[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 37 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H759-H764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXTENSION OF CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER MATTERS ACT, 2024

  Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7463) making further continuing appropriations for fiscal 
year 2024, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7463

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Extension of Continuing 
     Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2024''.

     SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References.

      DIVISION A--EXTENSION OF CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024

                       DIVISION B--OTHER MATTERS

     SEC. 3. REFERENCES.

       Except as expressly provided otherwise, any reference to 
     ``this Act'' contained in any division of this Act shall be 
     treated as referring only to the provisions of that division.

      DIVISION A--EXTENSION OF CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024

       Sec. 101.  The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 
     (division A of Public Law 118-15) is further amended--
       (1) by striking the date specified in section 106(3) and 
     inserting ``March 22, 2024''; and
       (2) by striking the date specified in section 106(4) and 
     inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
        This division may be cited as the ``Extension of 
     Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024''.

                       DIVISION B--OTHER MATTERS

     SEC. 101. MODIFICATION TO FAFSA.

       (a) In General.--Section 475(g)(1) of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087oo(g)(1)), as amended by the FAFSA 
     Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 
     116-260), is further amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) In general.--The student's available income is equal 
     to--
       ``(A) the difference between the student's total income 
     (determined in accordance with section 480) and the 
     adjustment to student income (determined in accordance with 
     paragraph (2)); multiplied by
       ``(B) 50 percent,
     except that the amount determined under this paragraph shall 
     not be less than -$1,500 for award year 2024-2025 and not 
     less than zero for award year 2025-2026 and each award year 
     thereafter.''.
       (b) Appropriation.--Section 401(b)(7)(A) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(A))), as amended 
     by the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of 
     Public Law 116-260), is further amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) In general.--In addition to any funds appropriated 
     under paragraph (6) and any funds made available for this 
     section under any appropriations Act, there are authorized to 
     be appropriated, and there are appropriated (out of any money 
     in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated) to carry out this 
     section--
       ``(i) $1,170,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
       ``(ii) $3,170,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
       ``(iii) $2,170,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and
       ``(iv) $1,236,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 and each 
     succeeding fiscal year.''.
       (c) No Effect on Previous Appropriations.--Section 
     401(b)(7)(B)(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(B)(i)), as amended by the FAFSA 
     Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 
     116-260) and section 102(b) of the FAFSA Simplification Act 
     Technical Corrections Act (division R of Public Law 117-103), 
     is amended by striking ``or 2023'' and inserting ``2023, or 
     2024''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect and

[[Page H760]]

     apply as if included in the FAFSA Simplification Act and in 
     accordance with section 701(b) of such Act, as amended by 
     section 102(a) of the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical 
     Corrections Act (division R of Public Law 117-103) (including 
     the authorization provided under section 102(c)(1)(A) of such 
     Act).

     SEC. 102. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       (a) Statutory PAYGO Scorecards.--The budgetary effects of 
     this division shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard 
     maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay-As-
     You-Go Act of 2010.
       (b) Senate PAYGO Scorecards.--The budgetary effects of this 
     division shall not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard 
     maintained for purposes of section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71 
     (115th Congress).
       (c) Classification of Budgetary Effects.--Notwithstanding 
     Rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping Guidelines set forth in the 
     joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference 
     accompanying Conference Report 105-217 and section 250(c)(8) 
     of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
     1985, the budgetary effects of this division shall not be 
     estimated--
       (1) for purposes of section 251 of such Act;
       (2) for purposes of an allocation to the Committee on 
     Appropriations pursuant to section 302(a) of the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974; and
       (3) for purposes of paragraph (4)(C) of section 3 of the 
     Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 as being included in an 
     appropriation Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Granger) and the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the motion?
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I am.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would inquire whether the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) is opposed to the motion.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, no.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. As such, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) 
will control 20 minutes in opposition.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger).


