[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5358-H5370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER MATTERS ACT, 2025
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1430, I call up
the bill (H.R. 9494) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year
2025, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration
in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the
amendment printed in part D of House Report 118-656 is adopted, and the
bill, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 9494
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 ``Continuing Appropriations
and Other Matters Act, 2025''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References.
DIVISION A--CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2025
DIVISION B--SAVE ACT
Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. Ensuring only citizens are registered to vote in elections
for Federal office.
Sec. 203. Election assistance commission guidance.
Sec. 204. Inapplicability of paperwork reduction act.
Sec. 205. Duty of secretary of homeland security to notify election
officials of naturalization.
Sec. 206. Rule of construction regarding provisional ballots.
Sec. 207. Rule of construction regarding effect on state exemptions
from other Federal laws.
Sec. 208. Effective date.
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--CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2025
The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and out of
applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts, and funds,
for the several departments, agencies, corporations, and
other organizational units of Government for fiscal year
2025, and for other purposes, namely:
Sec. 101. Such amounts as may be necessary, at a rate for
operations as provided in the applicable appropriations Acts
for fiscal year 2024 and under the authority and conditions
provided in such Acts, for continuing projects or activities
(including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees)
that are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Act,
that were conducted in fiscal year 2024, and for which
appropriations, funds, or other authority were made available
in the following appropriations Acts:
(1) The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
(division B of Public Law 118-42).
(2) The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2024 (division C of Public Law 118-42).
(3) The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024
(division A of Public Law 118-47).
(4) The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2024 (division D of Public Law 118-42).
(5) The Financial Services and General Government
Appropriations Act, 2024 (division B of Public Law 118-47),
except section 637.
(6) The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act,
2024 (division C of Public Law 118-47), except section
546(e).
(7) The Department of the Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (division E of
Public Law 118-42), except section 447.
(8) The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
(division D of Public Law 118-47).
(9) The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2024
(division E of Public Law 118-47), except the matter under
the heading ``Joint Items--Joint Congressional Committee on
Inaugural Ceremonies of 2025'', and section 7 in the matter
preceding division A of Public Law 118-47.
(10) The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (division A of
Public Law 118-42), except section 259.
(11) The Department of State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (division F of
Public Law 118-47), except section 7075(a).
(12) The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (division F of
Public Law 118-42).
Sec. 102. (a) No appropriation or funds made available or
authority granted pursuant to section 101 for the Department
of Defense shall be used for:
(1) the new production of items not funded for production
in fiscal year 2024 or prior years;
(2) the increase in production rates above those sustained
with fiscal year 2024 funds; or
(3) the initiation, resumption, or continuation of any
project, activity, operation, or organization (defined as any
project, subproject, activity, budget activity, program
element, and subprogram within a program element, and for any
investment items defined as a P-1 line item in a budget
activity within an appropriation account and an R-1 line item
that includes a program element and subprogram element within
an appropriation account) for which appropriations, funds, or
other authority were not available during fiscal year 2024.
(b) No appropriation or funds made available or authority
granted pursuant to section 101 for the Department of Defense
shall be used to initiate multi-year procurements utilizing
advance procurement funding for economic order quantity
procurement unless specifically appropriated later.
[[Page H5359]]
Sec. 103. Appropriations made by section 101 shall be
available to the extent and in the manner that would be
provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.
Sec. 104. Except as otherwise provided in section 102, no
appropriation or funds made available or authority granted
pursuant to section 101 shall be used to initiate or resume
any project or activity for which appropriations, funds, or
other authority were not available during fiscal year 2024.
Sec. 105. Appropriations made and authority granted
pursuant to this Act shall cover all obligations or
expenditures incurred for any project or activity during the
period for which funds or authority for such project or
activity are available under this Act.
Sec. 106. Unless otherwise provided for in this Act or in
the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal year 2025,
appropriations and funds made available and authority granted
pursuant to this Act shall be available until whichever of
the following first occurs:
(1) The enactment into law of an appropriation for any
project or activity provided for in this Act.
(2) The enactment into law of the applicable appropriations
Act for fiscal year 2025 without any provision for such
project or activity.
(3) March 28, 2025.
Sec. 107. Expenditures made pursuant to this Act shall be
charged to the applicable appropriation, fund, or
authorization whenever a bill in which such applicable
appropriation, fund, or authorization is contained is enacted
into law.
Sec. 108. Appropriations made and funds made available by
or authority granted pursuant to this Act may be used without
regard to the time limitations for submission and approval of
apportionments set forth in section 1513 of title 31, United
States Code, but nothing in this Act may be construed to
waive any other provision of law governing the apportionment
of funds.
Sec. 109. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
except section 106, for those programs that would otherwise
have high initial rates of operation or complete distribution
of appropriations at the beginning of fiscal year 2025
because of distributions of funding to States, foreign
countries, grantees, or others, such high initial rates of
operation or complete distribution shall not be made, and no
grants shall be awarded for such programs funded by this Act
that would impinge on final funding prerogatives.
Sec. 110. This Act shall be implemented so that only the
most limited funding action of that permitted in the Act
shall be taken in order to provide for continuation of
projects and activities.
Sec. 111. (a) For entitlements and other mandatory payments
whose budget authority was provided in appropriations Acts
for fiscal year 2024, and for activities under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008, activities shall be continued at the
rate to maintain program levels under current law, under the
authority and conditions provided in the applicable
appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024, to be continued
through the date specified in section 106(3).
(b) Notwithstanding section 106, obligations for mandatory
payments due on or about the first day of any month that
begins after October 2024, but not later than 30 days after
the date specified in section 106(3) may continue to be made,
and funds shall be available for such payments.
Sec. 112. Amounts made available under section 101 for
civilian personnel compensation and benefits in each
department and agency may be apportioned up to the rate for
operations necessary to avoid furloughs within such
department or agency, consistent with the applicable
appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024, except that such
authority provided under this section shall not be used until
after the department or agency has taken all necessary
actions to reduce or defer non-personnel-related
administrative expenses.
Sec. 113. Funds appropriated by this Act may be obligated
and expended notwithstanding section 10 of Public Law 91-672
(22 U.S.C. 2412), section 15 of the State Department Basic
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2680), section 313 of the
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and
1995 (22 U.S.C. 6212), and section 504(a)(1) of the National
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3094(a)(1)).
Sec. 114. (a) Each amount incorporated by reference in this
Act that was previously designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
or as being for disaster relief pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(D) of such Act is designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
such Act or as being for disaster relief pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(D) of such Act, respectively.
(b) Section 6 of Public Laws 118-42 and 118-47 shall apply
to amounts designated in subsection (a) and in sections 130
and 146 of this Act as an emergency requirement.
(c) Each amount incorporated by reference in this Act that
was previously designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget
shall continue to be treated as amounts specified in section
103(b) of division A of Public Law 118-5.
(d) This section shall become effective immediately upon
enactment of this Act, and shall remain in effect through the
date in section 106(3).
Sec. 115. (a) Rescissions or cancellations of discretionary
budget authority that continue pursuant to section 101 in
Treasury Appropriations Fund Symbols (TAFS)--
(1) to which other appropriations are not provided by this
Act, but for which there is a current applicable TAFS that
does receive an appropriation in this Act; or
(2) which are no-year TAFS and receive other appropriations
in this Act, may be continued instead by reducing the rate
for operations otherwise provided by section 101 for such
current applicable TAFS, as long as doing so does not impinge
on the final funding prerogatives of the Congress.
(b) Rescissions or cancellations described in subsection
(a) shall continue in an amount equal to the lesser of--
(1) the amount specified for rescission or cancellation in
the applicable appropriations Act referenced in section 101
of this Act; or
(2) the amount of balances available, as of October 1,
2024, from the funds specified for rescission or cancellation
in the applicable appropriations Act referenced in section
101 of this Act.
(c) No later than November 18, 2024, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget shall provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a comprehensive list of the rescissions or
cancellations that will continue pursuant to section 101:
Provided, That the information in such comprehensive list
shall be periodically updated to reflect any subsequent
changes in the amount of balances available, as of October 1,
2024, from the funds specified for rescission or cancellation
in the applicable appropriations Act referenced in section
101, and such updates shall be transmitted to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate upon request.
Sec. 116. In addition to amounts otherwise provided by
section 101, there is appropriated to the Department of
Defense for ``Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy'',
$1,950,000,000, for an additional amount for fiscal year
2025, to remain available until September 30, 2029, for the
Virginia Class Submarine program.
Sec. 117. Notwithstanding sections 101 and 104, amounts
provided by section 101 for ``Corps of Engineers--Civil--
Operation and Maintenance'' may be used up to an amount not
to exceed $37,600,000, adjusted for inflation beginning
August 1, 2024, as compensation for reserving and operating
3.6 million acre-feet of pre-planned flood storage at Hugh
Keenleyside Dam to minimize the flood risk in the Columbia
River Basin in the United States.
Sec. 118. (a) Funds made available by section 101 for
``Department of Energy--Atomic Energy Defense Activities--
Environmental and Other Defense Activities--Other Defense
Activities'' may be apportioned up to the rate for operations
necessary to sustain specialized security activities.
(b) The Secretary of Energy shall notify the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
not later than 3 days after each use of the authority
provided in subsection (a).
Sec. 119. Notwithstanding section 101, the matter under
the heading ``Election Assistance Commission-- Election
Security Grants'' in division B of Public Law 118-47 shall be
applied by substituting ``$0'' for ``$55,000,000''.
