Continuing Appropriations and Border Security Enhancement Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, there are human beings behind every single number that we talk about. Folks want to debate policy and different kinds of extremist agenda items when they are in charge. They can have committee hearings and deal with it separately, but right now we are literally hours away from direct impact on children and families and even the Federal workers, many of whom are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

A government shutdown will harm the American people. That should be at the center of the urgency that needs to be met in this Chamber as we move forward.

I know in Michigan I am going to see 207,000 women and children lose the WIC program that provides nutrition assistance, and literally 120,000 of them are children.

I still remember, Mr. Speaker, in 2019 there was a shutdown for 35 days. Colleagues were wondering why the Federal workers were in food bank lines. Why can't they get loans, one of them said. What are you talking about? These are Federal workers who are living--like a majority of Americans--paycheck-to-paycheck, and you are expecting them to pay their rent, get food on the table, all the utilities which continue to go up, but let's go ahead and cut LIHEAP by 75 percent.

Republicans' priorities in this Chamber are clear: starve, evict families living in poverty, and cut people from essential services. They don't care. You don't care because they are going to continue to get paid. You all are going to continue to get paid while your residents are being impacted. If I hear you lying one more time to the American people and saying that Federal employees are going to get paid, they are not. They are going to be forced to work with no pay, especially those on military bases, especially those that, again, are on the front lines that cannot just sit at home while you all fight amongst each other.

It is time for Republicans to stop playing these games with the American people's lives. They know this is an extremist bill; many of them know. It is not going to go anywhere.

The American people, Mr. Speaker, deserve better.

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