                             General Leave

  Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this short-
term continuing resolution. This bill extends government funding until 
March 8 for four bills and March 22 for the others.
  Given the differences between this year's House and Senate bills, we 
knew finding common ground would not be easy. Nonetheless, we have made 
progress, and we need a few more weeks to finish drafting the bills. We 
also need to give Members adequate time to review them.
  In the meantime, we can't afford a harmful government shutdown.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this CR, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, here we are again, kicking the can down the 
road and for other purposes, buying more time so that we can spend more 
money that we don't have at a time when we are going to eclipse more 
interest and more spending on interest than our national defense this 
year, and by 2026 we are going to be spending $1 trillion on interest. 
We are going to continue to spend moneys at the Nancy Pelosi-spending 
level of an omnibus bill that Republicans roundly oppose.
  That is what is happening on the floor of the United States House 
right now.
  We are going to continue funding this government at Nancy Pelosi's 
omnibus spending level. That is a level that will continue, by the way, 
to fund all of the priorities we oppose.
  We are going to continue to fund the open borders that led to the 
death of Americans.
  We are going to continue to fund the United Nations at $12.5 billion 
that is undermining our freedom and working against us to move people 
illegally into the United States. We are going to fund UNRWA which is 
funding Hamas, an enemy of Israel.
  We are going to fund the IRS that is targeting Americans.
  We are going to fund the Department of Justice that is targeting 
former President Trump.
  We are going to do that today here on the floor of the House of 
Representatives rather than exercising the power of the purse that 
James Madison articulated in Federalist 58 that this body--this body--
is supposed to check an out-of-control executive branch.
  That is what is happening today, and we should oppose it.
  Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).
  Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, watching House Republicans is like watching 
a football team whose best plays are the punt and the block.
  Now, I have tried to throw a few Hail Marys along the way, and I am 
glad that we blocked the bad Lankford amnesty bill, but we punted on 
needed FISA reforms.
  We blocked the McConnell supplemental for now, but we punt, yet 
again, on needed spending cuts.
  We blocked additional aid and additional U.S. involvement in the war 
in Ukraine; and, indeed, we punted Kevin McCarthy who authorized $115 
billion to Ukraine.
  Be that as it may, here we gather to punt, yet again.
  The last I checked, the Republicans actually have a majority in the 
House of Representatives, but you wouldn't know it, Madam Speaker, if 
you looked at our checkbook. We are all too willing to continue the 
policy choices of Joe Biden and the spending levels of Nancy Pelosi 
instead of showing the will and the courage to say that this woke and 
weaponized government has to be defanged, it has to be attacked, and it 
has to see reductions in spending.
  Many Americans have lived most of their lives not actually paying a 
price for the national debt. However, because we are $34 trillion in 
debt and because we are on our way to $50 trillion in debt, the 
Americans who work hard all over this country are seeing higher gas 
prices, higher grocery prices, and higher interest rates, but all we 
seem to offer is low energy and low-T in the face of those mounting 
challenges.

                              {time}  1300

  We ought to be rejecting this CR. We ought to pass single-subject 
spending bills. We ought to vote for the spending cuts that this 
country desperately needs.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the ranking member.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this continuing 
resolution, which will provide us with the short time that is needed to 
fully conclude the 2024 appropriations process.
  The continuing resolution keeps the government open while the 
Appropriations Committees in the House and the Senate finalize the 2024 
funding bills that are in line with the agreement that has been the law 
since last June, reaffirmed in the top lines agreed to by Leader 
Schumer and Speaker Johnson earlier this year.
  While, at the time of passing our last continuing resolution, I had 
hoped that we would not need this measure, now we owe it to the 
American people to do our due diligence in reaching the end of this 
process. I appreciate the respectful bipartisan cooperation that took 
place to put forward this continuing resolution and move us closer to 
the finish line.
  There is now a shared understanding that the ultimate conclusion to 
the saga of 2024 funding will be in the appropriations bills that 
earned the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and the 
Senate, bills that will likely need to pass under suspension of the 
rules, like the bill we are considering today.
  In addition to passing the 12 appropriations bills, Congress still 
must respond to President Biden's request for our urgent national 
security needs. There is no time to waste. We must quickly provide 
support for Ukraine in their fight against Russian tyranny. We must 
provide support for our Indo-Pacific and Middle East allies. Crucially, 
we cannot wait any longer to provide humanitarian aid for the civilians 
caught in the crossfire of these conflicts.
  Without this swift action, the legacy of this Congress will be the 
destruction

