Lujan Statement Opposing Continuing Resolution

Statement

Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) today issued the following statement on the Republican short-term spending bill offered in the House:

"After months of inaction, the Republican leadership has again presented the House with a my-way-or-the-highway bill that fails the basic test of governance.

Instead of realistically addressing and funding national priorities, this bill fails on many levels -- especially when it comes to providing the certainty and stability that the American people deserve from their government.

Examples of key priorities that the bill fails to address are:

· funding for our troops and our veterans who are facing serious shortfalls at the VA;

· funding to communities to fight the opioid epidemic;

· disaster recovery funding for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas, Florida, and states impacted by wildfires;

· support for community health centers, rural hospitals or needed diabetes funding;

· enacting a responsible reform plan to preserve Americans' endangered pensions.

Four months ago in September, President Trump ended the DACA program creating the current crisis for DREAMers. And despite promises by the Trump administration, the bill does nothing concrete to protect DREAMers or to provide certainty for the 800,000 young people covered by the DACA program. Instead, the Republicans are offering us promises that they have not kept in the past.

The ineptitude of Republicans who control all the levers of power in Washington -- the White House, the Senate and the House -- is on full display with this bill. From Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Quay County Family Health Center, New Mexico relies on stability and certainty in federal funding to keep the lights on and programs operating for the people they serve. That stability and certainty was absent in this bill; New Mexicans deserve better.

Source