Providing for Consideration of H.R. Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act; and Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Expressing Support for Tax Policies That Support Working Families

Floor Speech

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

Madam Speaker, it has been more than 20 days since the United States Senate reached a unanimous agreement to all but end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Yet, Republican House leadership refuses to bring the measure up for a vote on the House floor. It would pass overwhelmingly here, without question. Without question.

The White House has only recently decided to start paying workers throughout TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and our cybersecurity agencies after refusing to do so for weeks. They claim they have the authority to do this.

Madam Speaker, if the administration believes that they have the authority to use this money, then every paycheck that a TSA worker was forced to miss was because the White House made an active choice not to pay them.

Imagine. Imagine the turmoil in people's lives due to no paycheck at the end of the week or at the end of 2 weeks. How do you pay your rent? How do you buy groceries? We know the stories of people being evicted, sleeping in their cars, and donating their plasma for money. This is reality.

The White House had the authority to pay them so that they didn't have to go through this. A number of people left their jobs because they were not getting paid. It really defies imagination that people's lives and economic security was being held up for purely political reasons.

Madam Speaker, I will just add that this money will probably run out at some point, and our job and the job of the Appropriations Committee is to make sure that these agencies are funded through the end of the year. That can be done because there is no disagreement on both sides of the aisle on funding Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, cybersecurity, and the Secret Service.

The issue is what we do in our cities and our towns nationwide with the terror that ICE--and there will be a lengthy debate on dealing with this. That is going to be a lengthy debate about the reforms and the overhaul, as it should be. In the meantime, everyone should continue to be paid. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, they made an agreement.

The public wants to know why you can't get together. I will generally say that we can't get unanimous consent on whether or not the sky is blue in this institution.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, we had unanimous consent not once but twice. I think I read that the Speaker of the House had agreed that this is what they would do, but that was turned around. That was upended.

We know, and I have said a moment ago, that rank and file would support it, as well, if we were allowed to receive a vote. The only people who do not want to reopen this government and this Department are House Republican leadership, who continue to block the bill.

The madness must end, and if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up the Senate bill that passed unanimously so that we can end the shutdown. Let's get back to work for the American people, and I encourage my Republican colleagues to join us in this effort.

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