[[Page H761]]

of Ukraine, the appeasement of a dictator, and the abandonment of 
starving children and ailing families.
  We must come to a bipartisan compromise and show the American people 
that Congress is still able to address urgent needs and show the world 
that America is still unwavering as a defender of democracy wherever it 
is being fought for.
  Congress must avoid a shutdown. We must enact full-year spending 
bills and emergency assistance for our national security and deliver 
for the American people as soon as possible. To those ends, let this be 
our last continuing resolution.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman, it is important to note, voted against 
the FRA last year because, specifically noted in the gentlewoman's 
press release, the side deals that are being put in place in this 
exercise that we are going to be putting forward next week in 
appropriations bills, those side deals were not in the law that the 
gentlewoman just referred to.
  To be very clear, everyone is going to go around talking about 
following the deal that was cut last year under the FRA, that we are 
spending at a certain level. The fact is another $70 billion was added 
in side deals, and that is why the gentlewoman opposed the FRA last 
year. However, those side deals are a part of this agreement that is 
plussing up and funding the bureaucracy that is at war with the 
American people.
  That is the truth. That is the truth no matter how much people want 
to gloss over it on either side of the aisle, particularly this side of 
the aisle, because this side of the aisle wants to be able to campaign 
on border security. Do you know what? The border is not secure, and we 
are going to be passing a continuing resolution that continues to fund 
a DHS that refuses to secure the border.
  These Americans are dead. These Americans are dead because illegal 
immigrants, illegal aliens, were released into the United States by 
this administration.
  Laken Riley, 1 week ago today, was alive and well, and now she is 
gone because somebody from Venezuela was released on mass parole in El 
Paso, went into the United States, went to New York, was released after 
assaulting somebody, moved to Athens, Georgia, and killed this young 
woman because of the policies of the radical progressive Democrats that 
my colleagues on this side of the aisle want to campaign against but 
refuse to use the power of the purse to stop.
  James Madison gave us the power of the purse, and we should darn well 
use it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Biggs).
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  The gentleman is exactly right. What is the legislative branch's 
remedy to an executive branch that refuses to follow the law? It is to 
remove spending.
  I introduced legislation. I introduced legislation that said: We will 
fund ICE, CBP. We are going to fund TSA. We are going to fund air 
traffic controllers and our military personnel, and do you know what? 
We are not going to fund anything else, except for mandatories, until 
this administration actually enforces the border.
  However, we can't do that because there is this fear of a shutdown. 
Explain that to the American people. Explain that to the American 
people in my community. Go down there and take a look at the national 
forest, where there is now a squatters camp set up, filled with people 
who are flowing across our border.
  Our leader said in November that we are not going to do any more 
short-term CRs--had it with them. This is the third one. Do you know 
what happens? We just keep spending money, and we keep the policies 
that are in place.
  That means the border remains open. This country remains in danger 
because of this administration--but not just this administration but 
because this body does not use what the Founders gave us as the 
ultimate tool, and that is the purse strings. It is really shameful.

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann), the chairman of the Energy and Water 
Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Granger and her 
outstanding staff and, really, all the staff on the majority and 
minority sides and in both Houses.
  Mr. Speaker, our Founding Fathers gave us a great constitutional 
Republic. In that regard, each and every one of the Members of this 
Chamber stands for reelection every 2 years.
  I represent the people of the great State of Tennessee, east 
Tennessee--wonderful people, God-fearing people. They love this 
country, our history, and they are just so proud of what we are doing 
as a nation.
  I realize that other people in other parts of our country have a 
different ethos, have different priorities, but we are where we are. 
The American people gave us a very slim majority in the House. In the 
Senate, the other party has a slim majority, and the White House is 
controlled by the other party.
  I want the American people to know, Mr. Speaker, that this 
negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a 
time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.
  Let me give one example. I chair, as our distinguished chair has 
said, the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. It funds our great 
national labs, our Office of Science, and so many other great things. 
However, as a part of that, through the NNSA, the National Nuclear 
Security Administration, it funds our Nation's nuclear arsenal.
  We are in a very dangerous world right now. Our adversaries are 
ramping up. I wish we were not on the precipice of another arms race, 
but I am afraid we are.
  We can't close that down. We can't shut that down.
  So that I can be abundantly clear, government shutdowns--and I have 
lived through three--never work. They cause more harm than they do 
good. They cost more money. They cost the American taxpayer more money 
because when they revamp and start up again, basically, we lose all 
those person-hours, and it just causes havoc.
  This continuing resolution, to be clear, is a process continuing 
resolution. It is just to get these six bills to next week when we will 
actually pass a fiscal budget, which I think is the obligation of the 
House, the Senate, and the White House to do. We will do that. We will 
do that with the other bills.
  I do respect my friends, who are very passionate today in opposing 
this, but the reality is the American people want us to do our work. To 
do our work well, we have to keep the government open.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I note that the gentleman, for whom I have a great deal 
of respect, was just using a lot of the arguments that I have heard 
over and over again. It is something that we have come to understand in 
this town as what we call the glossary.
  When you run out of the, sort of, what are we actually going to fight 
over substantively, we should bring out all the terms, right? We talk 
about, oh, we only have a slim majority.
  Well, I will remind my colleagues on this side of the aisle that the 
Democrats had a slim majority when they jammed through numerous massive 
bills, whether it is ObamaCare, whether we are talking about the 
Inflation Reduction Act. Yet, here we sit, and we are walking away from 
the majority that we were given, to use that majority, to use the power 
of the purse to stop an executive branch that is out of control.
  A continuing resolution will continue to fund Biden's war on our 
border, and it is not just Biden. It is the radical progressive 
Democrats as a whole. It is a war on our well-being, a war on our 
security and safety.
  That young lady who was killed in Georgia last week, that is 
happening over and over again in Texas: a young cheerleader was found 
in a bathtub, killed by somebody here illegally; a 2-year-old right 
here in Montgomery County, Maryland, outside of D.C., was killed by 
someone here illegally and released; a young person was raped last week 
in Louisiana by somebody here illegally from Honduras and released.
  When are we going to stop it? When is this side of the aisle going to 
use the

