Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. No, I am not opposed.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me first say a thank you to the gentleman from Oklahoma for allowing me the 10 minutes of time. I am much appreciative. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this continuing resolution, which will avert a costly and pointless government shutdown and provide Congress with the time required to enact bipartisan, full-year funding bills for 2025. We require a continuing resolution to keep the government open because House Republicans chose to squander the Second Session of the 118th Congress by writing extreme and harmful funding bills based on Donald Trump's Project 2025 manifesto, seven of which the House did not even consider because the majority knew the bills did not have the votes to pass on the floor of the House. It is never ideal to govern with a continuing resolution, but this is a responsible and sober measure that avoids many of the problems that would have been created with a 6-month funding bill. After the continuing resolution is enacted, the Appropriations Committees should begin bipartisan negotiations to finish full-year bills by December 20. This will be a difficult task. We must address significant shortfalls in veterans' healthcare, disaster relief, and other priorities. These problems demand bipartisan solutions, and so we must drop poison pill riders and massive cuts to the services that American families depend on so that this Congress can finish its work. No matter who wins in November, we owe it to the next Congress and the next President to not saddle them with yesterday's problems. We know where we must end up, and it is my hope that this bill will provide the bipartisan momentum needed to arrive there. Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I just want to ask my colleagues to please support this continuing resolution. We have an obligation in this Chamber to rule, to govern, to say to the American people that we are here on your behalf, you sent us here, and you put your faith and your trust in us. The legislative process is not one where one gets everything that they want. It is about compromise. It is about coming together to recognize that we do have this obligation and this responsibility. It would be nice to say that I didn't get what I wanted, so I am going to take the ball and go home. That is not the responsible thing to do. This continuing resolution, as I said in my remarks, is a somber document. It achieves some goals. There are some areas that have not been covered that need to be covered, like disaster relief, like the $12 billion shortfall for veterans. We have a process to undertake as we move forward, and that is hammering out the 12 appropriations bills which fund the U.S. Government. That is our responsibility. If we do not do this today, the government shuts down. We don't suffer. We continue to get our paychecks. Maybe if there was a threat of a furlough for Members of Congress, the outcome might be different. There are men and women out there who serve this country whose economic stability is in jeopardy, and we hold that in our hands. We say ``yes'' today, not because it is everything that we wanted, but ``yes'' to continue a process that gets us to fund the goods and the services of the American people. That is what they expect us to do. They expect us to govern. That is what this bill is about today. Again, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, or TAA, which provides a lifeline to workers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing or other trade-related business decisions. TAA provides up to 2 years of robust job training benefits, and according to the U.S. Census, recipients increase their earnings by an average of over $50,000 over a 10-year period. This is not just an economically sound thing to do, it is the right thing to do. We cannot realize the full benefits of trade if we are leaving our friends and our neighbors behind. In my home State of Connecticut alone, over a thousand people have been helped by this program to find new jobs and to improve their skills, according to the Department of Labor. Unfortunately, the program expired 2 years ago, and Congress has failed to reauthorize it. That means over 121,00 workers who have submitted petitions seeking resources to improve their job skills have been ignored. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle like to talk about supporting American workers. It is time that we put our money where our mouth is. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act and demand that it be brought to a vote. The American people are watching. They want to know if we have their back. We cannot afford to wait any longer.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I oppose this continuing resolution, which would shortchange our veterans, absolve the House Republican majority of their responsibility to govern, and move us closer to a shutdown. I urge my colleagues to vote against it. The majority's proposal completely abandons our Nation's veterans. We have been informed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Management and Budget that $12 billion more is required to provide necessary medical care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances. Despite the urgency, the majority has decided to provide nothing, zero, for veterans' medical needs. I cannot understand how anybody who supports this bill can go home and look their veteran constituents in the eye and tell them that they voted to shortchange the medical care they earned with their service. I am glad that the majority heard House Democrats' protests when we pointed out how cruel and misguided this bill was when it was first introduced. The original proposal would have shut off all funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which would have undercut support for over 1 