gutting $0180:

DC 20510

May 10, 2018

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader

United States Senate

8-230 Capitol Building
Washington DC 205010

Dear Leader McConnell,

We continue to witness historic obstruction by the minority party when it comes to funding the
federal government and con?rming the President?s nominees. If we are complicit, we are on
track for another last-minute spending battle come September. However, if we take action now,
we can break the cycle of continuing resolutions and omnibus spending deals. Therefore, we
want to offer our full support to expedite floor consideration, even if we must work nights and
weekends and forgo the August recess to get it done.

Looking ahead, there are only 67 working days left on the calendar this ?scal year. That number
drops to 52 if you exclude Fridays, as we usually do. This leaves only 12 weeks to get 12
appropriations bills out of committee and consider them on the floor. That alone is an impossible
task. When combined with the crucial need to confirm more nominees, it is clear we do not have
enough time.

The Senate should immediately begin work on one or several consolidated appropriations bills,
so they can be openly debated and amended accordingly. Our defense priorities are bipartisan,
and they should come ?rst. Similarly, we need to move quickly on executive and judicial
nominations. At this pace, it is unlikely the President will have all of his nominees con?rmed
before the end of his term. Many of us encouraged cancelling August recess last year to meet our
legislative goals. As a result, the Senate con?rmed 77 nominations with no floor debate, a
significant concession from the minority party. Our diligence was rewarded with reason, and it
can happen again.

We stand ready to break through the con?rmation backlog and get the government funded before
we break in August, well before the September 30 deadline. We stand ready to work Mondays
and Fridays, nights as well as weekends, to ensure the funding process is not used to jam the
President with a bad spending deal. We, and the American people, expect Congress to work
tirelessly to restore American greatness. The President has outlined an agenda that will unleash
economic growth, strengthen our military, and rebuild our infrastructure. We play a critical role
in advancing this agenda, so together let?s make Congress work again.

Sincerel 

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