[[Page H762]]

power of the purse to stop it? I can promise you the radical 
progressive Democrats want it. They want open borders.
  We are continuing to fund a weaponized IRS, continuing to fund a 
weaponized Department of Justice, like the DOJ that went after Mark 
Houck, went after Scott Smith. We are funding an EV, electric vehicle, 
mandate.
  I heard my colleague talk about energy and water. What are we going 
to do to preserve American energy while the American people suffer? Our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle are pursuing unicorn energy 
policy--EPA rules killing coal and natural gas plants, the World Health 
Organization, the United Nations, UNRWA, the ATF that is banning pistol 
braces and our Second Amendment rights, the Department of Education 
student loan scam that the President of the United States went to the 
microphone and applauded, ignoring the United States Supreme Court.
  What are we going to do? Fund it. We are going to keep funding it.
  What about the NIH and the FDA and COVID tyranny? What about the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, the chief diversity officers, the 
abortion travel fund, taxpayer-funded sex changes, transgender 
surgeries?
  Your tax dollars are funding all of that, and we are going to 
continue it with a continuing resolution. To do what? To buy time to 
cut a deal that will do what? Spend even more money, rack up even more 
debt, continue these policies at war with the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. 
Boebert).
  Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, let's call a spade a spade. The uniparty's 
deal to keep spending taxpayer dollars like drunken sailors is a 
horrible deal for the American people. It is immoral and unsustainable 
to continue the reckless spending in Washington, D.C.

  This debt is going to our children and our children's children. The 
American people elected a majority that promised to cut spending, cut 
this out-of-control spending from Washington, D.C., and put an end to 
the Biden regime's policies that are destroying America.
  This bill does the opposite of what we, the majority, promised the 
American people. Voting for this bill is voting to fund Joe Biden's 
wide-open border policies that killed 22-year-old Laken Riley last 
Thursday. Crime in Venezuela sure is going down, and that is because 
they are all coming through our wide-open borders--criminal, illegal 
aliens coming through.
  Additionally, voting for this bill is voting to enable the cartel, 
which has operational control of our southern border, to continue the 
flow of fentanyl into our communities, which is killing our children 
and our families, our loved ones. They are a foreign terrorist 
organization, and they are guilty of narcoterrorism. We need to execute 
our military's ability to stop them. Instead, we are funding these 
policies to continue.
  Voting for this bill is voting to continue Nancy Pelosi's spending, 
taxpayer-funded abortions, and Green New Deal policies.
  Everything we campaigned against and we won this majority on, we are 
now going completely against it.
  We need to govern as we campaign and do what we promised the American 
people that we would do. That is why I have led to impeach Joe Biden 
for his dereliction of duty to secure the southern border, and now we 
must use the power of the purse and not fund a government that is 
allowing this against its people.
  Mr. Speaker, I am voting ``no'' on this continuing resolution, and I 
urge my colleagues all to do the same.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DesJarlais). Members are reminded to 
refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.