Sec. 120. (a) Notwithstanding section 101, for ``General
Services Administration--Expenses, Presidential Transition'',
there is appropriated $10,202,314, for necessary expenses to
carry out the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (Public Law
88-277), as amended, of which $6,971,863 is available for
activities authorized by sections 3(a)(1) through 3(a)(7) and
3(a)(10) of such Act; $2,730,451 is available for activities
authorized by section 5 of such Act; and not to exceed
$500,000 is available for activities authorized by sections
3(a)(8) and 3(a)(9) of such Act: Provided, That such amounts
may be transferred and credited to the ``Acquisition Services
Fund'' or the ``Federal Buildings Fund'' to reimburse
obligations incurred prior to enactment of this Act for the
purposes provided herein related to the Presidential election
in 2024: Provided further, That amounts available under this
section shall be in addition to any other amounts available
for such purposes.
(b) Notwithstanding section 101, no funds are provided by
this Act for ``General Services Administration--Pre-Election
Presidential Transition''.
Sec. 121. In addition to amounts otherwise provided by
section 101, amounts are provided for ``District of
Columbia--Federal Payment for Emergency Planning and Security
Costs in the District of Columbia'' at a rate for operations
of $47,000,000, for an additional amount for costs associated
with the Presidential Inauguration to be held in January
2025: Provided, That such amounts may be apportioned up to
the rate for operations necessary to maintain emergency
planning and security activities relating to such
Presidential Inauguration.
Sec. 122. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
except section 106, the District of Columbia may expend local
funds made available under the heading ``District of
Columbia--District of Columbia Funds'' for such programs and
activities under the District of Columbia Appropriations Act,
2024 (title IV of division B of Public Law 118-47) at the
rate set forth in the Fiscal Year 2025 Local Budget Act of
2024 (D.C. Act 25-501), as modified as of the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Sec. 123. Notwithstanding section 101, for ``Executive
Office of the President and Funds
[[Page H5360]]
Appropriated to the President--Office of Administration--
Presidential Transition Administrative Support'', there is
appropriated $8,000,000, for expenses necessary to carry out
the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 and other similar
expenses: Provided, That such funds may be transferred to
other accounts that provide funding for offices within the
Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice
President in this Act or any other Act, to carry out such
purposes: Provided further, That such amounts may be
apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to carry
out such responsibilities.
Sec. 124. Notwithstanding section 106, for the duration of
fiscal year 2025, amounts made available under section
601(f)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801(f)(3))
shall be available for any necessary expenses of the
Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General with
respect to section 601 of that Act, subtitle A of title V of
division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, or
section 3201 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, in
addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.
Sec. 125. Notwithstanding section 101, the second proviso
under the heading ``Office of Personnel Management--Salaries
and Expenses'' in title V of division B of Public Law 118-47
shall be applied by substituting ``$204,975,000'' for
``$192,975,000''.
Sec. 126. (a) Notwithstanding section 101, section 747 of
title VII of division B of Public Law 118-47 shall be applied
during the period covered by this Act by--
(1) substituting ``2026'' for ``2025'';
(2) substituting ``2025'' for ``2024'' each place it
appears;
(3) substituting ``2024'' for ``2023'' each place it
appears; and
(4) substituting ``section 747 of title VII of division B
of Public Law 118-47, as in effect on September 30, 2024''
for ``section 747 of division E of Public Law 117-328'' each
place it appears.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not take effect until the first
day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after
January 1, 2025.
Sec. 127. Notwithstanding section 104, amounts provided by
section 101 to the Department of Homeland Security for
``Coast Guard--Procurement, Construction, and Improvements''
may be used for closeout costs relating to the C-27J
missionization program.
Sec. 128. During the period covered by this Act, section
11223(b)(2) of division K of Public Law 117-263 shall be
applied by substituting ``shall not apply'' for ``shall
apply''.
Sec. 129. Amounts made available by section 101 to the
Department of Homeland Security under the heading ``Federal
Emergency Management Agency--Disaster Relief Fund'' may be
apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to carry
out response and recovery activities under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
Sec. 130. In addition to amounts otherwise provided by
section 101, for ``Federal Emergency Management Agency--
Disaster Relief Fund'', there is appropriated
$10,000,000,000, for an additional amount for fiscal year
2025, to remain available until expended, of which
$9,500,000,000 shall be for major disasters declared pursuant
to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.): Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
Sec. 131. Amounts provided by section 101 to the
Department of Homeland Security for ``United States Secret
Service--Operations and Support'' may be apportioned up to
the rate for operations necessary to carry out protective
operations, including activities related to National Special
Security Events and the 2024 Presidential Campaign.
Sec. 132. In addition to amounts otherwise provided by
section 101, amounts are provided for ``Department of the
Interior--National Park Service--Operation of the National
Park System'' at a rate for operations of $5,000,000, for an
additional amount for security and visitor safety activities
related to the Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies.
Sec. 133. During the period covered by this Act, section
113 of division G of Public Law 113-76, as amended by Public
Law 116-6, shall be applied by substituting ``2025'' for
``2024''.
Sec. 134. During the period covered by this Act, section
8206(b)(2)(C)(ii) of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C.
2113a(b)(2)(C)(ii)) shall be applied by substituting the date
that is 1 day after the date specified in section 106(3) of
this Act for ``October 1, 2024''.
Sec. 135. (a) In addition to amounts otherwise provided by
section 101, amounts are provided for ``Department of Health
and Human Services--Indian Health Service--Indian Health
Services'' at a rate for operations of $24,262,000, for an
additional amount for costs of staffing and operating
facilities that were opened, renovated, or expanded in fiscal
years 2024 and 2025, and such amounts may be apportioned up
to the rate for operations necessary to staff and operate
such facilities.
(b) In addition to amounts otherwise provided by section
101, amounts are provided for ``Department of Health and
Human Services--Indian Health Service--Indian Health
Facilities'' at a rate for operations of $2,060,000, for an
additional amount for costs of staffing and operating
facilities that were opened, renovated, or expanded in fiscal
years 2024 and 2025, and such amounts may be apportioned up
to the rate for operations necessary to staff and operate
such facilities.
Sec. 136. Amounts provided by section 101 for ``Department
of Agriculture--Forest Service--Wildland Fire Management''
may be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary
for wildfire suppression activities.
Sec. 137. Amounts made available by section 101 for
``Domestic Food Programs--Food and Nutrition Service--
Commodity Assistance Program'' may be apportioned up to the
rate for operations necessary to maintain current program
caseload in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
Sec. 138. Amounts provided by section 101 for ``Rural
Housing Service--Rural Community Facilities Program Account''
may be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to
maintain activities as authorized by section 306 and
described in section 381E(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act.
Sec. 139. Amounts made available by section 101 for ``Farm
Service Agency--Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program
Account'' may be apportioned up to the rate for operations
necessary to accommodate approved applications for direct and
guaranteed farm ownership loans, as authorized by 7 U.S.C.
1922 et seq.
Sec. 140. Section 260 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636i) and section 942 of the Livestock
Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1635 note; Public
Law 106-78) shall be applied by substituting the date
specified in section 106(3) of this Act for ``September 30,
2024''.
Sec. 141. Amounts made available by section 101 for
``Domestic Food Programs--Food and Nutrition Service--Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC)'' may be apportioned at the rate for
operations necessary to maintain participation.
Sec. 142. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
joint resolution, there is appropriated:
(1) For payment to Beatrice Y. Payne, widow of Donald M.
Payne, Jr., late a Representative from the State of New
Jersey, $174,000.
(2) For payment to the heirs at law of Sheila Jackson Lee,
late a Representative from the State of Texas, $174,000.
(3) For payment to Elsie M. Pascrell, widow of William
Pascrell, Jr., late a Representative from the State of New
Jersey, $174,000.
Sec. 143. Notwithstanding section 101, section 126 of
division A of Public Law 118-42 shall be applied by
substituting ``fiscal year 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020'' for
``fiscal year 2017, 2018, and 2019''.
Sec. 144. (a) Amounts made available by section 101 for
``Veterans Health Administration--Medical Services'' may be
apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to
maintain current program operations including inpatient and
outpatient care and treatment to beneficiaries of the
Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans described in
section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code.
(b) Amounts made available by section 101 for ``Veterans
Health Administration--Medical Support and Compliance'' may
be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to
maintain administration of medical, hospital, nursing home,
domiciliary, supply, construction and research activities
authorized by law.
Sec. 145. Amounts provided by section 101 for ``Department
of Transportation--Office of the Secretary--Payments to Air
Carriers'' may be apportioned up to the rate for operations
necessary to maintain Essential Air Service program
operations.
Sec. 146. Notwithstanding section 106 of this Act, for the
duration of fiscal year 2025, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development may use the unobligated balances of amounts
made available in prior fiscal years in the second paragraph
under the heading ``Department of Housing and Urban
Development--Public and Indian Housing--Tenant-Based Rental
Assistance'' to support additional allocations under
subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) and subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (4) of such heading to prevent the termination of
rental assistance for families as a result of insufficient
funding in the calendar year 2024 funding cycle: Provided,
That amounts repurposed pursuant to this section that were
previously designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget
or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985 are designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985:
Provided further, That such amounts shall be available only
if the President designates such amounts as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i).
Sec. 147. (a) Sections 1309(a) and 1319 of the National
Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a) and 4026)
shall be applied by substituting the date specified in
section 106(3) of this Act for ``September 30, 2024''.
(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), this section shall become
effective immediately upon enactment of this Act.
(2) If this Act is enacted after September 30, 2024, this
section shall be applied as if it were in effect on September
30, 2024.
DIVISION B--SAVE ACT
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This division may be cited as the ``Safeguard American
Voter Eligibility Act'' or the ``SAVE Act''.