million families. While the majority may have fixed that, House Republicans' bill demonstrates a belief that the need to care for veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances is less of a priority than everything else in this bill. It is disgraceful. We could have solved this issue had the majority considered a bipartisan path forward at any point in this entire process; but instead, just like last year, House Republicans squandered an entire year by taking us down a partisan path, forcing us to waste time considering extreme funding bills based on Trump's Project 2025 that they could not pass and that have no chance of becoming law. Just like last year, House Republicans' refusal to meet Democrats at the table has left us without time to pass all 12 full-year appropriations bills before the end of September. Rather than admitting the inevitable defeat of their Project 2025 spending bills and passing a bipartisan bill to keep the government open while we finish our work, the majority proposes abandoning their obligation to govern, forcing a new Congress to clean up their mess. They have included an extraneous, partisan, controversial measure, nongermane to appropriations, that guarantees this continuing resolution will not become law. The majority all but admitted this bill could not pass the House last week, but they are forcing us to waste more time on it anyway. Despite the looming threat of a government shutdown, even if it has the votes in the House, this bill will not pass in the United States Senate. The President has said he would veto it. This bill has no path to becoming law. If the government shuts down, Republicans bear the responsibility. A 6-month continuing resolution is a ploy to force the extreme Project 2025 manifesto agenda on the American people. They want to slash domestic investments in healthcare, education, job training, and every other discretionary program, which will hurt the middle class and the economy. This Project 2025 is no wish list, I might add. If you look at the appropriations bills that are coming forward, you can see the direction and the cuts that Project 2025 proposes to make. The Republican majority believes a continuing resolution to the end of March provides them with more leverage to force their unpopular cuts to services that American families depend on to make ends meet. The majority knows that the fiscal year ends September 30 and that we cannot fund the government without the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate. However, for the second time in the 118th Congress, the majority does not want Congress to finish its work until March, nearly halfway through the fiscal year, wasting time, avoiding the inevitable, and failing to meet our obligations to the American people. A half-year continuing resolution is no way to govern. This is no way to serve the American people. The American people have a choice to make in November, and come January, we will have a new President, and we will have a new Congress. While we presumably disagree on who we think will be leading our country and which side of the aisle will hold the gavel, we should agree that it is not right, not in the interest of the American people for us to punt this year's work deep into next year for a different Congress and a different White House to be confronted with. We must pass a continuing resolution that allows us to finish our work before the new President and Congress are sworn in and which addresses the immediate needs of American families, workers, and veterans. A continuing resolution that ends in December rather than one that lasts half a year better serves our national security and military readiness, veterans, their families, victims recovering from natural disasters, and all hardworking American taxpayers. Instead, the majority's bill fails our veterans. The majority's bill fails our military. Putting government funding on autopilot for 6 months means the Department of Defense cannot execute its strategic priorities, such as investing in cutting-edge technologies and capabilities. Investments in our defense industrial base will be put on hold, including the submarine and shipbuilding bases. Last weekend, Secretary Austin said in a letter: ``Asking the Department to compete with the [People's Republic of China], let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy [continuing resolution], ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and accelerate progress.'' He continued: ``The single most important thing that Congress can do to ensure U.S. national security is to pass timely legislation for all 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2025.'' The majority's bill fails our seniors and Americans with disabilities on Social Security. In a letter sent last week to the Appropriations Committee, Social Security Administration Commissioner O'Malley warned of the ramifications of a 6-month continuing resolution, stating: ``We would likely be forced to reduce the hours field offices are open to the public and would need to close offices over time, extending wait times for seniors and individuals with disabilities.'' He continues: ``Through a lifetime of hard work, the American people have paid for and earned their Social Security benefits, and they have also paid for and earned the customer service they need to access those benefits. Another 6 months at current funding levels, as the House has proposed, would be devastating for the many Americans we serve every day.'' The majority's bill also fails communities devastated by disasters by shortchanging emergency funds for FEMA. This one you almost cannot believe. The bill provides nothing to rebuild the Key Bridge in Maryland, nothing for block grants to help communities recover from devastating natural disasters, including the horrifying wildfires in Hawaii and the tornadoes that devastated communities in places like Oklahoma. The majority is failing to live up to their own promises to the American people, that they are capable of being trusted to do the hard work of governing. They have unequivocally demonstrated that they cannot. This bill is an admission that a House Republican majority cannot govern. They would rather gamble on an intervening election than attempt to complete their work on time. Let us hope the majority does not drive us straight to a Republican shutdown. If they do shut down the government, I have no doubt the American people will know who is to blame. Vote ``no'' on this continuing resolution. Abandon this partisan game. Join Democrats at the table. It is past time to govern. