DeLauro: “Let’s get to work.”
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) released the following statement after House Republicans failed to consider their own 2024 Defense Appropriations bill:
“Instead of working on a bill to keep the government open, responding to natural disasters, and continuing to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom, House Republicans are focused on extreme bills that have no chance of becoming law. We are now in a situation where House Republicans have pulled more funding bills from the Floor than they have been able to pass.
“When House Republicans reneged on the debt limit agreement by introducing 2024 bills with funding levels far below those the Speaker agreed to and the President signed into law, it guaranteed that we would need a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the lights on and continue serving the American people uninterrupted. It is not a surprise that the end of the fiscal year comes at the end of September. House Republicans have run out of time. There are no other options—we either complete a CR by the end of the month or we shut down.
“We cannot forget how we got to this point and what is at stake. Extreme House Republicans who have a history of never voting for government funding bills are holding government funding hostage: if we do not meet their demands to cut funding well below 2022 levels, they will shut the government down. They want us to pass their bills that eliminate public education, make abortion illegal nationally, defund the police, disarm us in the face of the climate crisis, and weaken rural communities. And they want to do all of this while giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. Their extreme demands will hurt the American people and are leading us to the brink of a shutdown that could delay payments like Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits and cause thousands of federal employees to lose their jobs or be furloughed. We have an obligation to govern. It is well beyond time for House Republicans to start governing.
“Republican or Democrat, it is our duty as Members of Congress to complete the business of the American people. The Appropriations process has been corrupted by extremists with no interest in governing and with every intent of dismantling the United States Government. Democrats want to keep the government open and address the needs of the American people. Let’s get to work.”
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