Providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 5371) making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach) for yielding me the customary time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is great to see you all, Mr. Speaker. We have been looking for you guys everywhere. Where the hell have you been?

Imagine my shock when I found out that you guys went home. Republicans have been on 8 weeks of taxpayer-funded paid vacation. Why did Republicans do it? They did it because Democrats had the audacity to ask them to try to lower people's healthcare costs.

While they sat on their couch for 8 weeks, we were working. We listened to people who told us their health insurance premiums are doubling and tripling. We heard from people who don't understand why you guys moved at the speed of light to give tax breaks to billionaires but won't lift a damn finger to extend the tax credits that help ensure people's health insurance premiums don't skyrocket.

This CR, this dirty CR, which does nothing to solve the healthcare crisis, is one of the most immoral, unethical, evil things that I have ever seen happen in all of my time in Congress. It is just part of a larger pattern of indifference from Republicans that we have seen time after time after time.

When the billionaire class needed another tax cut, when they wanted to funnel money to the people who write their campaign checks, boy, did Republicans deliver. They rammed through their awful, big, ugly bill in a nanosecond. What the hell is wrong with them?

While regular people are struggling to pay bills, Donald Trump's net worth has gone up by $3 billion since he became President.

People's health insurance premiums are doubling and tripling, but Republicans say there is no affordability crisis, even as their tariffs are costing people an extra 1,200 bucks per year.

Regular people can't afford the rent, and Republicans are letting Trump gild his bathroom and build a ballroom to host the rich and powerful elites who own the GOP.

These guys are bailing out Argentina. They are giving $40 billion to an entirely different country rather than helping the 42 million Americans who can't afford to put food on the table.

Here is the clincher, Mr. Speaker: Buried in this CR is a corrupt kickback for eight Republican Senators, a million-dollar payday funded by taxpayers taken straight from the Treasury and deposited directly into their pockets.

What the hell is wrong with this place?

They promised to put America first. The only thing you guys put first is yourselves, yourselves and the rich and powerful people who pull your strings behind the scenes.

These people don't care. They don't have to call the insurance company because their claim was denied. They don't buy their own groceries. If you have a private jet, an offshore bank account, and an invite to Mar-a-Lago, go ahead and support your Republican Representative. If you are a regular person who feels like you are getting screwed over, and if you are fed up with the status quo here in Washington that only works for those at the top, this majority is not fighting for you--but we are.

Democrats are on your side, and we will fight with you every step of the way against the corruption, the lies, and the BS coming out of this administration. We will not back this so-called deal. It is not a real solution, and it is certainly not a clean CR. This CR leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their healthcare.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule and ``no'' on the underlying legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, you have to love the Republicans. The gentlewoman from Minnesota says that they weren't on vacation. I want to remind her that they haven't voted for 8 weeks, and most people define ``vacation'' as you don't have to show up to work and you get paid.

That is exactly what Republicans did. They didn't show up to work, and they got paid. It was a paid vacation.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I love my Republican colleagues. The majority is introducing legislation to repeal provisions in a bill that they are going to vote ``yes'' on. Figure that out.

Mr. Speaker, the previous question is the House Democrats' last attempt to make a change to this rule before it gets voted on, and I use this opportunity to talk about a last-minute provision that was slipped into this CR in the Senate. It is an outrageous giveaway to pad the pockets of eight Republican Senators, and it is one of the most corrupt things that I have seen in my life.

Mr. Speaker, if the House defeats the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to consider as adopted an amendment to the continuing resolution, offered by Representative Subramanyam, which would strike the corrupt giveaway out of the text of this bill so that it does not make it into law.

Mr. Speaker, this is a massive payday for Republicans. It would allow eight Republican Senators to shovel millions--millions--of dollars into their own wallets. I am talking about cash money. It is not for their States and not for their constituents. No, no. It is for their own personal bank accounts.

Why should a United States Senator or any party get a special right that nobody else has? No State legislator, no Governor, no judge, and no citizen in the entire country has this right, but we are creating it for a handful of Republican Senators. It is immoral. I say it is unconstitutional.

It is wrong, and it is probably the most brazen theft and plunder of public resources ever proposed in the United States Congress. It was tucked into this legislation, and I speak directly to Republicans who say that they can't vote with us because it will delay the reopening of the government.

