Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of Defense Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my Republican colleagues to end this MAGA meltdown and come together to avert a government shutdown and the chaos it will bring our country.

I just returned from my hometown of Las Vegas--the entertainment capital of the world--and spent the weekend talking to my constituents who are fed up with the political theater here in Washington.

They can't understand how extreme Members of this body won't stop until they force this country into a government shutdown.

Maybe those Members should have spent the weekend talking to the thousands of TSA agents who are going to be forced to work without pay; or the 53,000 women and children in Nevada whose vital nutrition assistance will be put in jeopardy; or maybe the 200,000 Nevada veterans whose VA claims processing and wait times will grow; or the tens of thousands of Nevadans whose Medicare and Social Security inquiries will be put on hold.

Most importantly, maybe they should have listened to the thousands of hospitality workers and small businesses who make Las Vegas the magical place that it is, and whose livelihoods will be put at risk by a shutdown.

Have no doubt, without funding to keep the 50 million visitors moving through Harry Reid International Airport each year, our city, our hardworking families, and our local economy will suffer the consequences of these extremists' political games, and the rest of the country will, too.

The U.S. Travel Association estimates that a government shutdown will cost the U.S. travel economy as much as $140 million every single day. Let's be clear: we all know how this story ends. It ends by working across the aisle, that is what will get us out of this mess.

House Democrats are ready to fund the government to avert a shutdown. The question right now is: Can Republican leadership stand up to the most extreme minority wing of their party and end this nonsense?

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule.

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