[[Page H5361]]
SEC. 202. ENSURING ONLY CITIZENS ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN
ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.
(a) Definition of Documentary Proof of United States
Citizenship.--Section 3 of the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502) is amended--
(1) by striking ``as used'' and inserting ``(a) In
General.--As used''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Documentary Proof of United States Citizenship.--As
used in this Act, the term `documentary proof of United
States citizenship' means, with respect to an applicant for
voter registration, any of the following:
``(1) A form of identification issued consistent with the
requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the
applicant is a citizen of the United States.
``(2) A valid United States passport.
``(3) The applicant's official United States military
identification card, together with a United States military
record of service showing that the applicant's place of birth
was in the United States.
``(4) A valid government-issued photo identification card
issued by a Federal, State or Tribal government showing that
the applicant's place of birth was in the United States.
``(5) A valid government-issued photo identification card
issued by a Federal, State or Tribal government other than an
identification described in paragraphs (1) through (4), but
only if presented together with one or more of the following:
``(A) A certified birth certificate issued by a State, a
unit of local government in a State, or a Tribal government
which--
``(i) was issued by the State, unit of local government, or
Tribal government in which the applicant was born;
``(ii) was filed with the office responsible for keeping
vital records in the State;
``(iii) includes the full name, date of birth, and place of
birth of the applicant;
``(iv) lists the full names of one or both of the parents
of the applicant;
``(v) has the signature of an individual who is authorized
to sign birth certificates on behalf of the State, unit of
local government, or Tribal government in which the applicant
was born;
``(vi) includes the date that the certificate was filed
with the office responsible for keeping vital records in the
State; and
``(vii) has the seal of the State, unit of local
government, or Tribal government that issued the birth
certificate.
``(B) An extract from a United States hospital Record of
Birth created at the time of the applicant's birth which
indicates that the applicant's place of birth was in the
United States.
``(C) A final adoption decree showing the applicant's name
and that the applicant's place of birth was in the United
States.
``(D) A Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a citizen of the
United States or a certification of the applicant's Report of
Birth of a United States citizen issued by the Secretary of
State.
``(E) A Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of
Citizenship issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or
any other document or method of proof of United States
citizenship issued by the Federal government pursuant to the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
``(F) An American Indian Card issued by the Department of
Homeland Security with the classification `KIC'.''.
(b) In General.--Section 4 of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (c)'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection:
``(b) Requiring Applicants To Present Documentary Proof of
United States Citizenship.--Under any method of voter
registration in a State, the State shall not accept and
process an application to register to vote in an election for
Federal office unless the applicant presents documentary
proof of United States citizenship with the application.''.
(c) Registration With Application for Motor Vehicle
Driver's License.--Section 5 of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``Each State motor
vehicle driver's license application'' and inserting
``Subject to the requirements under section 8(j), each State
motor vehicle driver's license application'';
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Each State shall
include'' and inserting ``Subject to the requirements under
section 8(j), each State shall include'';
(3) in subsection (c)(2)(B)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(iii) verify that the applicant is a citizen of the
United States;'';
(4) in subsection (c)(2)(C)(i), by striking ``(including
citizenship)'' and inserting ``, including the requirement
that the applicant provides documentary proof of United
States citizenship''; and
(5) in subsection (c)(2)(D)(iii), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting the following: ``, other than as evidence in a
criminal proceeding or immigration proceeding brought against
an applicant who knowingly attempts to register to vote and
knowingly makes a false declaration under penalty of perjury
that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements to
register to vote in an election for Federal office; and''.
(d) Requiring Documentary Proof of United States
Citizenship With National Mail Voter Registration Form.--
Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52
U.S.C. 20505) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) by striking ``Each State shall accept and use'' and
inserting ``Subject to the requirements under section 8(j),
each State shall accept and use''; and
(B) by striking ``Federal Election Commission'' and
inserting ``Election Assistance Commission'';
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
``The chief State election official of a State shall take
such steps as may be necessary to ensure that residents of
the State are aware of the requirement to provide documentary
proof of United States citizenship to register to vote in
elections for Federal office in the State.'';
(3) in subsection (c)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) the person did not provide documentary proof of
United States citizenship when registering to vote.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Ensuring Proof of United States Citizenship.--
``(1) Presenting proof of united states citizenship to
election official.--An applicant who submits the mail voter
registration application form prescribed by the Election
Assistance Commission pursuant to section 9(a)(2) or a form
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall not
be registered to vote in an election for Federal office
unless--
``(A) the applicant presents documentary proof of United
States citizenship in person to the office of the appropriate
election official not later than the deadline provided by
State law for the receipt of a completed voter registration
application for the election; or
``(B) in the case of a State which permits an individual to
register to vote in an election for Federal office at a
polling place on the day of the election and on any day when
voting, including early voting, is permitted for the
election, the applicant presents documentary proof of United
States citizenship to the appropriate election official at
the polling place not later than the date of the election.
``(2) Notification of requirement.--Upon receiving an
otherwise completed mail voter registration application form
prescribed by the Election Assistance Commission pursuant to
section 9(a)(2) or a form described in paragraph (1) or (2)
of subsection (a), the appropriate election official shall
transmit a notice to the applicant of the requirement to
present documentary proof of United States citizenship under
this subsection, and shall include in the notice instructions
to enable the applicant to meet the requirement.
``(3) Accessibility.--Each State shall, in consultation
with the Election Assistance Commission, ensure that
reasonable accommodations are made to allow an individual
with a disability who submits the mail voter registration
application form prescribed by the Election Assistance
Commission pursuant to section 9(a)(2) or a form described in
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) to present documentary
proof of United States citizenship to the appropriate
election official.''.
(e) Requirements for Voter Registration Agencies.--Section
7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C.
20506) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (4)(A), by adding at the end the following
new clause:
``(iv) Receipt of documentary proof of United States
citizenship of each applicant to register to vote in
elections for Federal office in the State.''; and
(B) in paragraph (6)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)(i)(I), by striking ``(including
citizenship)'' and inserting ``, including the requirement
that the applicant provides documentary proof of United
States citizenship'';
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) ask the applicant the question, `Are you a citizen of
the United States?' and if the applicant answers in the
affirmative require documentary proof of United States
citizenship prior to providing the form under subparagraph
(C);''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``who are citizens
of the United States'' after ``for persons''.
(f) Requirements With Respect to Administration of Voter
Registration.--Section 8 of the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``In the administration of voter
registration'' and inserting ``Subject to the requirements of
subsection (j), in the administration of voter
registration''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end; and
[[Page H5362]]
(ii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
``(D) based on documentary proof or verified information
that the registrant is not a United States citizen; or
``(E) the registration otherwise fails to comply with
applicable State law;'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (l); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (i) the following new
subsections:
``(j) Ensuring Only Citizens Are Registered To Vote.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, a State may not register an individual to vote in
elections for Federal office held in the State unless, at the
time the individual applies to register to vote, the
individual provides documentary proof of United States
citizenship.
``(2) Additional processes in certain cases.--
``(A) Process for those without documentary proof.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to any relevant guidance adopted
by the Election Assistance Commission, each State shall
establish a process under which an applicant who cannot
provide documentary proof of United States citizenship under
paragraph (1) may, if the applicant signs an attestation
under penalty of perjury that the applicant is a citizen of
the United States and eligible to vote in elections for
Federal office, submit such other evidence to the appropriate
State or local official demonstrating that the applicant is a
citizen of the United States and such official shall make a
determination as to whether the applicant has sufficiently
established United States citizenship for purposes of
registering to vote in elections for Federal office in the
State.
``(ii) Affidavit requirement.--If a State or local official
makes a determination under clause (i) that an applicant has
sufficiently established United States citizenship for
purposes of registering to vote in elections for Federal
office in the State, such determination shall be accompanied
by an affidavit developed under clause (iii) signed by the
official swearing or affirming the applicant sufficiently
established United States citizenship for purposes of
registering to vote.
``(iii) Development of affidavit by the election assistance
commission.--The Election Assistance Commission shall develop
a uniform affidavit for use by State and local officials
under clause (ii), which shall--
``(I) include an explanation of the minimum standards
required for a State or local official to register an
applicant who cannot provide documentary proof of United
States citizenship to vote in elections for Federal office in
the State; and
``(II) require the official to explain the basis for
registering such applicant to vote in such elections.
``(B) Process in case of certain discrepancies in
documentation.--Subject to any relevant guidance adopted by
the Election Assistance Commission, each State shall
establish a process under which an applicant can provide such
additional documentation to the appropriate election official
of the State as may be necessary to establish that the
applicant is a citizen of the United States in the event of a
discrepancy with respect to the applicant's documentary proof
of United States citizenship.
``(3) State requirements.--Each State shall take
affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only
United States citizens are registered to vote under the
provisions of this Act, which shall include the establishment
of a program described in paragraph (4) not later than 30
days after the date of the enactment of this subsection.
``(4) Program described.--A State may meet the requirements
of paragraph (3) by establishing a program under which the
State identifies individuals who are not United States
citizens using information supplied by one or more of the
following sources:
``(A) The Department of Homeland Security through the
Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (`SAVE') or
otherwise.
``(B) The Social Security Administration through the Social
Security Number Verification Service, or otherwise.
``(C) State agencies that supply State identification cards
or driver's licenses where the agency confirms the United
States citizenship status of applicants.
``(D) Other sources, including databases, which provide
confirmation of United States citizenship status.
