Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5305. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, I would like to highlight several items in our jurisdiction.

The legislation includes $10 billion for agricultural disaster assistance programs to cover events in 2020 and 2021. Farmers, ranchers, and producers continue to face extreme climate events from extensive droughts out West and unprecedented heat in the Pacific Northwest to another year of massive wildfires in California and hurricanes that continue to batter the Gulf and Eastern seaboard States. Every region of our country is impacted.

The bill also includes $275 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program to help communities address damages to infrastructure caused by natural disasters that impair the watersheds.

Furthermore, it ensures that USDA can fully meet the demand for farm ownership loans, especially for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. It allows USDA to continue to provide loans to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas, and it provides the authority and funding to allow the Food and Nutrition Service to increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables in the WIC food package.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the committee staff of both the Appropriations and Agriculture Committees. I also thank Chair DeLauro and the Members for their dedicated work on the many hard issues addressed in the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that programs meant to help America grow economically and recover from natural disasters can continue to help people across this country.

Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress, our first duty is to the American people and especially to those in need. With the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, we are supporting our Nation's working families, so many of whom are struggling to get by.

By responding to the devastation of recent natural disasters, we can help the target communities and help the survivors rebuild and restore their lives, their livelihoods, and their homes.

We can also do what is right to help those who risk their lives to serve our Nation in Afghanistan. By providing urgent humanitarian assistance and resources to allow for the resettlement of Afghan evacuees in the United States, we can honor our commitment to these people and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, the House, led by the Democratic majority, did its job, passing 10 of the 12 appropriations bills earlier this year, but Senate Republicans failed to hold a single markup of appropriations bills, making it necessary to pass this Continuing Resolution to avert a shutdown that would only further damage our economy.

Throughout the 117th Congress, House Democrats have worked to deliver results for the American people, passing legislation to address each pillar of the ``For The People'' agenda: lower health care costs, higher wages by rebuilding America, and cleaning up corruption and strengthening our Democracy.

And under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, the House has passed hundreds of bills, including legislation to crush the COVID-19 pandemic, build our economy back better, lower health care and prescription drug prices, raise wages, advance economic and retirement security, end gun violence, act on the climate crisis, protect Dreamers, and strengthen voting rights.

Mr. Speaker, let me briefly list several of the programs vital to Americans that are protected or extended by H.R. 5305.

Section 101. Same Terms and Conditions for Continuing Appropriations as FY 2020.

Section 101 states that appropriations are under the same terms and conditions, including relevant authorities and prohibitions, as the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills.

Section 106. End Date of CR.

Section 106 provides that the CR ends at the earlier of the enactment of a full-year appropriations bill or December 3, 2021.

Section 112. Restrictions on Furloughs or Termination of Employees.

Section 112 restricts furloughs or termination of employees due to lack of funds during the duration of a CR.

Section 113. Waiver Language for Intelligence Programs.

Section 113 provides waiver language for certain intelligence programs as well as agencies that operate under the State Department Basic Authorities Act and Foreign Relations Authorization Act.

Section 118. Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

Section 118 allows the Food and Nutrition Service to spend at a higher rate during the CR to provide supplemental USDA foods to low- income seniors (age 60 and over) and to some low-income women, infants and children up to age six.

Section 127. Increased Flexibility for White House COVID Response.

Section 127 allows a higher spending rate for the White House to support continuing COVID19 operations.

Section 129. Increased Flexibility to Process Certain SBA Business Loans.

Section 129 allows the Small Business Administration flexibility to spend at the rate necessary to accommodate potential demand increases for commitments for business loans through the 7(a) and 504 business loans, for the Secondary Market Guarantee Program, and for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program.

Section 130. Extension for District of Columbia Voucher School Accreditation.

Section 130 allows District of Columbia voucher schools an additional year to be accredited and therefore remain in the program. The accrediting process requires in-school visits, which are not happening during the coronavirus.

Section 131. District of Columbia Local Funds

Section 131 allows the District of Columbia to spend FY 2021 funds received from local tax revenues and other non-Federal sources in the amount and for the programs and activities provided in DC's FY 2021 Budget Act.

Section 132. Extension of Certain Bankruptcy Judgeships.

Section 132 extends the term of certain bankruptcy judgeships.

Section 134. Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).

Section 134 allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access the entire DRF appropriation for fiscal year 2021 under the continuing resolution as necessary to respond to declared disasters.

Section 135. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Section 135 continues the authorization for the NFIP through December 3, 2021.

Section 148. Maintaining Funding for the TANF and Child Care Entitlement to States Programs.

Section 148 extends funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the Child Care Entitlement to States program during the period of the continuing resolution. The extension will allow HHS to make first-quarter payments to States.

Section 152. Extending Availability of Funding for NIH multiyear research grants.

Section 152 extends the availability of funding for multiyear research grants supported by the National Institutes of Health that were interrupted in fiscal year 2020 by COVID-19 and would have expired at the end of the fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and strongly support the inclusion of Divisions B and C in the legislation before us.

Division B provides emergency supplemental appropriations in the amount of $28.6 billion to address the rising cost of climate change: recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Ida, Delta, Zeta, and Laura, wildfires, severe droughts and winter storms, and other natural and major disasters declared in 2021 and prior years.

This funding will help working families, small businesses, and communities get back on their feet and rebuild, while repairing damage to federal facilities.

Division C provides $6.3 billion in supplemental appropriations to support Afghan evacuees includes funding to temporarily house evacuees at American facilities and in foreign countries, provide necessary security screenings, and ultimately resettle eligible evacuees in the United States.

The legislation also includes funding to provide humanitarian I assistance for Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as another example of the extraordinary and responsible leadership of Speaker Pelosi and Appropriations Committee Chair DeLauro, the legislation checkmates the announced Republican intention to vote against raising the debt and to have the federal government default on its obligations by extending the public debt limit through December 16, 2021.

Mr. Speaker, American families do not get to choose which bills to pay and which ones to ignore; neither can the United States Congress without putting the nation into default for the first time in its history.

Long ago, in 1789, Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first and greatest Treasury Secretary, understood that the path to American prosperity and greatness lay in its creditworthiness which provided the affordable access to capital needed to fund internal improvements and economic growth.

The nation's creditworthiness was one of its most important national assets and according to Hamilton: ``the proper funding of the present debt, will render it a national blessing.''

But to maintain this blessing, or to ``render public credit immortal,'' Hamilton understood that it was necessary that: ``the creation of debt should always be accompanied with the means of extinguishment.''

In other words, to retain and enjoy the prosperity that flows from good credit, it is necessary for a nation to pay its bills.

To preserve the sanctity of the full faith and credit of the United States, protect American jobs and businesses of all sizes, and ensure the continued growth of the economy, I strongly support the provision in the bill before extending the public debt limit to December 16, 2021.

I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me, in voting for H.R. 5305, the ``Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act.''

Mr. Speaker, I also offer my strong support of the Rule governing debate of H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act (''WHPA''), which would enshrine access to reproductive health care into law for all women across America.

The refusal of the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court to halt implementation of the odious and offensive Texas S.B. 8, the threat of other state attacks on the constitutional right to reproductive choice recognized in Roe v. Wade, and decades of precedent have together mandated that the House act to protect women's reproductive rights.

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