Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair DeLauro for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I rise in support of today's short-term continuing resolution.

Once again, we need the means to keep the Federal Government's lights on, make certain Social Security offices function, and ensure national parks remain open to all.

The American people deserve better performance from their elected leaders. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and too many people are unsure of whether they can keep their own lights on.

One bright spot in this bill is the inclusion of critical funding to respond to Hurricane Ida and other devastations wrought by climate change.

This legislation will provide $6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy to respond to these human and environmental disasters.

The energy and water portion also contains commonsense, necessary extensions to keep essential programs operating for the next several weeks, and I support key provisions to responsibly lift the debt ceiling.

Our Nation is still reeling from the GOP tax scam that blew up the deficit while giving away billions of dollars to the top 1 percent. The lack of action from our Senate Republican colleagues for the third year in a row is deeply concerning. Nine bills still await committee consideration, but Senate Republicans would rather block efforts to help America build back better than do their jobs.

I commend Chairwoman DeLauro's leadership and Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer for their prioritization and passage in the House of 9 of our 12 appropriations spending bills, with all bills passed through committee.

Gosh, Senate, come on. Catch up.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this continuing resolution.

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