Betty McCollum

09/19/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/19/2024 07:47

Congresswoman Betty McCollum: Republicans’ Failed CR Risks Our National Security, Wastes Billions

WASHINGTON, D.C.-On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives voted in a bipartisan fashion to reject Republicans' extreme continuing resolution (CR) that would have curtailed Americans' voting rights while providing insufficient funding for key agencies and government functions. The proposal failed on a vote of 202-220.

The legislation:

  • Risks our national security and hurts our military readinessby putting government funding on autopilot for six months, leading the Department of Defense to continue programs that they're ready to wind down while stalling innovation.
  • Puts disaster relief efforts at riskby providing insufficient funding to repair highways and bridges impacted by disasters across 38 states and 3 territories.
  • Leaves our veterans behind and undermines their care by offering inadequate resources for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would have slowed the healthcare services of millions of veterans.
  • Increases Social Security Administration wait times by prolonging the delay in needed service upgrades for the Social Security Administration.
"It is deeply unfortunate that a Continuing Resolution is necessary. The House Republican Majority wasted months writing bills loaded with extreme social policy that is rejected by the majority of Americans. Still, Republicans only passed half their bills - why? Because they were so unpopular with their own conference. Having failed to complete the basic responsibility of funding the federal government, Republicans now want to kick the can for another six months," said Congresswoman Betty McCollum during her speech on the floor of the House of Representatives. "They will waste half the fiscal year, costing taxpayers billions of dollars. A CR this long would be irresponsible, and the Department of Defense has identified the consequences for our national security and negative impacts on our military personnel and their families. We should reject this legislation - pass a short-term CR - and roll up our sleeves and get to work."

Watch Congresswoman McCollum's full remarks from the House floor on YouTube.

A fact sheet on the legislation is here.