Funding the Government

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my Republican colleagues to stop the partisan brinksmanship and join House Democrats and Senate Democrats and Republicans in our efforts to fully fund the government.

Back in April, Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans negotiated a deal with the White House to avoid a catastrophic default on our national debt, which stipulated fiscal year 2024 spending levels remain at 2023 levels. It passed with bipartisan support 314-117. Now Speaker McCarthy is reneging on this agreement as the extreme MAGA Republican wing of his chaos caucus drives us towards a government shutdown.

Realizing that their extreme agenda cannot pass on its own merits and does not align with the wishes of the American people, they are attempting to load down must-pass pieces of legislation with their harmful policy riders and severe cuts. The American people deserve better.

In Virginia, we have the second highest number of Federal employees. We have over 130,000 Active-Duty military personnel who will be wondering if they can get paid. It is a very big deal. They deserve better, and I urge my Republican colleagues to stop their games and stop holding the appropriations process hostage.

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