same goes for today’s vote.”
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Gillibrand also tweeted that Dreamers “deserve justice now,” saying, “We cannot continue to sit idly by and watch hundreds of thousands of Dreamers live in fear of deportation.”
Also noteworthy on the topic of Dreamers: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who spoke for slightly over eight hours on the House floor Wednesday, published a tweet yesterday in which she thanked Dreamers’ parents for “allowing us all the pleasure of having” Dreamers “be a part of our American family every day.” The tweet also thanks Dreamers:
“Just seeing all of these #GoNancyGo messages. Truly very moving. But let's not lose focus of who really matters here. Thank you to our #Dreamers. And thank you to your parents for allowing us all the pleasure of having you be a part of our American family every day. #DREAMActNow,” the tweet said.
According to Politico, Pelosi said she will not be voting for the bill: “‘I’m pleased with the product, I’m not pleased with the process,’ Pelosi told reporters Thursday, later adding she plans to vote against the bill but confirmed she isn't formally whipping against it. ‘I’m just telling people why I’m voting the way I’m voting.’”
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) criticized those who would vote for the deal, asserting that, “Anyone who votes for the Senate budget deal is colluding with this President and this Administration to deport Dreamers. It is as simple as that.”
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