Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding additional time. Mr. Speaker, we will have 110,000 children--where their parents…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding additional time. Mr. Speaker, we will have 110,000 children--where their parents are going to work--that will have no Head Start slots; 65,000 will not have access to childcare; 60,000 seniors will be robbed of nutrition programs. Then we will have 2.3 million women, infants, and children, as I said, without WIC. No educational dollars, fewer teachers, 4,000 fewer safety inspections, and we will be undermining law enforcement. So if everyone wants to be shrill, here is a solution. Bring the temperature down, pass the Senate CR, open the doors, and stop these draconian cuts because you are hurting the American people and my fellow Houstonians. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in opposition to H.R. 5525 Continuing Appropriations and Border Security Enhancement Act, 2024. The reckless funding proposal included in this bill would painfully impact the lives of millions of Americans by making disastrous cuts to programs that workers and families count on every day. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are more focused on introducing unpopular and dangerous funding bills that cut virtually all non-defense discretionary funding by 8 percent than working on a bipartisan solution that could be enacted. The Republican funding bill is a short-term radical solution and would only keep the government open until October 31, 2023.…”