                              {time}  1315

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Granger and Ranking 
Member DeLauro for their leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, 331 million Americans are depending on us to save their 
lives. If we do not vote today, we will cause the loss of life. We did 
not vote for the supplemental that the President sent over almost a 
year ago to deal with the southern border, and lives have been lost. As 
a Texan, I will not accept your challenge that I want people to die, or 
that this constitutional right of the power of the purse is one that I 
have used recklessly.
  They have used it responsibly, and the budget numbers, whether it is 
Nancy Pelosi or the negotiators, are responsible for helping the 331 
million Americans.
  In my State, your State, you will not pay 172,000 Active-Duty 
soldiers when we don't pass this today. The Small Business 
Administration will stop handling $2 billion in loans. There will be no 
reentry programs for those who are trying to get their life straight. 
We will eliminate the funding for our public schools at the Department 
of Education in programs like early education and child nutrition. We 
will stop 176,000 people from flying and airport travel because you 
will not be able to fund aspects of Homeland Security. Mr. Speaker, 
786,000 people would lose their access to the women and infant program, 
which I understand is one of those that are being attacked.
  You are causing the loss of life, and I will not stand here and 
accept that challenge. You are my friends and we work together, but 
your arguments are false. The responsibility of the power of the purse 
is to be responsible.
  Mr. Speaker, 168,000 Federal workers who do vital work will be lost 
if we do not proceed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. It is important that the food and drug is able to be 
funded, that housing is able to be funded, and that the Department of 
Agriculture is able to be funded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me say, Mr. Speaker, as I close, we must be 
responsible-- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman is no longer 
recognized.
  Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, respecting my friend from Texas, I would say, 
where were my Democratic colleagues when we were passing H.R. 2, which 
would actually do the job of securing the border?
  It is hard for me to take seriously the claims of my Democratic 
colleagues, all radical progressives, that want to actually secure the 
border and don't have complete ownership of the fact that Laken Riley 
was killed by a Venezuelan let out by this administration under abuse 
of parole, which H.R. 2 would fix.
  It would have fixed it, and my Democratic colleagues were nowhere to 
be found.
  This body, this side of the aisle, did their job in passing a strong 
border security measure. We have legislation on the floor that did the 
job, but we had no support from our Democratic colleagues because it 
would have worked.
  Then my colleagues on the other side of the building, in the Senate, 
passed legislation that would not do the job and now want to hide 
behind that. That is the actual truth.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. 
Massie), my good friend.
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, I will give the American people an overview 
of the debate that is happening here today. Why are there three Members 
of Congress controlling time on the floor? I thought there were only 
two parties. No. When it comes to spending, there is the ``uniparty.'' 
There is only one party today, and that is because Republicans and 
Democrats have united to kick the can down the road. They wanted to 
control all time for debate today, but my colleague, Mr. Roy from 
Texas, came down here and used a parliamentary procedure to claim time 
in opposition for 20 minutes so that people who take their oath to the 
Constitution most seriously, the people who are most concerned about 
debt, the people who want to represent the good folks back home, have a 
voice here today.
  And what are we doing here today? We are going to pass a CR. We are 
going to kick the can down the road. Is that going to solve any 
problems? No. It creates another crisis next week. That is what they 
want. They want another crisis. They want to threaten you with the 
shutdown so they can get

[[Page H763]]

