Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) again joined Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Steve Daines (R-MT) in a colloquy on the Senate floor to call on Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats to end their filibuster of the FY 2017 Defense Appropriations Bill. Senate Democrats have voted repeatedly to prevent the Senate from even debating the legislation.

WATCH SENATOR TILLIS’ FLOOR SPEECH HERE.

 “I am doing my job by questioning Senate Democrats who went into committee and voted for this bill, went home and told everyone they are supporting our troops, and now won’t do their job and vote for precisely the same bill,” said Senator Tillis. “The Minority Leader needs to stop playing games and let Senate Democrats vote on this bill and do their job.”

The legislation had unanimous support from Democrat and Republican members in committee, but has been blocked by Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats. As all of the members said in the colloquy, this filibuster comes at a time when we have seen dramatic developments, just in the past week, relating to global security — North Korean submarine missile test, the deployment of 560 additional troops to Iraq, continued provocations by Russia, Chinese live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, and the President’s announcement that more troops will be staying in Afghanistan than he previously committed.

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