First off, that is exactly what these corrupt Senators were hoping they would say. Second, we absolutely can send this back to the Senate. They can quickly strip it and send the bill to the President. They finished this package in less than 2 days. This is one small thing that needs to be deleted. It is easy, and it could be done very fast.

Mr. Speaker, please spare me the excuses that we will get this done next week with a new bill. Once this is law, that is it. It is signed into law forever. It will never change. It is permanent, and the majority voted for it. Republicans all know that. So they shouldn't say that they are going to pass some new bill next week to address this. That is just an excuse to do nothing that would fix it.

Republicans moved at the speed of light to give tax breaks to billionaires, and the least that they could do is to give the same urgency to stop this shamelessly corrupt fleecing of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I get it. Trump is suing the U.S. Government for $230 million, and I guess these Senators want in on the action. They want their own payday. I have never seen this level of grift, shameless corruption, and theft of public money in my entire life, ever.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from ABC News titled: ``Inflation climbs to highest level since January, beef prices soar.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The Washington Post titled: ``From groceries to gas, Americans say they're spending more under Trump.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The New Republic titled: `` `No, You're wrong': Trump Spirals When Pressed on Rising Food Prices.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The New Republic titled: ``Trump Admits He Doesn't Care About `Affordability' As Economy Plunges.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from MSNBC titled: `` `Not a big issue': Republicans shrug as consumers confront health care sticker shock.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an opinion article published in MSNBC titled: ``Trump's Argentina bailout once again puts Americans last.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from PBS titled: ``Trump administration working on doubling Argentina financing to $40 billion.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from Forbes titled: ``Presidency Boosts Trump's Net Worth By $3 billion In A Year.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from People.com titled: ``Donald Trump Hosts Great Gatsby-Themed Halloween Party as 42 Million Americans Brace for SNAP Benefits to Expire.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The New York Times titled: ``Trump's Latest White House Makeover: The Lincoln Bathroom in Marble and Gold.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The Nation titled: ``The Bill to End the Shutdown Is Full of Giveaways to Republicans.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the gentlewoman thinks that trying to stop people's healthcare premiums from doubling and tripling and quadrupling is political theater, but we don't. I don't have time to address all the BS coming from my colleagues across the Chamber, but it is clear this Republican leadership is not only failing to deliver on their promises but they are selling out at the expense of the basic needs of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I don't think we ought to be lectured by somebody who, over the years, has been the king of government shutdowns and who worked for a United States Senator that pushed for a government shutdown to object to the Affordable Care Act.

I just want to make it clear to everybody: This is a Republican shutdown. They control the White House. They control the House. They control the Senate. This government shutdown is because they don't want to negotiate. It is their way or the highway. This is a Republican shutdown. They own it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. Speaker, we are getting lectured on governance by a guy who is just coming off an 8-week paid vacation. Give me a break.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms. Sherrill), the next Governor of New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).

Mr. Speaker, let me just say that the gentleman from New York sounds as extreme as his voting record. Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman who just spoke, by supporting this bill, he is betraying 7,000 constituents in his district who rely on the ACA to afford their healthcare. Boy, I am glad he is not my Representative.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, there is some big news, some breaking news in the last hour. I am proud to say that our newest colleague, Representative Adelita Grijalva, just became the 218th signature on the Massie-Khanna discharge petition to compel the release of the Epstein files.

To all my Republican colleagues who refuse to sign on: Time is up, you need to figure out where you stand on this because you are about to go on record. Is your loyalty to Trump more important than going after pedophiles? Make no mistake, these files will come out. It is no longer a question of if, only when, and whether the White House chooses to stand with the survivors or throw them under the bus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised the gentlewoman brought up the unanimous consent request, but I am glad she did because I want the Record to be clear. I didn't hear any objection on the floor. The Republican chair basically ruled it as an improper unanimous consent request, and so that is why it didn't move forward.

However, I do know this, because I am on the Rules Committee, and I do know the gentlewoman time and time and time again voted against releasing the Epstein files. I know my Republican friends are hoping that they don't have to go on record because they don't want to get Trump upset at them, but the bottom line is every single Republican will go on record, and you will have to make clear whether you are on the side of a pedophile or whether you are on the side of the victims.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me just say to the gentlewoman this Republican shutdown didn't need to happen. All they needed to do was extend ACA tax credits so the American people wouldn't get screwed on their health insurance bills.