``(5) Availability of information.--
``(A) In general.--At the request of a State election
official (including a request related to a process
established by a State under paragraph (2)(A) or (2)(B)), any
head of a Federal department or agency possessing information
relevant to determining the eligibility of an individual to
vote in elections for Federal office shall, not later than 24
hours after receipt of such request, provide the official
with such information as may be necessary to enable the
official to verify that an applicant for voter registration
in elections for Federal office held in the State or a
registrant on the official list of eligible voters in
elections for Federal office held in the State is a citizen
of the United States, which shall include providing the
official with such batched information as may be requested by
the official.
``(B) Use of save system.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security may respond to a request received under paragraph
(1) by using the system for the verification of immigration
status under the applicable provisions of section 1137 of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-7), as established
pursuant to section 121(c) of the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-603).
``(C) Sharing of information.--The heads of Federal
departments and agencies shall share information with each
other with respect to an individual who is the subject of a
request received under paragraph (A) in order to enable them
to respond to the request.
``(D) Investigation for purposes of removal.--The Secretary
of Homeland Security shall conduct an investigation to
determine whether to initiate removal proceedings under
section 239 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1229) if it is determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B)
that an alien (as such term is defined in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)) is
unlawfully registered to vote in elections for Federal
office.
``(E) Prohibiting fees.--The head of a Federal department
or agency may not charge a fee for responding to a State's
request under paragraph (A).
``(k) Removal of Noncitizens From Registration Rolls.--A
State shall remove an individual who is not a citizen of the
United States from the official list of eligible voters for
elections for Federal office held in the State at any time
upon receipt of documentation or verified information that a
registrant is not a United States citizen.''.
(g) Clarification of Authority of State To Remove
Noncitizens From Official List of Eligible Voters.--
(1) In general.--Section 8(a)(4) of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(4)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(B) by adding ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (B); and
(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) documentary proof or verified information that the
registrant is not a United States citizen;''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 8(c)(2)(B)(i) of such
Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by striking
``(4)(A)'' and inserting ``(4)(A) or (C)''.
(h) Requirements With Respect to Federal Mail Voter
Registration Form.--
(1) Contents of mail voter registration form.--Section 9(b)
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``(including
citizenship)'' and inserting ``(including an explanation of
what is required to present documentary proof of United
States citizenship)'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) shall include a section, for use only by a State or
local election official, to record the type of document the
applicant presented as documentary proof of United States
citizenship, including the date of issuance, the date of
expiration (if any), the office which issued the document,
and any unique identification number associated with the
document.''.
(2) Information on mail voter registration form.--Section
9(b)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)(4)) is amended--
(A) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iii) as
subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively; and
(B) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated and as amended
by paragraph (1)(C)), by striking ``; and'' and inserting the
following: ``, other than as evidence in a criminal
proceeding or immigration proceeding brought against an
applicant who attempts to register to vote and makes a false
declaration under penalty of perjury that the applicant meets
the eligibility requirements to register to vote in an
election for Federal office; and''.
(i) Private right of action.--Section 11(b)(1) of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C.
20510(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``a violation of this
Act'' and inserting ``a violation of this Act, including the
act of an election official who registers an applicant to
vote in an election for Federal office who fails to present
documentary proof of United States citizenship,''.
(j) Criminal Penalties.--Section 12(2) of such Act (52
U.S.C. 20511(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraphs:
``(B) in the case of an officer or employee of the
executive branch, providing material assistance to a
noncitizen in attempting to register to vote or vote in an
election for Federal office;
``(C) registering an applicant to vote in an election for
Federal office who fails to present documentary proof of
United States citizenship; or''.
(k) Applicability of Requirements to Certain States.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (c) of section 4 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503), as
redesignated by subsection (b), is amended by striking ``This
Act does not apply to a State'' and inserting
[[Page H5363]]
``Except with respect to the requirements under subsection
(i) and (j) of section 8 in the case of a State described in
paragraph (2), this Act does not apply to a State''.
(2) Permitting states to adopt requirements after
enactment.--Section 4 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20503) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Permitting States To Adopt Certain Requirements After
Enactment.--Subsections (i) and (j) of section 8 shall not
apply to a State described in subsection (c)(2) if the State,
by law or regulation, adopts requirements which are identical
to the requirements under such subsections not later than 60
days prior to the date of the first election for Federal
office which is held in the State after the date of the
enactment of the SAVE Act.''.
SEC. 203. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION GUIDANCE.
Not later than 10 days after the date of the enactment of
this division, the Election Assistance Commission shall adopt
and transmit to the chief State election official of each
State guidance with respect to the implementation of the
requirements under the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), as amended by section 202.
SEC. 204. INAPPLICABILITY OF PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.
Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44 (commonly referred
to as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'') shall not apply with
respect to the development or modification of voter
registration materials under the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), as amended by section
202, including the development or modification of any voter
registration application forms.
SEC. 205. DUTY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO NOTIFY
ELECTION OFFICIALS OF NATURALIZATION.
Upon receiving information that an individual has become a
naturalized citizen of the United States, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall promptly provide notice of such
information to the appropriate chief election official of the
State in which such individual is domiciled.
SEC. 206. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.
Nothing in this division or in any amendment made by this
division may be construed to supercede, restrict, or
otherwise affect the ability of an individual to cast a
provisional ballot in an election for Federal office or to
have the ballot counted in the election if the individual is
verified as a citizen of the United States pursuant to
section 8(j) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
(as added by section 202(f)).
SEC. 207. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING EFFECT ON STATE
EXEMPTIONS FROM OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.
Nothing in this division or in any amendment made by this
division may be construed to affect the exemption of a State
from any requirement of any Federal law other than the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et
seq.).
SEC. 208. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This division and the amendments made by this division
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this
division, and shall apply with respect to applications for
voter registration which are submitted on or after such date.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, is debatable for 1
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees.
The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) and the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
General Leave
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which 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
gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9494, the Continuing
Appropriations and Other Matters Act of 2025.
Today's bill arises at a particularly challenging time for our
country. For 4 years, President Biden and Vice President Harris' self-
inflicted border crisis has caused chaos in communities across our
country. Our national debt has risen to over $35 trillion, threatening
the future financial stability of our country.
Across the world, America's adversaries continue to march forward,
threatening our friends and democratic partners, and now we are facing
a looming deadline to fund the government and keep it serving the
American people.
Given the state of the world and our approaching election, this is no
time to shut the government down. That means Congress needs to act, and
we need to do so today.
The appropriations process is one that is never easy. It requires
time and hard work to complete. Frankly, I am proud of what this body
has accomplished this year. Even after a late start due to the delay of
the fiscal year 2024 process and the President's late budget request,
the Appropriations Committee succeeded in passing all 12 of our fiscal
year 2025 bills out of committee.
The House also passed five of those bills across the floor,
representing nearly 71 percent of overall discretionary spending.
Unfortunately, time is drawing short, and our colleagues in the Senate,
who have yet to pass a single fiscal year 2025 bill across the floor,
have not kept pace with the House.
It is clear that we are unable to complete the full appropriations
process by September 30. That means that a continuing resolution is
needed. The bill before us extends government funding through March 28,
2025, ensuring that the government remains open and providing critical
services to our constituents.
This extension will not only give us the time we need to complete our
appropriations process for 2025 but also will allow the American people
to have a say in the appropriations process.
The bill includes certain key extensions, including essential
programs like flood insurance, WIC, and TANF. It also provides needed
funding for disaster relief, helping communities across the country
that have faced natural disasters this year or that will face them in
the coming months.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, in just 2 short months, Americans will go to the
polls to elect a new President of the United States. This is a critical
time for American democracy, and it is more important than ever that
our elections are secure.
That is why H.R. 9494 includes the text of the Safeguard American
Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, which will ensure that only
American citizens may vote in Federal elections. This commonsense
legislation is necessary to protect the sanctity and security of our
elections, making sure that it is American citizens alone who will
choose the future direction of our country. This is as the Founding
Fathers intended and as it should be.
Mr. Speaker, governance by continuing resolution is not ideal. It is
always better to pass full-year appropriations bills through regular
order, but we are out of time and we cannot afford a government
shutdown, which would be greatly damaging to our national security, to
critical government programs, and to the American people.
The stakes could not be higher. That is why I urge all of my
colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 9494 today. Mr. Speaker, I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose this continuing resolution, which would
shortchange our veterans, absolve the House Republican majority of
their responsibility to govern, and move us closer to a shutdown. I
urge my colleagues to vote against it.
The majority's proposal completely abandons our Nation's veterans. We
have been informed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office
of Management and Budget that $12 billion more is required to provide
necessary medical care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic
substances.
Despite the urgency, the majority has decided to provide nothing,
zero, for veterans' medical needs. I cannot understand how anybody who
supports this bill can go home and look their veteran constituents in
the eye and tell them that they voted to shortchange the medical care
they earned with their service.
I am glad that the majority heard House Democrats' protests when we
pointed out how cruel and misguided this bill was when it was first
introduced. The original proposal would have shut off all funding for
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which would have
undercut support for over 1 million families.
While the majority may have fixed that, House Republicans' bill
demonstrates a belief that the need to care for veterans who have been
exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances is less of a priority
than everything else in this bill. It is disgraceful.
[[Page H5364]]
We could have solved this issue had the majority considered a
bipartisan path forward at any point in this entire process; but
instead, just like last year, House Republicans squandered an entire
year by taking us down a partisan path, forcing us to waste time
considering extreme funding bills based on Trump's Project 2025 that
they could not pass and that have no chance of becoming law.
Just like last year, House Republicans' refusal to meet Democrats at
the table has left us without time to pass all 12 full-year
appropriations bills before the end of September. Rather than admitting
the inevitable defeat of their Project 2025 spending bills and passing
a bipartisan bill to keep the government open while we finish our work,
the majority proposes abandoning their obligation to govern, forcing a
new Congress to clean up their mess. They have included an extraneous,
partisan, controversial measure, nongermane to appropriations, that
guarantees this continuing resolution will not become law.
