VIDEO: Ricketts: Senate Should Work Five Days a Week Until Government is Funded

October 4, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) called on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to keep the Senate in session five days a week until the appropriations process is completed. Ricketts made the comments while on a conference call with Nebraska media.

“Today, I sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to keep the Senate in session Monday through Friday every week until we pass all 12 appropriations bills for the next fiscal year,” Ricketts said. “The House of Representatives has already cancelled their October district work period. The Senate should follow suit. The September shutdown faceoff proved there’s no time to waste. Senators should remain in D.C. until we complete our work funding the government and securing the border. We have to put in the work to ensure the next funding deadline is less chaotic than this one. When I was Governor, I told state senators the most important thing to pass was the budget. While there were many issues we wanted to get done, passing the budget was something that was a must have. We gotta get that done. It’s the only thing we had to get done, was pass the budget. The same should be said about the federal budget. We must pass a budget.”

“Families across the country are tightening their belts to stretch their budgets in these difficult economic times,” Ricketts continued. “Most Americans work at least five days a week. It’s not too much to ask that Washington does the same. We need to be here to do our work. Real grit requires showing up until the work gets done. Nebraskans get this, but too many in Washington don’t.”

You can read Ricketts’ letter to Schumer here.

Watch the video HERE.

TRANSCRIPT:

Senator Ricketts: “Last weekend, America was brought to the brink of a government shutdown.

“This happened, in part, because President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were squeezing the calendar.

“First, the president delivered his budget over a month late.

“Then, in the days leading up to the funding deadline, the Biden administration announced plans to bring many essential federal agency services to a standstill, such as the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Market News Department.

“The president could have declared such operations essential and kept them open, but he chose not to for political reasons.

“Last week, I laid out how Leader Schumer played games with the Senate calendar to try and force more spending.

“I voted for the short-term bill to fund government until November 17th and prevent these plans from moving forward.

“The new deadline of November 17th provides an opportunity for both houses of Congress to have serious discussions about how to control our spending and secure the border.

“We have a national debt of over 33 trillion dollars. That’s over $251,000 per household. That’s a second mortgage for a lot of people.

“We also have a record number of illegal immigrants crossing the border.

“We must tackle both in the next funding bill. In order to do that, we have to be in Washington.

“We need to debate, amend, and vote on legislation to fund the government and secure the border.

“That’s why today I sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to keep the Senate in session Monday through Friday every week until we pass all 12 appropriations bills for the next fiscal year.

“The House of Representatives has already cancelled their October district work period. The Senate should follow suit.

“The September shutdown faceoff proved there’s no time to waste. Senators should remain in D.C. until we complete our work funding the government and securing the border.

“We have to put in the work to ensure the next funding deadline is less chaotic than this one.

“When I was Governor, I told state senators the most important thing to pass was the budget.

“While there were many issues we wanted to get done, passing the budget was something that was a must have. We gotta get that done.

“It’s the only thing we had to get done, was pass the budget. The same should be said about the federal budget. We must pass a budget.

“Families across the country are tightening their belts to stretch their budgets in these difficult economic times.

“Most Americans work at least five days a week. It’s not too much to ask that Washington does the same.

“We need to be here to do our work. Real grit requires showing up to work until the work gets done.

“Nebraskans get this, but too many in Washington don’t.

“I am committed to working with my colleagues to deliver meaningful results. Nebraskans deserve no less.”