[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 37 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H745-H746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRESS MUST WORK TO AVOID A SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: We cannot shut 
this government down.
  Mr. Speaker, 4 pages, 5 pages, or 20 pages of a stopgap measure, the 
government cannot shut down. The rules of this House and Senate require 
the Congress to do its work.
  As the President said, we have the purse strings to be able to ensure 
that the government remains open; that law enforcement is paid; that 
Medicare and Medicaid are provided for our families and our seniors; 
that we are able to ensure that the young families of young soldiers, 
men and women of the United States military who put on the uniform 
unselfishly and are on the front lines, are paid.
  As we have seen, a number of tragic incidents have caused the loss of 
lives of the men and women in uniform, including many of our tragic 
flight incidents. We have lost many lives over

[[Page H746]]

this last year, including those who are in combat.
  Mr. Speaker, are you telling me that we are not going to put pen to 
paper and work together, work with the Budget Committee that I sit on, 
to ensure that there are Members who will advocate for your Members to 
join in, without poison pills, of the funding of the CR?
  This paper allows us today to work through an extension until March 8 
and an extension until March 22. It includes a response to our student 
loan crisis, which is extremely important. It ensures that the doors of 
the government remain open.
  What I hope that we will be able to do is to fight against the 
dastardly position of underfunding or not funding the women, infants, 
and children program. My community needs to be able to provide funding 
for women, infants, and children, a major component of the Federal 
Government's budgeting.
  What else do I want to make sure that we do? As I walked through my 
district over these last couple of days, in particular, I heard about 
the crisis of seniors and housing.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that young families need housing, but do you 
realize that in the later years of a senior's life, sometimes they are 
priced out of their own home? Because of building around their home, 
their home values increase. They cannot afford the taxes or the upkeep. 
Where do they go?
  This government should be committed, with the U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, to developing a serious housing program 
for seniors. This program would, in essence, ensure that we could 
provide housing for seniors all over America.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree with Senator Tester, who, in speaking about the 
House, said that we can't fool around. If that is what it takes to get 
this done, we need to stop kicking the can down the road. We need to 
stop it. We need to get a real budget. Mr. Speaker, I am standing with 
him.

                              {time}  1045

  We can't be far right. We can't be far this. We can't be far that. We 
have to be for the American people. We can't be against the rights of 
women, where we are denying them the ability to get medication dealing 
with abortion. We cannot help our veterans who are in need of mental 
health care and not allowing them to go under the NICS check so that if 
they are in danger by getting guns that we can protect them. Again, as 
I said, we cannot stop the nutrition programs for low-income women.
  Homeland Security, the border, providing relief for the people in 
Gaza, humanitarian relief for our children and pausing for peace, we 
have to work to fund all of those elements and resources at the 
southern border.
  I thank the President for being at the southern border. We already 
know his insight. We know the work that he can do with Ranking Member 
Thompson of the Homeland Security Committee and those of us who are 
Democrats who want to see the border solved. We have to do it with a 
budget, and we have to also do it with passing the supplemental that he 
has put before us that takes care of the people of Ukraine and the 
soldiers on the front line and, as well, those elements in Taiwan and 
around the world.
  Let me say this: I am here to work. I started out by saying we cannot 
shut the government down. There is too much work to be done. I am here 
to work. I am here to work and get the job done. Pass the budget.

                          ____________________