more spending. Is this a clean CR? We are told you can't add anything 
to it. No. It deals with student aid in this CR.
  Are the American people concerned about student aid right now? Is 
that the most pressing issue to address in this spending bill? We have 
a crisis at the southern border. We could add one sentence to this bill 
that would help tremendously. Just say: None of the funds hereby 
appropriated may be used to disassemble border security erected by the 
States on our border. Put that one sentence in this continuing 
resolution. That would help tremendously.
  I am worried that we are not going to prevail today, the third group 
who is debating here against the uniparty. If the other side prevails, 
what will happen? What will happen today, this evening after this 
passes? Will we stay here and work hard for another week to get the 12 
bills done, the 12 separate appropriation bills? No. Guess what we are 
going do this evening? Everybody has already got their plane tickets. 
They are sending us home early. Congratulations. You moved the crisis 
down another week. Go home. Have a 4-day weekend.
  We are going to let staff and a few Members in the Senate and a few 
Members in the House write this big bill, and then you can take it or 
leave it next week. Gone is any semblance of regular order from this 
process.
  What we have is what the swamp always does, and I urge my colleagues 
to oppose this continuing resolution that does nothing but kick the can 
down the road.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Good), my friend.
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today, again, 
opposing the status quo of more reckless spending in Washington. This 
House is supposedly run by Republicans, and yet here we are continuing 
to pass the Pelosi-Biden-Schumer spending levels and the policies 
connected to them, predictably with a majority of Democrat votes.
  As a matter of fact, this morning I had a Democrat Member tell me in 
a private conversation that he likes it when we are in charge because 
nothing changes, but we get the blame for it because we have the 
majority.
  Our national debt continues to skyrocket. We are at nearly $35 
trillion. That is a number that is hard to grasp. It is actually more 
than $100,000 per citizen and that figure just grows by the day.
  Bidenflation is further exacerbating the crisis, and the 
congressional uniparty is perpetuating it on a daily basis. Thankfully, 
we may be getting some future relief with the just-announced 
resignation of the minority leader in the Senate, but some of us here 
in the House came here to actually represent the American people, to do 
what we said we would do, and we did not mean constantly kicking the 
can down the road, passing more continuing resolutions that hurt the 
American people.
  Many people in this body are scared of a government shutdown, and I 
will acknowledge that a government shutdown is not the ideal thing, but 
it is not the worst thing. The worst thing is keeping in place the 
Biden-Pelosi-Schumer policies that are destroying the country and 
bankrupting our kids and our grandkids.
  Worse yet, they are keeping in place the border invasion, the very 
invasion that we campaigned against, the very invasion that is the 
greatest threat to our country.
  That is what is going to happen here today. We are going to fund that 
border invasion for another week as a bridge to another spending bill 
that will keep all the policies in place and actually increase them 
over the Pelosi-Schumer levels from back before we had the majority.
  We could have passed a full year stopgap spending bill that would 
have cut $100 billion. We could have attached it to border security to 
stand up for the American people. As a bonus, it would eliminate 
thousands of earmarks for tens of billions of dollars more, but here we 
are today. True leadership involves making difficult decisions. Cutting 
spending is difficult. That is why nobody does it here, but when will 
the debt matter in this Chamber beyond a campaign talking point? I urge 
a ``no'' vote.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama 
(Mr. Moore), my friend.
  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, the only thing this CR does is 
prolong the out-of-control spending of Biden and Pelosi that fuels our 
17.9 percent inflation rate.
  This legislation provides no funding for President Trump's border 
wall. More than 600,000 illegal alien criminals and 300 on the 
terrorist watch list have entered our open southern border under Biden, 
and there is no doubt that American families are in danger.
  Just this week in Alabama, two illegal aliens were arrested as part 
of a child trafficking sex ring.
  Last week in Georgia, a young girl, with a bright future ahead of 
her, was murdered by an illegal alien. The list of tragedies is 
growing, and it is past time to do something about it.
  I signed the Immigration Accountability Project pledge to oppose all 
government funding until the action is taken to secure our southern 
border. Instead of kicking the can down the road with another CR, the 
number one priority of this Congress should be funding Trump's wall and 
defunding this invasion. We must fund President Trump's wall and defund 
Biden's backdoor contributions to organizations that are sending 
illegals to a city near you. It should not take more than one tragedy 
for our border to become a priority. It is time to finish the Trump 
wall and protect Americans.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri 
(Mr. Burlison).
  Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Texas (Mr. 
Roy) for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, here we go again.
  Today, the House is set to extend the bloated and inflationary 
spending levels that have left our country $34 trillion in debt and 
fuels the government that is at war with the American people.
  This is now the fourth time that we have kicked the can down the road 
since just last September. It is now the fourth time that we have 
shrugged our shoulders and said: Sorry, America. We just don't have the 
fight in us this time, but we will try again next time.
  We all promised we wouldn't do this crap when we got up here. The 
American people have demanded responsible spending and border security 
for years, but we fail them.
  When will we heed the calls of our constituents to rein in the 
wasteful spending, secure the borders, and defeat the bureaucracy 
targeting them?
  The last line of the Declaration of Independence has a bold and 
courageous statement by the people who signed it. They said: ``We 
mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred 
Honor.''
  Sadly, we are not serving with people of this same resolve today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this CR.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 1 minute 
remaining. The gentlewoman from Texas has 11\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues on either side of the aisle, we have a 
fundamental responsibility under the Constitution of the United States 
to use the power of the purse to check an executive branch that is not 
following the law.
  It is not enough to impeach, send to the Senate, sit back, grab the 
popcorn, and watch. We have a duty to actually defund tyranny and 
lawlessness. That is precisely what the Founders said. It is what the 
Founders wrote into the Federalist Papers. It is what they contemplated 
in Article I in the Constitution.
  Do not go out and have talking points about dead Americans because of 
what this administration is doing by

[[Page H764]]

letting people into this country to kill Americans like Laken Riley 
last week and then write the check that funds their broken policies.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1330

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7463.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________