DeLauro Floor Remarks on Government Funding Extension: “We must…deliver for the American people as soon as possible.”

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) delivered the following remarks on the House floor:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this Continuing Resolution – which will provide us with the short time needed to fully conclude the 2024 appropriations process.

This Continuing Resolution keeps the government open while the Appropriations Committees in the House and the Senate finalize the 2024 funding bills that are in line with the agreement that has been the law since last June, reaffirmed in the toplines agreed to by Leader Schumer and Speaker Johnson earlier this year.

While at the time of passing our last Continuing Resolution I had hoped we would not need this measure, we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence in reaching the end of this process. I appreciate the respectful bipartisan cooperation that took place to put forward this Continuing Resolution and move us closer to the finish line.

There is now a shared understanding that the ultimate conclusion to the saga of 2024 funding will be in appropriations bills that earn the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate – bills that will likely need to pass under suspension of the rules, like the bill we are considering today.

In addition to passing the twelve appropriations bills, Congress still must respond to President Biden's requests for our urgent national security needs.

There is no time to waste – we must quickly provide support for Ukraine in their fight against Russian tyranny, we must provide support for our Indo-Pacific and Middle East allies, and crucially, we cannot wait any longer to provide humanitarian aid for the civilians caught in the crossfire of these conflicts.

Without swift action, the legacy of this Congress will be the destruction of Ukraine, the appeasement of a dictator, and the abandonment of starving children and ailing families.

We must come to a bipartisan compromise and show the American people that Congress is still able to address urgent crises, and show the world that America is still unwavering as a defender of democracy, wherever it is being fought for.

Congress must avoid a shutdown. We must enact full-year spending bills and emergency assistance for our national security, and deliver for the American people as soon as possible.

To those ends, let this be our last Continuing Resolution. Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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