DeLauro Statement on Postponement of Full Committee Markups

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) released the following statement on the last-second postponement of scheduled full committee markups of the “Interim” Subcommittee Allocations; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; Homeland Security; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bills:

“After releasing four funding bills that renege on our promise to protect veterans exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and other toxic substances; slash investments in rural America; and leave us vulnerable to the trafficking of fentanyl while wasting resources on an outdated border wall, House Republicans have canceled full committee markups that were to take place this week. This is not, as they have said, due to debt ceiling negotiations. House Republicans did not release any 2024 spending bills until after they passed their Default on America Act, and they have now come to the realization that their default plan is unworkable.

“The four bills we were supposed to markup this week were the ‘easy ones,’ cherry-picked so House Republicans did not have to reveal to the American people their plan to pull teachers out of kids’ classrooms and law enforcement off local streets or make our airports and communities less safe.

“Before we stepped foot in the Committee room, their house of cards has crumbled. It is not clear that they will be able to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills on the House Floor if they include the harmful cuts they are proposing. The appropriations process requires support from both Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate. I hope we can soon move forward with serious bipartisan, bicameral conversations about 2024 funding bills.”