Thune: There Is Plenty of Work the Senate Can Do If Democrats Decide to Cooperate

Click here watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “It’s a busy week here in the United States Senate, and I would say that there is no shortage of opportunities for bipartisan legislating in the weeks ahead. “There are a number of things that we can do, one of which would be a market structure bill – that’s something that’s a candidate for consideration. “The Lindsey O. Graham sanctioning Russia legislation is also something that’s being worked on, and is something I hope we can get the necessary support to get to the floor. “And then, obviously, a defense authorization bill, which was voted down on the motion to proceed last week by the Democrats, is something that also normally is a bipartisan piece of legislation. “But none of those things get done if the Democrats continue their posture of trying to block even getting on legislation. “And again, I used the defense authorization bill as an example of something that we’ve done for 65 years in a row, which last week the Democrats decided – even though … a number of them had voted for the legislation when it came out of the Armed Services Committee – decided to block its consideration on the floor. “So that’s something that ought to be able to get done. “And then, obviously, the most important thing that we need to do is to fund the government. “And on that front, Chair Susan Collins is working with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to find a path forward to have a continuing resolution to keep the government funded to get past the November elections, so that we don’t have the specter of a government shutdown – something that happened a couple of times this last year. “And the disruption, the chaos that creates is just something that both sides ought to be willing to try and avoid. “And so, I think it’s going to be really important that we figure out a path forward to get a bipartisan agreement to fund the government that will keep government open and ensure that government employees are getting paid. “And that is something that I intend to bring to the floor for a vote before the August break.”