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Consolidated Appropriations Act
Mr. President, now on the omni, later this afternoon, I will join with a number of my Senate colleagues in attending a signing ceremony at the White House for the 2022 omnibus funding bill, one of many significant and bipartisan accomplishments of the Senate in recent weeks.
In a 50-50 Senate, it is no small feat for this Chamber to pass the boldest and most significant funding package that Congress has seen in a long, long time. Under this new package, students, parents, working families, small businesses, and veterans will see costs go down and greater investments go their way. Our troops are going to get a much needed raise. Student loan borrowers will see their maximum Pell grant awards increase by the largest amount in over a decade, impacting 7 million students, not to mention their families.
We are giving parents more help for affording childcare and seniors more help to receive care at home.
For the first time in years, the Violence Against Women Act, one of the most important pieces of legislation in the last 30 years, will finally be renewed, offering lifesaving resources for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
And, of course, we are keeping our promise to Ukraine by providing nearly $14 billion in humanitarian and military aid. This means food and shelter for the millions trapped in war, relief for the now-3 million refugees fleeing the country, and funding to transfer Javelins, Stingers, and other anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to the Ukrainian fighting forces.
The Ukrainian people are not alone in their struggle against Vladimir Putin's savage war. I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who accelerated the passage of this emergency funding, and I again commend President Biden for his handling of the crisis to date. As I said weeks ago, the President deserves immense credit for keeping the allies together against Putin, imposing crippling sanctions on Russia, and responding to a turbulent conflict with clarity and with strength.
Some were pushing the President to do too much too soon, risking an escalation of the crisis and risking that our allies would not join us, but so far, the President's approach has been right on target. Thanks to the President's approach, Putin is now one of the most reviled and isolated leaders that the world has seen in a very long time.
For this reason alone, signing the omnibus into law is a major accomplishment, and I thank the President, Senators Leahy and Durbin, and all our appropriators and Members on both sides of the aisle for getting it done.
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 46
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