Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Republican majority needs Democratic votes to govern. We are considering this bill under suspension of the rules because House Republicans could not agree to pass a rule on a bill to keep the government open and operating on behalf of the American people. They can't do it. It says something very poignant about the ability to govern and the willingness to govern.

This continuing resolution is flawed. Critically, it does nothing to help our allies. It does not include any emergency assistance for Israel, Ukraine, or our Indo-Pacific partners, for humanitarian aid, for childcare, or for disaster victims here at home.

At a time when the Departments of State and Defense need to be able to respond quickly to global crises, House Republicans would put our diplomats and warfighters under outdated funding levels into February, for more than one-third of the fiscal year.

Not only is it irresponsible to kick the can down the road for several months, but it is really a waste of taxpayer dollars, and these are folks who pride themselves on wanting to save taxpayer dollars.

This proposal also shortchanges the WIC program, the women, infants, and children program. As a result of increased participation rates, the administration requested an additional $405 million to ensure that we can meet the demand for nutrition programs. The House Republican proposal includes no additional funds and will require States to halt enrollment or scale back benefits.

A continuing resolution is a bridge to a final agreement. It should be judged on how it helps facilitate our goal, which is to update spending levels for full-year bills and the full-year bill of 2024. A so-called laddered bill makes it harder to reach a final agreement. Why? Because it doubles the likelihood of future shutdowns. In a time of global crisis, we should promote stability and not chaos.

Ultimately, we are here because House Republicans broke the June budget agreement they overwhelmingly supported that was signed into law by the President. It established a top line, the amount of money that could be translated into the dollar amount to each one of the appropriations subcommittees.

To make it simple, Mr. Speaker, it is a number that we agreed to, then you take that number, and it gets broken up into pieces. That is the majority's responsibility. I took that responsibility last December in the prior year in dealing with the allocation to each one of the 12 appropriations subcommittees. They then proceeded to waste the entire 6 weeks of the current stopgap bill overthrowing their own Speaker and pushing partisan spending measures that take us further from a final agreement.

Congress must avoid a shutdown.

I have just one point, Mr. Speaker. I think it is so interesting that we are discussing this continuing resolution at the same time--and I happen to be managing both bills--that the Labor-HHS-Education bill is on the floor and when we are going through a marathon of 146 amendments. It is the same path we were on for the last several weeks, where two bills had to be pulled from the floor because there weren't enough votes to pass them.

I don't know if there are the votes to pass the Labor-HHS bill this afternoon or this evening or tomorrow morning. I just don't know. Nevertheless, it is the same path that we are on.

Nothing is changed in looking at a continuing resolution that makes an additional proposal.

Again, Congress must avoid a shutdown. That is our responsibility. I am very aware of that. Nonetheless, we must find a path forward to finish full-year bills.

The worth of this agreement will be proven by what comes next, and the only successful path forward requires the following.

First, the majority must recognize reality and abide by the bipartisan budget agreement that accompanied the debt-limit law.

I think I am one of the few in this institution who voted against the budget agreement. I was fearful of where we would be today, and it is where we are today. Nevertheless, I understand the law of the land: It passes in the House. It passes in the Senate. The President signs it. It becomes the law of the land.

We must abide by the bipartisan budget agreement that accompanied the debt-limit law. That means a modest increase for defense programs and maintaining nondefense investment levels. It also means adhering to the same policy framework that we have adopted on a bipartisan--that is Democrats and Republicans--bicameral--House and Senate--basis.

We have this done over and over again. That means no new poison pill riders. We have done this over and over again. We did it just last December and the prior December.

Second, the Appropriations Committee must be let loose to effectuate the agreement, and that means a good-faith negotiation to set the allocations for all 12 bills. Chair Granger and I have done this before, and she knows that I am ready to get to work to do it again.

In the Senate, Chair Murray and Ranking Member Collins are already on a path to dealing with following the budget agreement so that we hold down the four corners of appropriations. I am so proud that we are all women. We get it. We are on track. We know how to do this.

Lastly, we have to address the crises across the globe that threaten our allies, endangering our own national security. That means a promise--a promise--to work in good faith to bring forward an emergency supplemental bill that deals with Ukraine, Israel, humanitarian needs, our influence in the Indo-Pacific, and border security.

Why are we holding up the resources and investments to the American people? Why are we abdicating our leadership in the world community by not moving forward? Why is it when the world is clamoring for humanitarian assistance that the only people holding back humanitarian assistance in this entire Congress on the House side and on the Senate side were the Republican majority?