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the distinguished Democratic leader.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me make a point on veterans as well for my dear friend, the chairman. The fact of the matter is that the expansion of the PACT Act, which is a bipartisan piece of legislation, really is so important to the health and welfare of our veterans, our service people, who have been exposed to burn pits and toxic chemicals. That has exploded the participation within the VA for medical services. This is a success story of reaching out and helping our veterans. In fact, they have a $12 billion shortfall. Do we say no? Do we say no to what we agreed to on a bipartisan basis for medical services for our veterans? My gosh, who are we and what are we about? A final note on this: Further on in this continuing resolution, they tell the VA to spend faster the dollars for medical services. Do you know how much those dollars are? Zero. They said to spend zero dollars faster. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the distinguished ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, let me state a fact. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 prohibits noncitizens from voting in Federal elections. It is not legal in any State for a noncitizen to vote for a Federal office. It is the law of the land of the United States. Mr. Speaker, moving to appropriations, vote ``no'' on this bill. This bill is an admission that the House Republican majority cannot govern. It abandons veterans. It abandons our military, our Social Security recipients, and our cities and families who are grappling with disasters and no disaster relief. Mr. Speaker, I believe that every appropriator on both sides of the aisle would prefer a 3-month continuing resolution. Republicans and Democrats need to come to the table. Let us move to setting a date in December. Let us get on with the business of governing, hammer out the programs and the numbers with regard to the programs, and let the American people know that we are working on their behalf. Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, particularly my Republican colleagues, it is now time to govern. Stop the game playing. Stop the foolishness and the wasting of the time we have, and let's get on to the business of the American people. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, which would provide our Nation's veterans with the benefits that they have duly earned in their selfless service and sacrifice to our Nation. Veterans Affairs is imminently facing a shortfall. Why? Don't listen to mismanagement and other things. Why? It is because of successful efforts of the administration to identify and reach veterans across the country who are entitled to these benefits. We signed something called the PACT Act, which says that servicepeople in all wars were going to be able to get medical services if they were exposed to toxic chemicals and to burn pits. That opened up a wide gulf of individuals who were going to take advantage of these medical services. This is a success story. We should applaud the Biden-Harris administration for ensuring America is holding up its promises to our brave veterans. We shouldn't come kicking and screaming to it. We should applaud doing what we are doing. Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that the majority did not work across the aisle on this bill to ensure we are meeting all of our veterans' needs. While I support this bill, it falls short of what is needed to ensure that veterans exposed to toxic substances receive the care they deserve and require. Two summers ago, again, we enacted that PACT Act. We promised our veterans that they would see the benefits of medical care that they require after exposure to toxic substances with dedicated funding. We need to provide the additional $12 billion. It is not there. This is $12 billion for medical services which they have not included. Medical services for our veterans.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, we need to provide the additional $12 billion to ensure there is no interruption for our veterans' healthcare, which the majority failed to include in this bill and in their half-year continuing resolution that they are going to bring to the floor tomorrow. One thing that is unbelievable in that bill coming up tomorrow is they tell the Veterans Administration to spend faster on the medical services, except they put no money in for medical services, so spend faster on zero dollars. It is laughable, but it is very, very serious and detrimental to our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life, the work, and memory of one of this body's most senior and distinguished members, as well as my close and dear friend, Congressman Bill Pascrell. I am heartbroken by Bill's passing. Bill was a teacher, professor, and a dedicated public servant to the people of New Jersey's Ninth District for nearly three decades. Bill was a true champion of working families. His tireless advocacy for fair trade policies that put American workers first was unmatched. We first met when I was working as a New Jersey State director for the Mondale-Ferraro campaign in 1984. Bill was the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey. I