[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7382-S7383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GOVERNMENT FUNDING

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, last week the Senate passed a second 
continuing resolution for fiscal year 2019, providing short-term 
funding for

[[Page S7383]]

many Federal Government agencies that have not yet received full year 
funding.
  Several outstanding issues need to be resolved in order to complete 
the final seven appropriations bills, and I am hopeful that the hard 
work of the Appropriations Committee will not be in vain by resorting 
to a year-long continuing resolution for the remaining bills.
  Congress must act in order to fully fund essential transportation and 
housing programs, environmental protection efforts, the Appalachian 
Regional Commission, NASA programs, the Census, FEMA relief programs, 
and to prevent President Trump from freezing the pay of over 2 million 
Federal civil servants, by enacting the 1.9 percent cost of living 
increase for Federal workers that the Senate passed on a broad 
bipartisan basis.
  While I am glad this short-term continuing resolution will provide 
for an extension to keep the flood insurance program from unnecessarily 
lapsing, I want to see Congress enact a long-term reauthorization. This 
year's flooding of Ellicott City shows that we need a long-term 
solution. That is why I am an original cosponsor of the SAFE act, which 
provides for a 5-year extension for the program, in addition to 
important program enhancement as well as the Federal Flood Risk 
Management Act that ensures that federally owned or funded buildings, 
housing, and infrastructure, be made more weather-resistant and 
resilient so that we can protect our communities and our investment of 
Federal tax dollars.
  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I look forward to 
working with my colleagues over the next 2 weeks to complete the 
committee's fiscal year 2019 work.

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