The majority all but admitted this bill could not pass the House last
week, but they are forcing us to waste more time on it anyway. Despite
the looming threat of a government shutdown, even if it has the votes
in the House, this bill will not pass in the United States Senate. The
President has said he would veto it. This bill has no path to becoming
law. If the government shuts down, Republicans bear the responsibility.
A 6-month continuing resolution is a ploy to force the extreme
Project 2025 manifesto agenda on the American people. They want to
slash domestic investments in healthcare, education, job training, and
every other discretionary program, which will hurt the middle class and
the economy.
This Project 2025 is no wish list, I might add. If you look at the
appropriations bills that are coming forward, you can see the direction
and the cuts that Project 2025 proposes to make.
The Republican majority believes a continuing resolution to the end
of March provides them with more leverage to force their unpopular cuts
to services that American families depend on to make ends meet.
The majority knows that the fiscal year ends September 30 and that we
cannot fund the government without the support of Democrats and
Republicans in the House and in the Senate. However, for the second
time in the 118th Congress, the majority does not want Congress to
finish its work until March, nearly halfway through the fiscal year,
wasting time, avoiding the inevitable, and failing to meet our
obligations to the American people. A half-year continuing resolution
is no way to govern. This is no way to serve the American people.
The American people have a choice to make in November, and come
January, we will have a new President, and we will have a new Congress.
While we presumably disagree on who we think will be leading our
country and which side of the aisle will hold the gavel, we should
agree that it is not right, not in the interest of the American people
for us to punt this year's work deep into next year for a different
Congress and a different White House to be confronted with.
We must pass a continuing resolution that allows us to finish our
work before the new President and Congress are sworn in and which
addresses the immediate needs of American families, workers, and
veterans. A continuing resolution that ends in December rather than one
that lasts half a year better serves our national security and military
readiness, veterans, their families, victims recovering from natural
disasters, and all hardworking American taxpayers.
Instead, the majority's bill fails our veterans. The majority's bill
fails our military.
Putting government funding on autopilot for 6 months means the
Department of Defense cannot execute its strategic priorities, such as
investing in cutting-edge technologies and capabilities. Investments in
our defense industrial base will be put on hold, including the
submarine and shipbuilding bases.
{time} 1645
Last weekend, Secretary Austin said in a letter: ``Asking the
Department to compete with the [People's Republic of China], let alone
manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy
[continuing resolution], ties our hands behind our back while expecting
us to be agile and accelerate progress.''
He continued: ``The single most important thing that Congress can do
to ensure U.S. national security is to pass timely legislation for all
12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2025.''
The majority's bill fails our seniors and Americans with disabilities
on Social Security.
In a letter sent last week to the Appropriations Committee, Social
Security Administration Commissioner O'Malley warned of the
ramifications of a 6-month continuing resolution, stating: ``We would
likely be forced to reduce the hours field offices are open to the
public and would need to close offices over time, extending wait times
for seniors and individuals with disabilities.''
He continues: ``Through a lifetime of hard work, the American people
have paid for and earned their Social Security benefits, and they have
also paid for and earned the customer service they need to access those
benefits. Another 6 months at current funding levels, as the House has
proposed, would be devastating for the many Americans we serve every
day.''
The majority's bill also fails communities devastated by disasters by
shortchanging emergency funds for FEMA. This one you almost cannot
believe. The bill provides nothing to rebuild the Key Bridge in
Maryland, nothing for block grants to help communities recover from
devastating natural disasters, including the horrifying wildfires in
Hawaii and the tornadoes that devastated communities in places like
Oklahoma.
The majority is failing to live up to their own promises to the
American people, that they are capable of being trusted to do the hard
work of governing. They have unequivocally demonstrated that they
cannot.
This bill is an admission that a House Republican majority cannot
govern. They would rather gamble on an intervening election than
attempt to complete their work on time.
Let us hope the majority does not drive us straight to a Republican
shutdown. If they do shut down the government, I have no doubt the
American people will know who is to blame.
Vote ``no'' on this continuing resolution. Abandon this partisan
game. Join Democrats at the table. It is past time to govern.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I would quickly make a point to my very good
friend, who knows quite well I hold her in very high regard.
On the veterans issue, I just point out that we actually appropriated
more to the VA than the administration asked for. We are certainly
willing to sit down and have a discussion over any additional needs.
Nobody wants veterans to be shortchanged.
Approaching Congress at the last minute, when it gave you more money
than you asked for, suggests a high level of incompetence in this
administration's management of the Veterans Affairs Department.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr.
Aderholt), my very good friend and the chairman of the Labor, Health
and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the
Appropriations Committee.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, we once again find ourselves debating a
commonsense measure that would actually safeguard the American people's
vote in the upcoming elections.
The rhetoric surrounding this bill is that it fixes a problem that
does not exist. My answer is simple. Come to Alabama's Fourth
Congressional District where just last week an illegal immigrant
pleaded guilty to identity theft and voter fraud after it was
discovered that she illegally voted in at least four U.S. elections.
Just last month, our secretary of state for the State of Alabama, Wes
Allen, found at least 3,000 noncitizens who were registered to vote in
the State of Alabama and removed them from the voting rolls.
Mr. Speaker, these people should never have been allowed to register
in the first place. This is exactly what the SAVE Act will prevent.
[[Page H5365]]
The SAVE Act, which is included in this continuing resolution, shows
the American people that their government will use every tool at our
disposal to protect the sanctity of our electoral system and stop
illegal votes before they are counted.
My colleagues across the aisle have talked about our shared belief
that the Federal Government must remain open. Mr. Speaker, House
Republicans have put forward a continuing resolution that would do just
that.
Continuing resolutions are never ideal. However, in this instance, a
continuing resolution is necessary and the right thing to do.
Republicans have extended an opportunity to our colleagues across the
aisle to not only keep the Federal Government open but also to enhance
the integrity of our elections.
The eyes of the American people are upon this Chamber this afternoon
as we debate this. They are watching carefully to see if their
government will take a stand to improve the sanctity and security of
our electoral system and see that their Representatives fulfill our
constitutional duty of responsibility of funding the United States
Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this measure.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me make a point on veterans as well for my dear friend, the
chairman. The fact of the matter is that the expansion of the PACT Act,
which is a bipartisan piece of legislation, really is so important to
the health and welfare of our veterans, our service people, who have
been exposed to burn pits and toxic chemicals. That has exploded the
participation within the VA for medical services.
This is a success story of reaching out and helping our veterans. In
fact, they have a $12 billion shortfall. Do we say no? Do we say no to
what we agreed to on a bipartisan basis for medical services for our
veterans? My gosh, who are we and what are we about?
A final note on this: Further on in this continuing resolution, they
tell the VA to spend faster the dollars for medical services. Do you
know how much those dollars are? Zero. They said to spend zero dollars
faster.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms.
McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Defense
Subcommittee.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the 6-month
continuing resolution. It is deeply unfortunate that any CR is
necessary.
Once again, the Senate did not get its work done and failed to pass
any of the appropriations bills off the floor. The House Republican
majority wasted months writing bills loaded with extreme social policy
that the American people do not want.
Republicans passed only half their bills. Why? Because they were so
unpopular, their own Conference wouldn't vote for them.
Having failed to complete their work, Republicans now want to kick
the can down the road for 6 months, wasting half the fiscal year and
costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
A CR this long would be irresponsible, and the Department of Defense
has identified the consequences for our national security. This CR
would have negative impacts on our military personnel and their
families. It would not include the funds to cover a 4.5 percent pay
raise. It would not fund the nearly $3 billion increase required by law
for the basic housing allowance. It would not include funds needed to
cover medical costs for military families and stabilize the military
healthcare system.
These services would not be able to offer new enlistment and
reenlistment bonuses. New program starts can't happen under a CR,
harming innovation and delaying getting weapons and equipment to our
personnel. Keeping major programs on time and on budget will be more
difficult.
A CR will delay multiyear procurement of platforms like heavy lift
helicopters and the Virginia-class submarines. It will prevent fully
funding the Columbia-class submarine and will delay procurement on the
B-21 Raider.
Finally, the CR damages the readiness of the joint force. Some
training exercises and operations just won't happen. The Navy will
suffer a delay of 58 ship maintenance availabilities, limiting the work
for our public and private shipyards. Air Force flying hours, weapon
system sustainment, and ground combat readiness will all suffer.
We just had a nearly 6-month CR in fiscal year 2024, which impacted
DOD's ability to budget appropriately. The last thing we should do is
compound this problem.
We also have the Fiscal Responsibility Act to consider. If all 12
appropriations bills are not enacted by the end of April, sequestration
takes effect. What does that mean? It means across-the-board spending
cuts impacting everything: our national security, infrastructure,
healthcare, and education.
I strongly believe we should reject this legislation, pass a short-
term CR, roll up our sleeves, and get back to work.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I just remind my friends, for the VA, which we both support, we
offered more money than the administration asked for. It is pretty
notorious for not doing a very good job of budgeting. That hasn't
changed over the years. That is why we took away their ability to build
hospitals.
Finally, I agree with my good friend from Minnesota about the
importance of trying to get things done for the military, but I would
remind everybody here that there has been a long history of CRs on both
sides of the aisle. These aren't that unusual.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr.
Higgins), my very good friend.
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I don't know where to begin. I
have 5 minutes. I could use 500.
The American people are watching. They recognize that our Nation
suffers under the burden of a threatened government shutdown and the
very real threat of millions of illegals who have flooded into our
country who could potentially vote in this very important election
cycle in November.
