Providing for Consideration of H.R. Continuing Appropriations and Border Security Enhancement Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

We are 37 hours, 6 minutes and 25 seconds away from a shutdown, an unnecessary and devastating government shutdown after wasting weeks on rightwing messaging points and bills.

Here, the majority has brought to this floor not a responsible short- term funding bill, but more of the same posturing, dangerous, and unrealistic games to placate the most extreme factions in their party. It is well past time for the chaos caucus to get serious about governing.

Funding the Federal Government is Congress' most basic duty and this colossal failure of the Speaker and House Republicans to keep the lights on across this country will cause real harm to our economy and to hardworking families.

These aren't just numbers. These are real people whose lives will be upended. This shutdown means senior citizens won't be able to heat their homes because this CR cuts 74 percent from the LIHEAP budget. That is a $137 million cut to LIHEAP in Pennsylvania alone. That is over 342,000 families who are counting on this program and who will be left in the cold in October. Just a few hours from now are when those funds should start to become available.

This shutdown means that mothers and babies in my district will go hungry because their WIC benefits will be cut. It means that teachers will be kicked out of their classrooms that need them most because of draconian cuts to the IDEA and Title 1. Cuts to Title 1 and IDEA equates to nearly 150,000 teachers and service providers being cut from our public schools where they need help the most.

Approximately 275,000 children will lose access to Head Start, undermining early education for them and their futures, and harming their parents' ability to go to work.

My district is home to the Philadelphia airport. TSA workers and travelers alike will be affected by delays.

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Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, the last time the Republicans shut down the government in 2018-2019, we had to run food drives to feed TSA workers who were required to show up but were not paid. Some of them lost their jobs when they lost their cars, doubling down on the harm.

Look, a Republican government shutdown is going to hurt working families, interrupt vital services, damage our economy, endanger our national security, force millions of our troops and government employees to work without pay, all because Speaker McCarthy has turned over the House of Representatives to the most extreme Members of his caucus.

Meanwhile, House Democrats, bipartisan Senate leadership, and President Biden are working together to keep the lights on.

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