Extension of Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Granger and her outstanding staff and, really, all the staff on the majority and minority sides and in both Houses.

Mr. Speaker, our Founding Fathers gave us a great constitutional Republic. In that regard, each and every one of the Members of this Chamber stands for reelection every 2 years.

I represent the people of the great State of Tennessee, east Tennessee--wonderful people, God-fearing people. They love this country, our history, and they are just so proud of what we are doing as a nation.

I realize that other people in other parts of our country have a different ethos, have different priorities, but we are where we are. The American people gave us a very slim majority in the House. In the Senate, the other party has a slim majority, and the White House is controlled by the other party.

I want the American people to know, Mr. Speaker, that this negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.

Let me give one example. I chair, as our distinguished chair has said, the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. It funds our great national labs, our Office of Science, and so many other great things. However, as a part of that, through the NNSA, the National Nuclear Security Administration, it funds our Nation's nuclear arsenal.

We are in a very dangerous world right now. Our adversaries are ramping up. I wish we were not on the precipice of another arms race, but I am afraid we are.

We can't close that down. We can't shut that down.

So that I can be abundantly clear, government shutdowns--and I have lived through three--never work. They cause more harm than they do good. They cost more money. They cost the American taxpayer more money because when they revamp and start up again, basically, we lose all those person-hours, and it just causes havoc.

This continuing resolution, to be clear, is a process continuing resolution. It is just to get these six bills to next week when we will actually pass a fiscal budget, which I think is the obligation of the House, the Senate, and the White House to do. We will do that. We will do that with the other bills.

I do respect my friends, who are very passionate today in opposing this, but the reality is the American people want us to do our work. To do our work well, we have to keep the government open.

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