Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Friday that Democrats will make sure Republicans bear the blame if lawmakers fail to extend federal funding beyond Dec. 22 and the government shuts down.
"With Republicans in charge of both the Senate, the House, and the White House, our Republican colleagues are mostly debating amongst themselves about whether months into our new fiscal year we can actually pass a final budget," Coons said in the Democratic Party's weekly address. "If they want a shutdown, frankly the ball’s in their court. Democrats have so far been crystal clear about where we stand. We want to keep our government open."
Republicans agreed to a three-month funding extension, but this week agreed to just a two-week extension in the hopes of getting a final deal on spending for the rest of the year.
"We want to end this pattern of governing from crisis to crisis, moving from one deadline to the next," Coons said. "We also believe we can and must address some other critically important issues before the end of this year as part of the government funding bill."
"The short-term package disentangles routine government funding, for now, from efforts to finalize tax cut legislation and a push to extend legal protections to young illegal immigrants," Coons added.
However, he wants funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, disaster relief for Americans affected by recent natural disasters, and funding to end the opioid crisis.