Mr. Speaker, let us move forward. That is the only way that we avoid finding ourselves right back here in January and February, considering another extension.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut for her leadership as former chair and ranking member. I thank my good friend from Texas, as well.

I think they are completely accurate that left to their own devices, we could have an appropriations process that would work, but I thank Chairwoman DeLauro for laying the groundwork of the crisis that we are now in.

Let us be very clear: It is the Democrats who have come to save America and to stop this dastardly shutdown. As I have listened to the debate on the Labor-HHS, all I could see was the crushing of the American spirit, the eliminating of GEAR UP and TRIO, the very programs that give a lifeline to young people across America; a stamping down of the greatest of our aspirations.

Weeks ago, the President gave to us a supplemental for Ukraine and Israel and the border, ensuring that we would be able to provide funding and engage the way we should for Defense. And now we are hearing that in a crisis, we don't even have humanitarian aid that is needed in Gaza.

All we are doing here is kicking the can, but thank goodness Democrats are able to say that we refuse to shut down the government and it is because of the cities that are so desperately in need. How dare we put our cities in this catastrophe of having a government shutdown?

In the State of Texas--I am here today to vote for this CR--172,877 Active-Duty and Reserve personnel and their families would not be paid.

What would impact the city of Houston is: $2,742,702,800 in funding to small businesses in Texas would not get that funding for creating jobs. They are the job engine of America and Houston will be devastatingly impacted;

176,276 persons traveling through Bush Intercontinental Airport and our airports in Texas would face slowdowns because TSA would not be working;

786,686 people in Texas would lose access to their nutrition programs--women, infant, and children denied food;

168,413 Federal workers in our city alone laid off, and;

3,291,584 beneficiaries would not have the SNAP program to feed their families.

This is shameful. But we are here today to ensure the government does not shut down and to make sure that, even though it is not perfect, even though the bills that we are watching that Republicans say they are doing, are literally taking the lifeline out of the hands of our fellow Americans, not doing border security, not providing humanitarian assistance that is needed, but yet Democrats stood tall. We are going to fund this at FY23. We are not going to have the draconian taking away of reproductive rights.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, we would not have the denying of reproductive rights, discriminating against people because of their LGBTQ+, or discriminating against them because of race or immigrant status. We won't have any of those draconian provisions in there. Thank God we will not have the cuts that we have seen that would hurt the American people, hurt Texans, hurt Houstonians.

The CR is the right way right now because we have no other door, and it will be Democrats that will save America, save our 50 States, save Texas, save our cities, save Houston. I am here today to ensure that we move forward so that we can do what is right by the American people.

Mr. Speaker, when Congress fails to do its job, the consequences are real.

Families suffer, the economy takes a hit, and government costs rise-- all unnecessarily.

H.R. 6363, Further Continuing Appropriations, and other Extensions Act of 2024 proves one thing, this weak Republican majority is unable to govern without help from the Democratic Caucus.

Instead of working to finish the FY 2024 funding process between now and when the first CR was enacted, House Republicans wasted time by ousting their own leader, further propelling the House into chaos and bringing partisan bills to the floor that not only have zero chance of becoming law but include massive cuts and poison pill riders that move us further apart, not closer to resolution.

H.R. 6363 would avoid a government shutdown today, but kicks the can down the road and adds unnecessary complexities that will increase the likelihood of future shutdowns by creating two separate CR dates.

January 19, 2024: Agriculture, Energy and Water, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

February 2, 2024: The remaining eight.

This legislation also lacks emergency funds requested by the Biden Administration to accommodate increased participation in WIC.

An estimated $405 million is needed in the second quarter is needed to administer the program.

This legislation also lacks emergency supplemental funding for Ukraine, Israel, humanitarian assistance, childcare, disaster victims, broadband, Indo-Pacific allies, and a number of other pressing priorities.

Although this legislation is flawed in many significant ways, a government shut down would be devastating for Americans across the country.

A government shutdown would hurt hard working families in Texas:

172,877 active duty and reserve personnel serving our nation's armed forces in Texas would be forced to go without the pay they earn during a shutdown.

The Small Business Administration would stop processing small business loans, halting a program that provides $2,742,702,800 in funding to small businesses in Texas every year.

176,276 people flying through Texas airports every day would face potential delays and safety concerns due to staffing impacts on TSA agents and air traffic controllers.

786,686 people in Texas would soon lose access to Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.