If you don't think it can happen, you haven't been paying attention.
There have been thousands and thousands of illegal voters removed from
precincts across the country in any sovereign State that had the
courage to pursue the endeavor of looking into those voter rolls.
Many congressional races and the balance of this people's House are
determined by hundreds of votes, sometimes less. We just had a
colleague lose an election by 317 votes, a man who serves in this body
with us right now. If you don't think millions of illegals can
potentially influence a Federal election, you are really not being
intellectually sound.
To talk about money, the good lady said disgraceful. I will tell you
what is disgraceful, Mr. Speaker, is to stand here and say that the
Federal Government is too small and doesn't spend enough money. That is
outrageous. We have a $36 trillion debt. If this body were to run a $1
billion surplus, it would take 36,000 years to address a $36 trillion
debt.
Do you think a 6-month CR at a flat-line spending level is not a
compromise, Mr. Speaker, from my perspective as a constitutional
conservative? It most certainly is.
I am extending a respectful compromise. I would bring this thing back
to 2019 spending if I could.
{time} 1700
I cannot find one American in my townhall--and I do many--when I ask
them: Does anyone in here think that the Federal Government was too
small and didn't spend enough money in 2019? Nobody raises their hand,
no matter where they are on the political spectrum. Yet, my colleagues
in this body want more and more money in this environment that is
supercontentious.
So, we take a 6-month CR that flatlines spending levels and move it
into the next Congress, the 119th Congress, and into a new Presidential
administration, whoever that may be.
They say they are going to control the White House. Good. Go ahead. I
say they are not. We will let the American people determine that, but
we will remove this political nightmare show from the entire
consideration of the American people.
Let the American people have a clear field to vote in. Let them hear
about the policies and principles of the candidates that stand before
them and make their determination reflective of their own deep policy
principles and their core beliefs.
[[Page H5366]]
We have a solid solution to this thing. To say that my colleagues in
the Committee on Appropriations have not performed, no, you are not
getting that past me. They passed five appropriations bills funding 72
percent of the Federal Government months ago, and where do those bills
sit? In the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Pay attention to what is happening, America. This is the future of
our country we are talking about. It is the right thing to do to pass
this 6-month flatlined spending CR into March.
Let the new Presidential administration, whomever it may be, get
situated and name their team. Let the 119th Congress get sworn in and
populate our committees. Then, we will continue again.
This is a very important election cycle. We have to protect the
integrity of that election, and we have to remove this contentious
environment of this threatened government shutdown from this election
cycle.
Mr. Speaker, my bill accomplishes that, and I encourage all of my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 9494.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Jeffries), the distinguished Democratic leader.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished once and future
chair of the House Committee on Appropriations (Ms. DeLauro) for her
leadership and for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the extreme MAGA
Republican effort to shut down the government and hurt everyday
Americans.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have suggested that this
is anti-woke week. It is not anti-woke week. It is Project 2025 week
because, at the end of the day, my extreme MAGA Republican colleagues
are determined to jam Trump's Project 2025 down the throats of the
American people.
From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have made
clear that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican
colleagues on any issue whenever and wherever possible in order to make
life better for the American people, deliver real results, and solve
problems for hardworking American taxpayers, and that is what we have
repeatedly done.
House Democrats have repeatedly governed in the minority as if we
were in the majority, finding bipartisan common ground to deliver for
everyday Americans, and we are prepared to do that once again.
Yet, this extreme MAGA Republican shutdown bill that is on the floor
of the House of Representatives today is not a serious effort to meet
the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their
safety, their national security, and their economic well-being.
The extreme MAGA Republican shutdown bill that is on the floor today
would shortchange our veterans by $12 billion. That is a Project 2025
objective--$12 billion--shortchanging our veterans who have been
suffering from painful exposure to toxic substances, burn pits, and
Agent Orange.
People who have served our country, we should stand by them in the
way that they have stood by us, but this extreme MAGA Republican
shutdown bill will shut out the veterans of the United States of
America.
The extreme MAGA shutdown bill will shortchange the administration of
Social Security here in the United States of America. Why? Because one
of the goals of Project 2025, effectively, is to end Social Security
and Medicare as we know it.
There is no circumstance where we can support such legislation that
will hurt the well-being of older Americans all across the United
States of America. These are people upon whose shoulders we stand.
The extreme MAGA shutdown bill will shortchange everyday Americans
who have been suffering harm from extreme weather events all across
America, in blue States, purple States, and red States, shortchange our
taxpayers by $25 billion. That is unacceptable. That is unserious. That
is unconscionable for people who have had their lives upended.
Now, in the context of whether we are able, capable, to reach a
bipartisan resolution, the answer to that is pretty clear because there
is already an agreement connected to the bipartisan Fiscal
Responsibility Act passed by both Houses of Congress last May, signed
into law by President Joe Biden, that sets top-line spending numbers
for fiscal year 2025. It also enters into an agreement across the
parties that says there will be no partisan policy riders attached to
an appropriations bill.
So, why are we here right now with an extreme MAGA Republican
shutdown bill that includes elements, partisan elements, rightwing
elements, extreme elements of Trump's Project 2025? That is a breach of
an agreement that we all reached connected to the bipartisan Fiscal
Responsibility Act.
This is a shutdown effort. That is not hype. That is not hysteria.
That is not hyperbole. It is history because in the DNA of extreme MAGA
Republicans has consistently been an effort to make extreme ransom
demands of the American people, and if those extreme ransom demands are
not met, we shut down the government. That is history.
The 1990s extreme MAGA Republicans shut down the government because
they were determined to end Medicaid as we know it. In 2013, extreme
MAGA Republicans shut the government down for 14 days, and the demand
at that point was to repeal President Obama's signature legislative
accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act, that benefits more than 100
million Americans.
In 2018 and 2019, extreme MAGA Republicans shut the government down
for a record 35 days. What was the ransom demand in that particular
moment? The former President and Republicans in the House and Senate
demanded that the American taxpayer fund Trump's ineffective, medieval
border wall, notwithstanding the fact that the promise was clearly made
that Mexico would pay for that wall. Because we were defending taxpayer
interests, they shut the government down for 35 days.
The notion that we are here today facing another extreme MAGA
Republican-driven shutdown, concerned about it, the only thing standing
between a shutdown and the American people is not hype, not hysteria,
not hyperbole, not a hypothetical, it is history.
We are simply asking our traditional Republican colleagues to break
with the extreme wing of your party, break with the extremism around a
national abortion ban, break with the extremism connected with Trump's
Project 2025, which, by the way, includes government surveillance of
pregnancies and miscarriages. There is no circumstance that we can ever
support such an outrageous agenda.
We are asking our traditional Republican colleagues to stand up for
working families, the middle class, older Americans, our children, our
veterans, and people from all across the land, in urban America, rural
America, small-town America, the heartland of America, suburban
America, exurban America.
Stand up for the American people as opposed to standing up for
massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and big corporations.
That is the other part of Project 2025.
This is not anti-woke week. It is extreme MAGA Republican Project
2025 week.
House Democrats right now are the only thing standing between Project
2025 and the extreme agenda you want to jam down the throats of the
American people and keeping the government open and doing the right
thing for everyday Americans.
Vote ``no'' on this extreme MAGA Republican shutdown bill and partner
with us to do the right thing for the American people.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Roy), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.
Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation before us
here today, and I thank the gentleman for his work on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is, what we just heard from the minority leader
in trying to describe this as a so-called extreme MAGA partisan agenda,
let's be very clear what we are talking about for the average American.
To the average American listening, what the minority leader, what the
radical, progressive Democratic Party, is saying is extreme is a
spending freeze into the next year combined with legislation
[[Page H5367]]
that would guarantee that only American citizens vote in American
elections.
Let's just be very clear. I think the American people need to know
this: What our radical, progressive Democratic colleagues deem extreme
is a spending freeze combined with only American citizens voting in
American elections. That is a really important thing for the American
people to know.
We are here, yes, because Congress is not getting the job done, but
let's be very clear that the United States Senate, which is controlled
by majority Democrats, has passed precisely zero appropriations bills
through the body in the Senate.
The House of Representatives and the Republican majority have passed
five bills. It would be my preference that we passed 12, but we sit
here today trying to make a determination on how to proceed.
I don't think anyone in this body on either side of the aisle, nor my
colleagues or friends around this country, to look at me and question
whether I would prefer that we cut spending. I would like to cut
spending. I don't think we should be funding the agenda that is being
driven by Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and my
radical, progressive Democratic colleagues.
{time} 1715
I don't believe we should continue to fund a Secret Service that
can't protect the former President without reforms.
I don't think we should continue to fund at current levels a
Department of Homeland Security that leaves our borders wide open so
that Laken Riley is killed, so that Rachel Morin is killed, so that
Kayla Hamilton is killed, and so that Jocelyn Nungaray is killed and
her poor 27-year-old mother is left having to be a witness in a hearing
in the House Judiciary Committee talking about the gagging, the raping,
the binding, and the murder of her 12-year-old daughter in Houston,
Texas.
The ultimate result of all of that is that we now have to wonder
whether noncitizens are voting in our elections. The fact is we know
they are. We have cleaned up rolls in Texas, 6,500, including the 2,000
we know voted in elections. In Virginia 6,300 were cleaned off with
thousands who were included in the election. We have cleaned up 3,251
in Alabama, 300 in Oregon, and we can keep going down the list.
All we are saying is that American citizens should vote. That is it.
So my Democratic colleagues seemingly want noncitizens to vote, and
they can't accept a spending freeze as being reasonable.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Van Drew). The time of the gentleman has
expired.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Texas.
Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a word to my friends on
this side of the aisle. One year ago, 21 of my conservative colleagues
opposed a continuing resolution that would have cut nondefense,
nonveteran, and non-Homeland Security spending by 30 percent for 30
days and included H.R. 2. A lot of those same people are walking away
from a piece of legislation that we are putting forward right now.
I am asking them to stand up with the Republican Party, stand up with
President Trump, and stand up with the American people to demand that
we freeze spending, hold it in check, take the pen away from the
radical, progressive Democrats of Joe Biden in a lameduck, and let's
make sure that only American citizens can vote in American elections.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who is the distinguished ranking member of the
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member DeLauro for
yielding me time to rise in opposition to shutting down our government.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this resolution.
Frankly, in less than 2 weeks, the Federal fiscal year of 2025 is set
to commence the beginning of October, yet this House finds itself
embroiled in yet another perilous impasse because the extreme Members
of the majority cannot govern.
Why? Why can they not compromise?
America needs compromise, not chaos.
As America's economy settles into a steady recovery, House leaders
must lead and stop the reckless threats to shut down our Federal
Government.
Why does the majority seek to withhold critical resources from those
Americans who safeguard our borders and defend our Nation?
House extreme Republicans risk the livelihoods of our border agents.
They compromise the readiness of our military. They engage in
legislative stunts that do not reflect the decency and worth of the
American people and our Federal workers.
Think about some of those workers, those veterans and those military
members in the nuclear Navy.
How about our Army Corps of Engineers who function in every single
district in our country?
What about those who answer the phones as Social Security recipients
have questions about enrollment and difficulties that they are facing
in their lives?
Our Nation's security and the well-being of all of our citizens
should not be held hostage for an extreme, partisan agenda.
Let the American people know--hear me--illegal immigrants are
rightfully barred from voting. Any assertion otherwise is false, and
the majority had best talk to their secretary of state.
Illegal immigrants are rightfully barred from voting. If our
colleagues were actually serious about bolstering our border security,
then they would advance Senator Lankford's bipartisan border bill here.
We have been waiting, and so is the Senate waiting. We must pass that
bill to provide the necessary resources to pay and equip our Customs
and Border Protection agents instead of touting a resolution here that
jeopardizes our national security.
Our military leaders have explicitly warned that a 6-month resolution
would severely undermine our defense readiness. Hear them. Our
adversaries are not just observers. They are keenly watching.
An extreme wing is causing this House to falter in fulfilling our
most basic constitutional duties. Chaos is not the message we should be
sending on a global stage. We should be compromising and setting a good
example.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, chaos is not the message we should be
sending on a global stage; compromise is. The consequences of failing
to pass essential appropriations bills extend far beyond defense. They
touch every corner of American life: seniors waiting for operations and
children relying on programs like Head Start.
Obstruction exacerbates the challenges facing everyday Americans. Now
is the time for compromise, not chaos. Americans want unity, not
division. Frankly, our national security depends on it.
This House must return to regular order. That is what real leadership
looks like. This is what our Constitution expects, and that is what our
constituents expect, deserve, and pay us for.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Jordan), who is the distinguished chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, go to any community anywhere in this country and walk up
to someone on the street and say: Do you think it makes sense--in light
of the fact that 10 million migrants have come into the country in 3\1/
2\ years and 99 of those individuals are on the terrorist watch list--
do you think it makes sense before a new voter registers to vote that
they demonstrate they are a citizen of this great country?
Any person you ask that question to will say: Well, of course, of
course that makes sense.
Every Democrat and Republican district will all say the same thing.
Everyone will agree with that except Democrats in the United States
House of Representatives. They disagree with that.
They say: No, no, no. We can't have that requirement on a bill that
spends
[[Page H5368]]
what we are already spending. We can't put that requirement on a bill.
That is ridiculous.
As Sarah Huckabee Sanders said a couple of years ago in response to
the state of the Union, the divide in America today is normal versus
crazy.
It is a crazy policy position not to agree with that, not to put the
SAVE Act on this bill.
Think of the positions the left now takes. It is crazy to defund the
police, it is crazy not to have a border, and it is crazy to say that
men can compete against women in sports. Those are all positions that
the left takes, and they take the position that in light of the 10
million people coming into our country in 3\1/2\ years you shouldn't
have a requirement to demonstrate you are a citizen before you register
as a new voter.
The people see this. The people understand in this country that this
is crazy.
Support this legislation. This is a good bill with a commonsense,
normal policy that we are putting in the legislation that makes
absolute sense. Nonetheless, they are going to vote against it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the distinguished ranking member of the
Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, Americans know that it is crazy to do something you know
will not have any effect. That is what is crazy.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill.
As majority leader in the last Congress, I put 365 pieces of
legislation on the floor that became law.
Under the Republican majority this Congress, our House has only
passed 78 pieces of legislation that have become law, and they have the
majority. That is fewer than any of the 22 previous Congresses in which
I have served.
It is because the Speaker wastes our time on blatantly partisan
legislation, including the bill before us today that has no chance of
becoming law and risks shutting down the government and which Mitch
McConnell, the Republican leader, says makes no sense. He didn't say
that it was crazy, but I might add that.
The Senate, including several Senate Republicans, made it clear that
this bill's impact on military readiness, veterans' healthcare, and
disaster response will make it dead on arrival. It is crazy to send it
as dead on arrival.
Furthermore, the President has said that he would not sign it.
Mr. Speaker, this House's most basic constitutional responsibility is
to fund the government, not to appease a handful of far-right Members.
We know how this situation ends. It will end the same way as the
fight for supplemental aid for Ukraine and Israel. It will end the same
way as the battle to raise the debt ceiling. It will end the same way
as the effort to fund the government at the start of this year and,
very frankly, throughout the year. It will end with this partisan
appeasement failing. A period of finger pointing will follow.
Finally, after much hand-wringing and some strongly worded tweets,
the Speaker will ask Democrats for our votes to pass a bipartisan
alternative that avoids shutting down the government of the American
people.
Everyone knows how this ends because this deeply divided and
dysfunctional majority hasn't accomplished anything of substance
without Democratic support.
There were compromises, compromises that Democrats agreed to so that
our government could function effectively for the American people, not
because we agreed on everything that was in the bill any more than you
will agree on the Republican side with everything in the bill. We did
it because it was the responsible thing to do. It was the right thing
to do.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we have seen this film before. Let's just
skip to the ending today. Put a CR on the floor.
I don't like CRs. We should have done our work. We should have passed
12 bills, sent them to the President, and had him sign it.
Let's skip this pretense that we have been involved in. Let's get to
the nub of the issue. We haven't done our work, and therefore we need a
short-term solution. Let's do it.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, a very fine gentleman and good friend by the name of
Bill Rosado, who is a first-generation, very successful, and self-made
Mexican-American entrepreneur in my district, recently said that
allowing a free-for-all immigration system is in total violation of the
law and unacceptable for most of us who came here legally.
Mr. Speaker, a free-for-all, out-of-control immigration system is
exactly what the Biden-Harris administration and far too many in this
House have delivered over the past 3\1/2\ years.
Mr. Speaker, 10 to 15 million-plus illegal crossings, drug cartels,
human trafficking, migrant crime, and, yes, noncitizens registering to
vote is an unmitigated disaster.
Nonetheless, the legislation we are considering here gives us an
opportunity to address part of the problem by prohibiting noncitizens
from voting while keeping our government running.
Mr. Speaker, while it is written in our Constitution that only U.S.
citizens can vote, the SAVE Act attached to this continuing resolution
prohibits bad actors from registering noncitizens and noncitizens from
registering to vote and requires States to purge their voter rolls of
all noncitizens, such as illegal immigrants.
To anyone considering opposing this bill, a ``no'' vote implies and
states to the American people why the Biden administration has left the
border open in the first place. It is for potentially more votes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. MEUSER. The American people want this bill to pass. They need
this bill to pass. It will help, as well, restore confidence in our
elections. Let's do the right thing on a bipartisan basis as we head
towards this momentous election. We came here today to ensure that only
U.S. citizens can register and vote in Federal elections.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass the SAVE Act, safeguard our
elections, and fund our government.
{time} 1730
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano), the distinguished ranking member of the
Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut
(Ms. DeLauro) for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 9494, a fundamentally
flawed attempt by the Republican leadership to save face for their
inability to govern and a bill which lacks $12 billion in critical
funding for the Veterans Health Administration.
Leaving out this critical funding for veterans' healthcare is the
latest in a cynical political game playing that we have seen in this
Congress. It is blatant, and I know my stating this fact will cause
some howling complaints on the other side, just as it did last night
when the House approved almost $3 billion in funding for the Veterans
Benefit Administration.
This was done with a lot of misinformation and mudslinging about how
this is all the fault of the Biden-Harris administration rather than
recognition that this is the bill coming due for the true cost of war
and what we owe to veterans, which we finally started paying with the
Honoring our PACT Act.
This is not a last-minute request, and it is certainly not grounded
in mismanagement, despite my Republican colleagues making this
accusation.
This $12 billion shortfall is a direct result of President Biden and
the VA's rapid implementation of the Honoring our PACT Act, which I got
signed into law in 2022.
[[Page H5369]]
The VA Secretary McDonough told Congress in July that the Veterans
Health Administration will need the $12 billion to continue to provide
world-class care and ensure it has the resources and staff to uphold
that standard.
Therefore, why not include the needed funds in the CR? My colleagues
think that I am somehow opposed to oversight on this issue, which is
not true. I support oversight when it is well-intentioned, and we want
to ensure we improve the budget process and not put veterans in a
position that they become concerned about the availability of
healthcare or benefits.
