LEADER JEFFRIES: "THE ONLY WAY FORWARD IS FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PUT THE BIPARTISAN CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE HOUSE FLOOR"

Press Conference

Let me first begin by just expressing our heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues, friends of Senator Dianne Feinstein, an icon, a giant, a legendary lioness of the United States Senate, a towering public figure, so thankful for her life and her legacy, all that she did to make life better for countless individuals in her beloved state of California, all across the country and as someone who was involved as a force for good across the world. It is my expectation that the House will participate, certainly House Democrats, in any appropriate commemorations of her life and her service that take place here within the Capitol and/or in California as well.

Once again, extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have demonstrated their complete and utter inability to govern. We are in the middle of a Republican civil war that has been ongoing for months and now threatens a catastrophic government shutdown that will hurt everyday americans, hurt children, hurt military men and women, hurt veterans, hurt seniors, hurt women, hurt families, hurt the economy. And there is absolutely no reason that we should be facing a government shutdown at this moment. There is a bipartisan continuing resolution making its way through the Senate that would ensure the government doesn't shut down, that funding is available to meet the needs of the American people that is free of any partisan poison pill ideological amendments and that provides support for everyday Americans who have been hit hard by extreme weather events and for the Ukrainian war effort that is important to freedom and democracy and truth across the world.

The Senate bipartisan continuing resolution will emerge in that institution in the next few days and be sent over to the House of Representatives. The only way forward is for House Republicans to put the bipartisan continuing resolution that emerges from the Senate on the House floor for an up or down vote. And if House Republicans were to do that, we can avoid a catastrophic, extreme MAGA Republican government shutdown. It's not that complicated. And all we're asking House Republicans to do is to keep their word and adhere to the agreement that they themselves reached, voted for and negotiated in May connected to their threat to default on America's debt. Why are we in this situation where extreme MAGA Republicans seem determined to shut the government down? It's because the Republicans and the right-wing ideologues and the extremists in the House of Representatives want to cut Social Security, slash public school funding and criminalize abortion care. That is their ransom demand. And if everybody else in the House and the Senate and within the Biden administration declines to pay it, they've basically made clear we're shutting the government down. And people will be hurt. And it's irresponsible. But it's in their DNA.

House Democrats met earlier today, and we are unified in the position that we support the continuing resolution that is working its way through the Senate and prepared, ready, willing and able to vote for it the moment it crosses over to our side of the Capitol. We just need House Republicans to do the right thing by the American people and put the bipartisan continuing resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives for an up or down vote. What is the alternative? They tried a partisan continuing resolution and they failed. And there is no way out of their Republican Civil War. The only path forward is to partner with House Democrats in a bipartisan way, and we're prepared to do just that. It's now my honor to yield to our distinguished Whip, Katherine Clark.

Source