168,413 federal workers in Texas would be furloughed or forced to work without pay, in addition to the many employees of businesses with government contracts who could be laid off, furloughed, or see their hours cut.

Workers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be sidelined, risking interruptions and delays to the 892 food safety, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and other inspections conducted in Texas last year.

The Department of Agriculture would be forced to stop processing housing loans, which provide $456,125,359 in funding to help 2,742 families in rural Texas communities buy homes every year.

The Department of Agriculture would be forced to stop processing farm loans which provide $209,391,000 in funding for farmers in Texas every year.

3,291,584 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries in Texas would lose access to benefits in a prolonged shutdown.

5,413,161 people who visit national parks in Texas every year would be turned away or unable to fully access parks, monuments, and museums.

State governments would be forced to pay for federal services like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, potentially risking benefits for the 20,846 TANF beneficiaries in Texas.

A government shutdown would hurt working families, damage our economy, interrupt vital services, endanger our national security, and force millions of our troops and government employees to work without pay.

It is time to get serious, it is time to do the work we are required to do as Members of Congress regardless of our political stripes.

Congress has a responsibility to keep our government open, and I hope we can work with House Republicans and the Senate to facilitate the timely completion of full-year spending bills and a supplemental package.

As you know, Mr. Calvert is the chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and a very respected member. I don't see him on the floor now. He is someone who cares deeply about our national security here at home and our international obligations and responsibilities.

I mention a couple of things in this context. As of this bill, $28 billion for the Department of Defense is held up until next February, and that depends whether or not we can come to agreement. Next February, $28 billion to the Department of Defense.

The other piece of this is that the State Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and the Defense Subcommittee have shared responsibilities. As you know from reading this laddered approach, those two bills will not get to a continuing resolution until February 2.

What do they do that has relevance in this period of time? The State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Subcommittee has a very small amount of money in which they can move humanitarian assistance in this global crisis that we have and the world clamoring for humanitarian assistance.

Now, the State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Subcommittee and the Defense Subcommittee share some other pieces which have to do with funding for Ukraine and funding for Israel. The $3.3 billion to Israel is held up until next February, and money for Ukraine, which is depleted, is nowhere to be found; so we are walking off the international stage. We have abdicated a moral responsibility to Israel and Ukraine--not unlike what happened in 1938 with appeasement--and to humanitarian assistance. Think about who was responsible for that.

There is another piece of this which I think is very, very interesting. We have seen the delay. It has been 5 months since we had the budget agreement in June, so 5 months of delay there. Then another 45 days of delay.

I said a few moments ago, given what we have seen on the floor with regard to Labor-HHS today, I don't understand what is going to change in this next go-round. There is every opportunity for further delays. Further delays.

What happens then is we move toward something called sequestration. Let me translate it into real terms. Those are across-the-board cuts in every single area, both domestic and international. That is what the law has done here.

There appears to be no understanding or no consideration for the movement of where we need to go. We have a history now of delay after delay after delay, and I don't see anything that portends a change in that activity or behavior.

With regard to those across-the-board cuts, if all 12 appropriations bills are not passed--not 8, not 4--and there is one hanging out there, that across-the-board cut comes crashing down on our heads. I think people just need to know this information and fully understand.

I don't want a government shutdown--I don't--but I want to fully understand what the stakes are. I have to believe that every Member of this body wants to know what the stakes are and what is actually in these bills.

Finally, I am going back to something I said earlier: Who is holding up the resources that the American people are clamoring for, whether it is their health, their education, or their ability for a job? Every bill that we have seen on this floor curtails and cuts back in a remarkable way.

In the Labor-HHS bill, they are taking us back to 2008 numbers. The resources that the American public needs to thrive are being cut back. People in this country are living paycheck to paycheck, and we are doing nothing to help them deal with their cost of living. I believe that they know that. On the domestic front, we are shortchanging the American people.

Let's get to the international scene. Who is holding up aid to Israel? Who is holding up funding the support for Ukraine? When did we believe that Vladimir Putin has noble intentions? He would gobble it up in a nanosecond. Who would believe who was holding up humanitarian assistance?

We have a moral responsibility. We are watching children in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza dying, but we don't have the strength to blow past this and say let's do what we have been charged to do by this Constitution and carry out our duty.

House Republicans are holding up all of these critical security funding needs. Think about it and think about how we should break the logjam with people who know better in this institution. Get us those top-line numbers. Get us the allocations. Get the appropriations process on track. Fund the bills for 2024.

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