I agree with my colleagues' calls for more oversight, but let's be
honest about that oversight because what is needed is significantly
more oversight of the funding going from VHA direct care to for-profit
healthcare, a part of the budget that has grown over 15 percent year
after year, and this is unsustainable.
With these growing costs, I would think the Veterans' Affairs
Committee would have held several oversight hearings to determine
whether veterans are receiving the same quality of care by the for-
profit providers and that taxpayers are getting the best value from
these providers.
We have held no such hearings.
The VA has been transparent about both the VBA and VHA shortfalls.
The VBA supplemental passed the House unanimously last night and is
awaiting prompt action in the Senate.
The need for the VHA funding is fast approaching, so why add the
uncertainty for veterans who receive their care at VA? Let's end the
political games and get serious.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, have my colleagues across the aisle proposed
a plan to leadership to address these additional funds needed by the
VA? No. Of course not. My Republican colleagues would rather point
fingers under the guise of accountability than legislate. In the
process, my colleagues are shortchanging veterans.
Why do my colleagues insist on wasting time? We are wasting time
voting today on a CR we know will not pass and will never become law,
and we are wasting time by not doing our jobs and prioritizing funding
for the VA.
Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity to stand with veterans and fix
this now.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Bean), my very good friend.
Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, one citizen, one vote. It is the foundation of our
government, and it is the ability to vote in a free and fair election,
but the pillar of our democracy is under vicious attack because the
Biden-Harris administration refuses to enforce the law.
Since 2021, this administration has allowed over 10 million illegal
immigrants into our Nation. It is the most, Mr. Speaker, in recorded
history. That number is greater than the population of 36 existing
States.
Mr. Speaker, the far left claims illegals are not registering to
vote. My Democratic colleagues claim illegals are not voting in our
election. Members on the other side of the aisle claim it is already
illegal. Democrats claim that the SAVE Act is not needed.
Mr. Speaker, I have some breaking news. It is happening. I spoke to
my supervisor in Nassau County, Florida, Janet Adkins, yesterday. She
has, indeed, found illegals who have already registered to vote and
have already voted in previous elections. She is working on cleaning up
the rolls.
Our team reached out to other election supervisors in my district in
northeast Florida: Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida, the office of
Jerry Holland, and in Clay County, the office of Chris Chambless. Both
of them also found illegal immigrants who have voted. Oh, wait a
minute. Is it not happening? I hear that it is not needed, but it is.
I challenge each of my colleagues to call their supervisor and ask
them: Is it happening in my county? Then ask: What are you doing to
ensure that we have free and fair elections and only citizens vote? How
do you know? How do they know?
The best example is it is already illegal for a minor to purchase
alcohol, yet we still card them. We still enforce the law. Mr. Speaker,
87 percent of Americans want our election laws enforced.
I guess the 13 percent that don't are sitting on that side of the
aisle, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me and pass the SAVE Act.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Kennedy).
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut
(Ms. DeLauro) for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this extreme MAGA
Republican continuing resolution that will defund our veterans.
We have mere days to fund the government and avoid a shutdown that
will force millions of Federal employees to be without pay, halt work
on critical infrastructure projects, and prevent Americans from
receiving the benefits they rely on.
Unfortunately, extreme MAGA Republicans have abdicated their
responsibility to govern even further. This continuing resolution fails
to meet the needs of our heroes who have fought and served in our
Nation's military. It shortchanges our veterans by $12 billion.
This is funding that is desperately needed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs to maintain its workforce at VA hospitals across the
country, which is critical to providing the quality of medical services
our veterans need.
Without the full $12 billion included in the continuing resolution,
the VA is being forced to make choices regarding care that could
degrade services for patients, reduce support for veterans who
experience homelessness, and limit programs that support caregivers.
We are already seeing the harm being done from a lack of resources
for the VA across our country. In my district, the Buffalo VA does not
have the funding needed to maintain its workforce, driving nurses to
the picket line to call for more hires, all while patients are
receiving delayed care in crumbling facilities.
It is unacceptable, and it will directly impact the 40,000 veterans
living in my district and more than 18 million veterans across the
country. This disastrous budget also comes as the Honoring our PACT Act
brings a record number of benefits to our veterans, including those who
were exposed to toxic burn pits during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan
while defending our Nation, and who deserve to receive the benefits
they have earned.
Now is not the time to disinvest from our veterans. We need to follow
through with a bipartisan commitment this body made to make the men and
women who served in our military whole.
In funding the United States Government, we need to deliver for the
heroes who have sacrificed so much for our country.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this
measure as-is and work with us to pass a clean CR that ensures our
Nation's veterans are treated with the dignity and respect that they
rightfully deserve.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Speaker, let me state a fact. The Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 prohibits noncitizens from voting
in Federal elections. It is not legal in any State for a noncitizen to
vote for a Federal office. It is the law of the land of the United
States.
Mr. Speaker, moving to appropriations, vote ``no'' on this bill. This
bill is an admission that the House Republican majority cannot govern.
It abandons veterans. It abandons our military, our Social Security
recipients, and our cities and families who are grappling with
disasters and no disaster relief.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that every appropriator on both sides of the
aisle would prefer a 3-month continuing resolution. Republicans and
Democrats need to come to the table. Let us move to setting a date in
December. Let us get on with the business of governing, hammer out the
programs and the numbers with regard to the programs,
[[Page H5370]]
and let the American people know that we are working on their behalf.
Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle,
particularly my Republican colleagues, it is now time to govern. Stop
the game playing. Stop the foolishness and the wasting of the time we
have, and let's get on to the business of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, as usual, these debates, particularly at these moments,
get a little overheated, and I think we have seen a lot of that. I
think the essence of what we are talking about here is pretty simple,
and I think some of the charges that have been made against my
colleagues in the majority are pretty ridiculous.
We are told we want to shut down the government. Really? What we are
proposing actually keeps the government open longer than anything my
friends on the other side are proposing.
We are told we didn't get our work done. Really? The United States
Senate hasn't passed a single bill. It has not passed all of its bills
out of committee. To be fair to my friends, and I have been around here
a long time, when Democrats were in the majority, my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle never got 71 percent of the bills passed in
time, the money spent because Democrats couldn't pass a defense bill.
My Democratic colleagues have never been able to do that. Once my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle do that, the minority,
frankly, will exceed whatever the Democratic target was.
All of this stuff about not getting our work done or whatever, or we
are not taking care of veterans, we gave this administration more money
than it asked for, for veterans. At the last minute, we come back. I am
for the Honoring our PACT Act. I voted for the Honoring our PACT Act. I
am anxious to make sure it is appropriately funded, but if my
colleagues think I am going to take the word of this administration's
Department of Veterans Affairs at face value, no, I am not.
Frankly, that agency has a long history of surprising administrations
at the last minute, and this one is particularly bad.
We are more than happy to deal with this. It doesn't have to be dealt
with in a CR. It ought to be dealt with in the full bill during the
final negotiations, and that is true for most of the things my friends
have brought up. My colleagues like to talk about a clean CR and then
give us a list as long as our arm of what is not in it.
Mr. Speaker, a clean CR is a clean CR. It is not full of all these
other things that you are requesting and demanding. My Democratic
colleagues need to decide which one it is.
Mr. Speaker, let's talk about what this bill does. It is pretty
simple. It keeps the government open until the end of March, or
roughly, March 28, about 6 months. If we can get our business done
faster, I am with my friend, the ranking member. I would prefer to do
that. Looking at the record of Congress, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Having some extra time is not a bad idea.
Second, I am extraordinarily perplexed that the idea of reaffirming,
in a time of unmitigated disaster at the southern border, that you have
to be an American citizen to vote in an election is somehow
controversial. That is mystifying.
Frankly, we have every reason to be worried given the disaster on the
immigration front this administration has allowed to unfold. As
colleague after colleague of mine have pointed out, they can talk to
local supervisors in their district who tell them, yeah, we have some
people here who are illegal, and they are registered, and they voted.
What is the big deal about saying we want to make sure, in what we
know is going to be a close election, that only American citizens
participate. That is incredible that that is a controversial thing.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude by, number one, thanking my friends who
participated in the debate and worked so hard to present this. All we
are trying to do is what my colleagues are asking us to do: Keep the
government open. This bill will do that.
The controversial poison pill, as it is called, is simply saying: If
you are going to vote in a Federal American election, you have to be an
American citizen, and we are asking for proof to be provided.
{time} 1745
I still get carded when I order a drink at a bar in some places. It
is pretty flattering, but the requirement is there that I have to pull
out my driver's license. I think it is a lot more important when we are
talking about somebody voting in a consequential election that they be
able to do that, so I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing.
If my friends want to go on record opposing that, that is up to them.
I hope my friends on my side of the aisle see the wisdom of keeping the
government open, particularly a few weeks before an election, and see
the importance of reaffirming that only American citizens can vote in
American elections.
We put those two things together. I think that is a very sensible
thing to do, and I urge the support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the previous question is ordered
on the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
Motion to Recommit
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. DeLauro of Connecticut moves to recommit the bill H.R.
9494 to the Committee on Appropriations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the
previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. COLE. 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 question will be postponed.
Proceedings will resume on questions previously postponed.
Votes will be taken in the following order:
The motion to recommit H.R. 5339;
Passage of H.R. 5339, if ordered;
Passage of H.R. 5179;
Passage of H.R. 7909;
The motion to recommit H.R. 9494; and
Passage of H.R. 9494, if ordered.
The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote.
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, remaining electronic votes will be
conducted as 5-minute votes.
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