Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Chairman McGovern) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we are here on a bill that represents one of the most fundamental roles of the United States Congress, and that is to fund the government, and to keep it open.

This continuing resolution ensures critical government funding will remain in place through December 20. While short-term measures are never ideal, this extension of funding is necessary to ensure that the House and the Senate can continue to negotiate and reach agreement on a full-year appropriation for fiscal year 2020.

As Members of Congress, we are obligated each year to pass legislation that funds the government and keeps it open so that it can continue to provide services that many of our constituents are counting on. With today's bill, we ensure that the government remains open until December 20, which will give Congress time to reach an agreement funding the entire government for the rest of the fiscal year.

This continuing resolution not only maintains government funding, but it also rightly extends authorizations for some key programs that otherwise would expire, programs like community health centers, a special diabetes program, and the special diabetes program for Native Americans. And we are also adding an adjustment to raise pay for our members of the armed services by 3.1 percent.

Even though it is good news that we are preventing a government shutdown with this continuing resolution--as my friend knows, I certainly plan to support it when it comes to the floor--today's measure sadly represents a missed opportunity for the House of Representatives. The fact that we are here today on our second continuing resolution of this fiscal year is a reminder that Congress is not getting its work done, at least when it comes to appropriations.

Last year, despite the fact that we were in the midst of an election cycle, Congress still managed to get appropriations bills covering 80 percent of full-year spending passed into law by the start of the fiscal year. Today, by contrast, we have passed exactly zero appropriations bills into law, despite being almost 2 months into the fiscal year.

This state of affairs is disappointing, and while I recognize that this is certainly not entirely the fault of the House of Representatives, we still have yet to pass all 12 bills out of our own House. The job won't get any closer to completion until we pass all 12 appropriations bills for this fiscal year. The American people deserve no less from us and our full attention on this pressing matter.

Again, I share my friend's frustration at this process, but I am actually somewhat optimistic that in the next 30 days we can get that job done and get out of this cycle of continuing resolutions and actually have a fully functional government with 12 appropriations bills. Certainly, I intend to work to achieve that aim. I know my friend and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Appropriations Committee will do that, and I sincerely hope we can be successful.

I urge opposition to the rule. And while I am encouraged that we are considering a continuing resolution to keep the government open and operating until December 20, our work for this fiscal year is not done. It is not going to be done until we pass all 12 appropriations bills into law.

While the House is focused on other areas, we have neglected some of our key responsibilities in both Chambers, quite frankly, for funding the government for fiscal year 2020. Our constituents demand that we get our job done.

So, Mr. Speaker, again, I reiterate my commitment. I know the commitment of my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, on both sides of the aisle, to work diligently to come to an agreement so we can we can bring before this body compromised legislation between a Republican Senate and a Democratic House, legislation that we can all, frankly, send to the President with a great deal of pride. This underlying legislation gives us the time to do that.

I thank my friend for cooperating, and I look forward to working with him on that measure, as well as the eventual completion of the appropriations process.

So, Mr. Speaker, while I oppose the rule, I support the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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