just might tell you that Bill Pascrell yelled at me every single day for the 2 months that I was in New Jersey about what was right and what was wrong. I was really fearful that when he came to serve in Congress would we ever really have a civil conversation. We became the closest and dearest friends. Bill was somebody who was always willing to lend a hand or advice, and I came to rely on him as a friend and an ally. As a proud Italian-American leader, Bill brought our shared community values of fairness and justice to every aspect of his work, serving all of his constituents with passion and commitment over an exceptional career. I knew that I could always count on Bill no matter how difficult the fight. Together, we pushed for improved trade policies that prioritized American workers and protected labor rights as with the bipartisan National Critical Capabilities Defense Act. Bill's leadership on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight was instrumental in making sure our standards were not merely words on paper but strong and real policies that have upheld our Nation's values. He co-chaired the Italian American Caucus here, preserving the rich culture and history of Italian Americans in this body and in this country. He was a proud son of Italy. Bill's passing is a serious loss to New Jersey, the Congress, and the Nation. I send all of my love to Elsie, to his children, his family, and his friends during this time.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, my thanks go to Chairman Fleischmann, to Ranking Member Kaptur, and to the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee staff for their hard work on this bill, especially Scott McKee and Adam Wilson. With this bill, we have a rare opportunity to make strategic investments that lower energy costs for American families, promote America's energy independence, and support a robust and modern manufacturing sector. This is a real chance to ensure America's resiliency in the face of a changing climate and shifting global economy. However, that is not what the majority has chosen. Instead, the majority has cut domestic investments in this bill by over 5 percent, and, with it, they will increase energy costs, jeopardize our energy independence and national security, hurt our global competitiveness, fail to confront the climate crisis, and put tens of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs at risk. Even if some Members of this body may choose to refuse the overwhelming evidence, deny the scientific consensus, and ignore the worsening natural disasters that have become more severe and more common in each of our districts, we must aggressively transform our energy sector to adapt to our climate reality. The best path and the only path that addresses climate change, reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, and ends reliance on foreign energy is to diversify how we produce and store energy at home. However, instead of ensuring America leads the world in the development and transition to a global clean energy economy, the majority's bill strips $1.5 billion from the Department of Energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Project 2025 is a Trump MAGA Republican agenda to take over the government and our rights and freedoms. When it comes to green and renewable energy, Project 2025 spells out how Republicans would end any investments altogether in EERE, energy efficiency and renewable energy. It is in a document, but, it is, in reality, in the appropriations bill. It says, further, in Project 2025 that we must end the focus on climate change and green subsidies, we must eliminate appliance energy efficiency standards, and energy efficiency and renewable energy should be entirely eliminated. They are going down the road of eliminating it. This goes beyond climate denial. This is climate capitulation. This is climate arson. This is damning our children to an extreme and dangerous future. We recently received a letter from the Natural Resources Defense Council and dozens of other organizations highlighting how a cut to this program is fiscally irresponsible and threatens our energy future. They said: ``The House proposal for [energy efficiency and renewable energy] significantly threatens energy innovation in the United States. Not only would its proposed cuts hamper innovation in the United States, but they would also hinder a program that has provided significant return on investment for taxpayers. Several independent impact evaluation studies have assessed one-third of [energy efficiency and renewable energy's] research and development portfolio to date and have found that $12 billion in total investment has generated more than $388 billion in net economic benefits to the United States.'' Mr. Chair, at the appropriate time, I will submit this letter into the Congressional Record. This funding supports research and development, manufacturing, energy management, and weatherization technologies that are critical to our Nation's growth and resilience. These cuts are robbing from our children's and our grandchildren's economic, energy, and environmental future. The bill directly targets disadvantaged communities by slashing funding for the weatherization assistance program which will drive up the cost of home energy bills for roughly 54,000 low-income homes. The attack on our country's energy future does not stop there. The majority's bill hurts our global competitiveness and eliminates good- paying manufacturing jobs by revoking $8 billion from the Department of Energy loan programs. These programs promote innovation and manufacturing in America, creating and reshoring jobs that will help America become truly energy independent, and a leader in green energy. However, without this funding, thousands of manufacturing jobs are at risk, and we will fall further behind our global competitors. This bill fails to create a sustainable future, and it fails to ensure Americans have equitable access to resilient, secure, and clean energy sources. Democrats are ready to pass legislation that lowers energy costs for the American people and ensures America leads the global transition to a clean energy economy. I implore the majority to join us. It is time to govern.