Date: 2015-10-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to stop the government from shutting down. What we are doing today is budgeting or appropriating but a desperate Hail Mary to save thousands of jobs and prevent another waste of $24 billion in lost economic productivity like we saw the last time House Republicans succeeded in shutting down the government. Today I will vote for H.R. 719 even though it goes against sound fiscal practice by including the budget gimmickry known as sequestration. a fiscal bludgeon that makes across the board cuts in funding for the valuable services depended upon by American children. seniors. workers. veterans. students. and small businesses. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 719. "Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016." which extends current Fiscal Year 2015 government funding for nearly all agencies through December 11. 2015. at a rate equal to an annual level of $1.017 trillion. a level consistent with the combined topline postsequester discretionary spending caps for Fiscal Year 2016 set by the Budget Control Act. H.R. 719 also provides funding for Overseas Contingency Operations. which are exempt from the BCA caps. at a rate of $74.8 billion. an amount roughly equal to a continuation of the Fiscal Year 2015 level. Mr. Speaker. I am disappointed that we have again been placed in the position of having to fund the government through the device of a continuing resolution rather than through the normal appropriations process of considering and voting on the twelve separate spending bills reported by the Committee on Appropriations. Although the House considered and passed several of the annual spending bills. none of them received consideration in the Senate because of the refusal of the House leadership to reach agreement with the Senate on an appropriate framework for all appropriations bills that does not harm our economy or require draconian cuts to middleclass priorities. Without such an agreement. House Republican appropriation bills will result in: 1. hundreds of thousands of lowincome children losing access to Head Start programs. 2. tens of thousands of children with disabilities losing federal funding for their special education teachers and aides. 3. thousands of federal agents who will not be able to secure the border. enforce drug laws. combat violent crime or apprehend fugitives. and 4. thousands of scientists without medical grants to conduct research to find new treatments and cures for diseases like breast cancer and Alzheimers. As a result of the failure to reach a budget agreement. we now find ourselves facing the Hobsons choice of rejecting the Continuing Resolution now pending which likely will result in a cessation of government operations or approving the Continuing Resolution and continuing adherence to the draconian spending limits imposed by the Budget Control Act of Faced with this dilemma. I reluctantly will vote for H.R. 719 because in the circumstances it would be irresponsible to do otherwise. H.R. 719 is not perfectfar from itbut it is a modest and positive step toward preventing Republicans from shutting down the government again and manufacturing crises that only harm our economy. destroy jobs. and weaken our middle class. The government shutdown of 2013. which was manufactured by the Republican majority lasted 16 days and cost taxpayers $24 billion. The cost to federal employees and the people they serve cannot be calculated. Mr. Speaker. as with any compromise there are some things in the agreement that I support and some things that I strongly oppose. For example. I support the provisions in the Continuing Resolution ensuring that funding for appropriated entitlements continue at a rate maintaining program levels under current law. I also support the provisions allowing the State Department. USAID. BBG. and related agencies to expend funds in the absence of an authorization. and authorizing continuation of certain intelligence activities. I support the provisions in H.R. 719 that provide $700 million in emergency funding for government efforts to fight wildfires in Western states and that give the VA budget flexibility to finish construction of a facility in Denver. Finally. I am very pleased that House Republicans have jettisoned any serious efforts to shut down the government over the obsession with defunding Planned Parenthood and opposition to womens reproductive rights. On the other hand. I am very disappointed that the Continuing Resolution again misses the opportunity to reauthorize two critical programs: the ExportImport Bank and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The ExportImport Bank provides critical financing assistanceat no cost to taxpayersto small. medium. and largesized U.S. businesses. helping them to create jobs at home and sell products overseas. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a bipartisan. popular. 50year program that uses royalties from federal oil and gas leases for land acquisition and parks across the country.