I would also point out to her the President of the United States illegally withheld SNAP benefits. Two Federal judges, basically two court orders, backed us up on that. He is the first President ever in history to shut off food benefits to people during a shutdown. Shame on him.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna).

Mr. Speaker, the ACA polls at 65 percent. Donald Trump is at 37 percent.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Olszewski).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have enough time to rebut all the absurd claims made by the other side. Suddenly, they all have an opinion on healthcare. They had a decade to come up with a plan, and they came up with nothing.

I am glad they finally acknowledged that this is a dirty CR that shovels millions of dollars into the pockets of Republican politicians. They hate this bill so much that they are all going to vote for it.

They say that we shut the government down.

Really, Mr. Speaker?

The last time I checked, Republicans are in charge around here. We heard for months about their mandate. They control the House, the Senate, and the White House. They have a duty to keep the government open, and they failed. They did not have the votes. They refused to negotiate with us because we wanted to help regular people instead of billionaires, and now they want to blame us for the consequences of their own actions.

What the hell is wrong with them?

Give me a frigging break.

America is the richest country in the history of the world. We are blessed with an abundance of so much. There should not be an affordability crisis. Every single person in this country should be able to have a good job, a living wage, affordable food and healthcare, and have a shot at a better future. That is what I am fighting for. That is what we are fighting for. That is how I want to make America great. That is the Democratic vision for what this country could be.

From a moral perspective and from a set of values, we believe it is immoral to have a system that gives so much to just a few billionaires by depriving so many of the basic things they need to live a good life. It is clear to me after this debate that Republicans do not share those same values.

I am going to fight like hell, and we are going to fight like hell because I believe in America. We believe in America, and we believe that the hopes and the dreams of the American people will prevail.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 873 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, last night, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule providing for the consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, and I am happy to say that it will end the government shutdown.

The rule provides 1 hour of debate on the motion equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations, or their designees.

I rise in support of this rule and the underlying legislation. This bill delivers on our commitment to the American people by finally reopening the government. It delivers on the promises that we have made to our veterans, our farmers, and our taxpayers.

Let's be honest: This government shutdown was completely avoidable. On September 19, House Republicans passed a continuing resolution that funded critical services and would have given us time to negotiate long-term solutions. It was a yes vote to keep the government open and to pay our troops, air traffic controllers, and Federal employees.

Every Democrat but one voted no. Every Democrat but one voted to shut the government down. This is not opinion, and this is not messaging like Democrats keep trying to spin it. It is a fact that anyone can check the vote record. Democrats voted against a nonpartisan, clean CR free of poison pills that would have continued Biden-level funding and kept the government open for negotiations.

Democrats chose politics over people. They refused to support a commonsense measure, and American families paid the price.

This bill restores stability to our national nutritional programs, which were put under unnecessary strain during the shutdown. It will fund WIC and SNAP, ensuring that low-income mothers and their babies have access to healthy and nutritious foods.

These programs should not have been used as a bargaining chip during the shutdown. Republicans are stepping up to protect Americans and ensure these programs remain stable and funded. That is what responsible governance looks like.

There are three appropriations bills included in the CR, put here to jump-start our appropriations process.

H.R. 5371 delivers for rural America. It provides funding for the Farm Service Agency to support our Nation's farmers and ranchers. It invests in rural development programs, including funding affordable housing rental assistance for low-income families and seniors in rural communities. These investments strengthen our local economies and ensure that rural communities are not left behind.

For our troops, this bill demonstrates our dedication to veteran medical care, including funding for

mental health, telehealth services, homelessness programs, caregiver programs, opioid misuse prevention and treatment, medical research, healthcare tailored to our female veterans, rural healthcare initiatives, and construction for new VA hospitals and veteran cemeteries.

We are also funding veteran disability programs, education benefits, and employment training. Funds will be invested in military family housing projects to support those who support our troops and in projects to improve quality of life for our servicemembers, including hospitals and schools.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5371 is what governing with a purpose looks like. If Democrats had joined us in September to pass a commonsense continuing resolution, we could have avoided this Democrat shutdown altogether, but they chose reckless posturing over responsibility. Now, Republicans are stepping up to restore stability and reopen the government for the people.

