Shaheen Statement After Vote to Overturn President Trump's Efforts to Raid Military Funding
SHAHEEN: “Funding that Congress has set aside for our troops, their families and military projects is important to our national security and shouldn’t be used as a slush fund by the President”
(Washington, DC)—U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement after voting to overturn President Trump’s veto of legislation that would end his emergency declaration. In September, Shaheen led the bipartisan resolution with Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to force a vote to terminate the President’s declaration. The President’s emergency declaration is being used to pay for his border wall by taking funding set aside by Congress for military facilities:
“Funding that Congress has set aside for our troops, their families and military projects is important to our national security and shouldn’t be used as a slush fund by the President,” said Shaheen. “That’s why Congress, on a bipartisan basis, delivered legislation to the President’s desk to overturn his unconstitutional emergency declaration. The Trump administration has made it clear that it intends to, once again, take funding from military facilities in order to fund President Trump’s inefficient and costly border wall. It’s very disappointing that there weren’t enough votes to override the President’s veto today, as this could have removed the threat in the coming fiscal year to these vital facilities, including the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Shipyard narrowly avoided losing funding this year, however, the Shipyard’s leadership and workforce need long-term certainty that resources provided by Congress are not up for grabs. I will continue to do everything in my power to once again protect the Shipyard from the President’s reckless raiding of military funds.”
Since the President first announced his emergency declaration and projects at the Shipyard were listed as potential targets to lose funding, Senator Shaheen fiercely advocated on behalf of the Shipyard and worked to defend the funding secured by Congress. Shaheen helped introduce a bipartisan joint resolution with Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to block the President’s national emergency declaration and uphold the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution, similar to the resolution that passed Congress.
Senator Shaheen is a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees and has fought tirelessly to provide funding to the Shipyard. The funding for three of the four projects at the Shipyard that the President’s declaration previously threatened was passed by Congress and signed into law in September of 2018. The fourth project, the Paint, Blast and Rubber facility, was funded in 2017.
Senator Shaheen previously led the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to the President, urging him to reconsider his actions which could have an adverse impact on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. In March, Shaheen personally appealed to Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer to protect funding for Shipyard projects from being diverted to pay for the President’s border wall. Senator Shaheen joined Senators Hassan (D-NH), King (I-ME) and Collins (R-ME) in April to reiterate the need to protect the Shipyard’s funding from the emergency declaration.
