McCollum Statement on House Republicans’ Irresponsible Continuing Resolution Proposal

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released the following statement today on House Republicans’ partisan Continuing Resolution proposal that brings our nation dangerously close to a shutdown:

“Speaker Johnson’s proposal of an untested, so-called ‘laddered Continuing Resolution’ only continues the chaos and extends the profoundly unserious way that Republicans have governed the House of Representatives this Congress. By not providing a topline number and splitting funding for the federal government into two parts with different expiration dates, the Speaker’s proposal would set up a two-tiered shutdown crisis early in 2024. Legislators need to know what they are voting on, and so does the American public. Our constituents expect the entire federal government to be funded in a responsible way, something House Republicans have utterly failed to do. The Speaker’s proposal does not include any emergency security assistance for Ukraine or humanitarian aid to address the crisis in Gaza. As the Departments of Defense and State continue to manage multiple global crises at once, failure to include emergency funding to address these needs is deeply irresponsible. This proposal also does not include any funding to address our domestic emergencies, including disaster relief, shoring up our child care system, and border security. As I said in September during the last House Republican-manufactured shutdown crisis, it is long past time for Republican leadership to stop listening to the extremists in their Conference. The only path forward to funding the entire government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 is to work with House and Senate Democrats in a bipartisan fashion.”