I stand in support of this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5371 and stay focused on what matters: serving the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, there is so much to unpack and to object to in the ranking member's opening statement, but I just want to comment on one of the issues.

I find the statement that Republicans were on vacation laughable. The idea that Republicans were on vacation during the shutdown is just simply false. It is false. Many of us were in Washington or in our districts meeting with constituents, advancing local priorities, and staying fully engaged with our constituents and our work.

Our dedication to serving the American people didn't pause during the shutdown, whether in D.C. or back at home, which, for the record, I was in both places and many, many of my Republican colleagues were, too. We were doing the work we were elected to do.

The real story here is not about the absence. It is about the commitment, and for Republicans, we never wavered.

If the Democrats cared so much about working, they would not have shut the government down.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), the esteemed chairwoman of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I never said that this bill was perfect. Not everyone agrees with the provision, and our colleague from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott) just mentioned that he is already addressing it. What we do agree on is that it is critically important to get the government open, and that is why we are here today.

Mr. Speaker, it is getting our Federal employees paid and getting our troops paid. It is getting SNAP back on track and getting our airports back to full capacity. Once this happens, we can tackle the issues. We can get back to really doing the things for the American people and not using their suffering as leverage like Democratic Whip Clark is willing to do.

Democrats have spent weeks performing political theater by refusing to open government, and they continue to perform that political theater. We need to prioritize the reopening of the government and stop the suffering that the Democrats want to use as leverage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McDowell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The ranking member mentioned the discharge petition, and he is very proud that it has 218 signatures, but not that long ago today we had a unanimous consent request that would have moved that resolution along over to the Senate, and I believe the Democrats objected to it.

It seems more like a political stunt than it does that they actually wanted to have that resolution moved along because if they had not objected, it would have gone on its way, and they would have accomplished what they wanted to do.

I don't see their real desire to have the resolution passed. I see it more, like I said, as a political stunt, and it certainly is actually a moot point, given that the Oversight Committee is already releasing many of those files. As a matter of fact, I believe they have done tens of thousands of them, but I believe this morning they did another 20,000 files, so they are being released, and this all seems for naught.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

Mr. Speaker, I would point out to some of my colleagues that the Democrat government shutdown stopped the SNAP benefits. If they were very concerned about making sure that people had their nutritional assistance, they wouldn't have shut down the government. That is what caused it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to address the healthcare issues the Democrats continue to bring up. They act like this had anything to do with the premiums of everyone in the country. We are talking about the Affordable Care Act COVID-era subsidies. This is not what is affecting other people's premiums, other than those folks who qualify for those COVID-era premium subsidies. That is it. They continue to make it sound like this is responsible for every kind of increase that people are seeing.

The Affordable Care Act's original subsidies will remain in place. So that is the original subsidies, ensuring that millions still qualify for the income-based tax credit and capping out-of-pocket costs relative to income.

It is the COVID era. I can't say that enough. It is the COVID-era subsidies that are in question here, and premium increases are actually driven by multiple factors, including medical inflation, provider consolidation, and rising

drug costs. However to actually reduce premiums, that is what we must address. We must have comprehensive discussions about that, not just political theater and sound bites. We have to actually sit down and have those discussions, and that is what getting the government back open will do.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

As we wrap up this debate, I want to take a moment to cut through the noise from our colleagues on the left. Instead of focusing on the legislation before us, they are resorting to fear tactics and tossing out false claims about what this shutdown is really about.

The CR would have kept the government open to continue and finish the appropriations process. Yet the Democrats refused and instead chose to shut down the government.

My colleague mentions values. Democrats claim that our values are different. Democratic Whip Clark said: ``Of course there will be families that are going to suffer . . . but it is one of the few leverage times we have.''

So if those are the values they are talking about, I don't share those values.

Mr. Speaker, I won't make the American people suffer, whether it be their SNAP payments, whether it be keeping air traffic controllers paid, or whether it is paying our troops. Making the American people suffer are not the values that I share.

For the record, Republicans did not cause this shutdown, and we have not been on vacation. I have been splitting my time between D.C. and the District, as I mentioned before, meeting with constituents in both, meeting with Federal agencies, and hosting a teletownhall. I know how hard my Republican colleagues have been working for their constituents and the American people.

