By Office of Senator Pete Ricketts
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) slammed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for contributing to a government shutdown faceoff. Ricketts made the comments while on a conference call with Nebraska media.
“Schumer has squeezed the calendar to force his and Joe Biden’s plan to spend trillions of dollars we don’t have,” Ricketts said. “For example, last night, Schumer gave Senators 40 minutes – just 40 minutes - to read through and analyze a 79-page bill to continue government funding before the first vote on it. Unlike Nancy Pelosi, I’m not going to vote to pass something just to see what’s in it. Nebraskans deserve better than that. The bill the Senate is considering now ultimately does nothing to address our wasteful overspending. It also keeps federal government spending at Biden levels.
“Chuck Schumer is forcing a vote with the false choice between a bloated and wasteful omnibus bill or a government shutdown,” Ricketts continued. “It’s wrong. It’s manipulative. And I won’t stand for it.”
Ricketts also called for regular order, criticizing Schumer for his delay in bringing appropriations bills to the Senate floor.
“The Senate Appropriations Committee passed all 12 appropriations bills on bipartisan votes in June and July,” Ricketts said. “For nearly two months since then, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, who serves as Majority Leader, could have brought these bills up for votes on the Senate floor. We could have debated them, amended them, and ultimately passed final versions. Democrat Chuck Schumer chose not to do that. Instead, he’s played games and created this shutdown faceoff.”