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, my appreciation goes to Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Pingree and to the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee staff for their hard work on this bill, especially Rita Culp and Jocelyn Hunn. The departments and agencies funded in the Interior-Environment appropriations bill ensure that our air is safe to breathe, that our water is safe to drink, that our national parks and other public lands are protected and accessible to the American people, and that our Nation's unique and iconic flora, fauna, landscapes, and ecosystems are preserved for our health, safety, and enjoyment for generations to come. Rather than making sound investments to protect our air and water, preserve our national parks, and ensure the environment we all share and live in remains clean and protected, the majority's bill benefits the most egregious polluters and climate science deniers, jeopardizes public health and safety, hinders our responses to the climate crisis, and endangers rural and low-income communities. This disastrous proposal did not come out of nowhere. This is explicitly where the majority wants to take the country. Project 2025 is the Trump MAGA Republican agenda to take over the government and destroy our rights and freedoms, but it is not just a document on a website. We can see the fingerprints of Project 2025 across each of the majority's appropriations bills. Project 2025 commands that environmental oversight and regulations be rolled back or entirely eliminated, preventing the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency from safeguarding the atmosphere, our waterways, and public lands, and preventing the Department of the Interior and EPA from tracking emissions and pollutants. It reverses critical protections for endangered species, including for the grizzly bear and gray wolf. Of course, Project 2025 steps on the gas, so to speak, when it comes to fossil fuel extraction, and it pumps the brakes on any green energy investments. In short, Project 2025 advocates for climate and environmental arson. We can see exactly where the majority has taken its cues from the climate catastrophe manifesto in this bill. The majority cuts the EPA's clean water and drinking water State revolving funds by $678 million. This is funding for water that we drink and bathe and cook with, a basic necessity that we have a clear obligation to protect for the American people. The bill zeros out funds for environmental justice, worsening the impacts of environmental discrimination for poor and rural communities. Every American deserves to live in a healthy, clean, and safe environment, but this bill abandons those who are most affected by environmental destruction and climate change. By cutting efforts to reduce carbon emissions, slashing community resiliency programs, and requiring fossil fuel lease sales on public lands while prohibiting clean energy projects, the bill unwinds our response to climate change and promotes dirty energy, taking the side of fossil fuel companies and those who deny the scientific reality rather than address the escalating risks to our economy and our national security presented by the changing climate and growing number of extreme weather events. The impacts of climate change are deadly, costly. They can be felt in communities around the world, including in our own districts. We cannot put our heads in the sand and act like climate change will disappear. I proudly worked across the aisle to protect our environment and public lands for Americans past, present, and future, and I am immensely disappointed to see the majority abandon their obligation to conserve America's lands and natural resources. I believe the national parks are America's best ideas, but sharp cuts to the National Park Service means fewer seasonal employees and furloughing existing permanent employees, making it more difficult and cumbersome for our constituents to visit and enjoy our Nation's crown jewels. Cuts to the Smithsonian Institution will likewise curb America's access to the world's greatest museum, education, and research complex. To top it all off, the majority has included some 83 new policy riders that put endangered species at risk, damage the environment, obstruct clean energy development, hinder the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, and discriminate against millions of Americans. I would like to read a portion of a letter that we received from 69 environmental organizations, led by the League of Conservation Voters and Trust for Public Land. They say: ``This bill is riddled with so many outrageous policy attacks on our environment that it is impractical to list them individually. Similarly extreme riders were removed from the final FY24 Interior appropriations bill just a few months ago. By going down this path again, we fear Congress is wasting valuable time that could be better spent producing bipartisan legislation that has a realistic chance of becoming law. We urge you to reject this proposal, which is equal parts damaging and unrealistic.'' The ramifications of this bill will reach into every corner of this country. This bill damages our public lands. It promotes dirty energy. It jeopardizes biodiversity and obstructs our response to the climate crisis. Thus, I cannot support this bill. I encourage my colleagues to vote against it. Democrats are ready to pass legislation that protects our environment, our public lands, and the health and the safety of the American people. I implore the majority to join us.