Ranking Member DeLauro Statement on House Rejection of Agriculture Funding Bill

DeLauro: “Another day of Republican dysfunction, two days until they shut the government down.”

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) released the following statement after the Agriculture-FDA, Defense, Homeland Security, and State and Foreign Operations funding bills were voted on by the House of Representatives:

“The clock is ticking, and none of the bills considered this week have a chance of becoming law. We should have spent this week working together to prevent the government from shutting down. Instead, we spent it watching House Republicans in chaos, loading up their 2024 funding bills with deeper cuts and dangerous policies that harm the economy and raise the cost of living for American families.

“Their disastrous Agriculture bill failed with strong bipartisan opposition. Republicans claim to be the party that supports rural communities, but they targeted them with some of their deepest cuts and attacked women’s health.

“The other funding bills tell the American people where Republicans stand. The Defense bill harms U.S. military readiness, undermines morale, cuts funding for civilian workers, and reduces Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s salary to $1. The Homeland Security funding bill weakens our national security, harms the Homeland Security workforce, and leaves Americans vulnerable to escalating disasters. Shockingly, the bill also now includes a provision that will result in the deportation of Ukrainian refugees and prevents United States Coast Guard family members, including dependents, from being housed on Department of Defense military installations. The State, Foreign Operations bill cedes America’s position as the leader of the global community.

“In June, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy reached an agreement to avert a catastrophic default with the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Speaker immediately reneged on that deal and empowered a small group of extreme Republicans to dictate policies that harm families, children, seniors, and veterans with a pointless government shutdown.

“Another day of Republican dysfunction, two days until they shut the government down.”

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