It was the Democrats who shut down the government when they refused to support a clean CR that would have kept the lights on and protected critical services, and now it is the Democrats who continue to shift the blame.

Now, getting back to the issue at hand, let's talk about what this bill actually does.

H.R. 5371 restores the funding for SNAP and WIC. It reimburses the contingency reserves to make sure that programs remain stable and reliable. Actually, President Trump moved $300 million of tariff revenue to fund WIC during the shutdown. Republicans are the ones protecting food security and not playing games with it.

This bill also delivers for our farmers and ranchers and for rural development. It invests in the communities that feed this country and keep the economy strong. It supports our troops and Federal workers. It ensures our servicemembers and their families have the support they need, and it honors the promises we have made to those who have served.

Yes, it reopens the government, restores stability, and resumes regular order.

So let's be honest about what a ``yes'' vote means. A ``yes'' vote is a vote for veterans care. A ``yes'' vote is a vote for SNAP and WIC. A ``yes'' vote is a vote for $700,000 for a fire engine in Ranking Member McGovern's district and $1 million for the Navajo Nation Division of Community Development in Representative Leger Fernandez's district. A ``yes'' vote is for farmers. A ``yes'' vote is for our troops and for Federal workers, and, yes, it is for reopening the government.

A ``no'' vote is a vote against all of that, including the development of a wastewater treatment facility in Mr. Neguse's district, and $1.5 million in watershed conservation in Representative Clark's district. It is a vote against Federal workers. It is a vote against healthcare. It is a vote against feeding hungry children, and it is a vote against common sense.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 873, I call up the bill (H.R. 5371) making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026.

History reminds us, Mr. Speaker, that shutdowns never change the outcome. The only cost is paid by the American people.

Over the last 43 days, the facts did not shift, the votes required did not shift, and the path forward did not change. The only thing that did move was the level of pain Democrats inflicted on the Nation.

For 6 long weeks, Americans have paid the price for a shutdown they neither caused nor deserved. The pain has been all too real for far too many Americans, including families struggling without paychecks, seniors on the brink of hunger with food assistance lapsed, airports in chaos, and communities bracing as programs that they rely on were stalled or stopped altogether.

With yesterday being Veterans Day, we especially reflect on the impact of this shutdown on those who served our Nation past and present. Our military families were left wondering if they would be paid. Thanks to President Trump, they were.

Yet, this is not how the greatest Nation in the world should function. Today that changes.

The legislation before us reopens the government, restores critical services, and puts an end to the needless hardship Democrats have inflicted on the country.

This bill supports our troops. It pays Federal workers. It fully funds SNAP benefits until September 30 of next year. It compensates our air traffic controllers right before a busy holiday season. In fact, it takes a holistic approach in ensuring Federal services and programs are operational. In the simplest terms, we are putting the government back to work for our people.

The bill is fundamentally the same responsible approach House Republicans offered on September 19, but with an important addition: three full-year appropriations bills for FY26. These bipartisan, bicameral, full-year appropriations bills cover the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Legislative Branch; Agriculture, Rural Development; and Food and Drug Administration divisions.

Once passed, we will have full-year funding in place for many of our most crucial programs. Military construction needs will be met for a full year, as will medical programs for our Nation's veterans. The legislative branch

will be properly resourced, including critical funding enhancements for the Capitol Police and for Member security. Agriculture, food and nutrition programs like WIC and SNAP will be fully funded to help vulnerable people in need.

Importantly, this legislation delivers Member-driven community project funding in both the military construction and agriculture divisions, which will direct resources back into the hands of the communities we represent. This was a top priority for the Appropriations Committee, and we achieved it while holding overall spending levels in check.

It is a responsible appropriations progress like this that causes me to reflect on an important message to our friends in the Democratic leadership. My sincere apologies to Minority Leaders Jeffries and Schumer, but after today they will no longer get to hold the government hostage, and they will not get to force a rushed, pork-filled Christmas omnibus at the end of the year.

Republicans have actively restored a responsible, line-by-line process. Over the next few months, we will continue this work and efforts through regular order. This Article I advancement is an accomplishment that every Member of this Chamber can be proud of regardless of party. Yet some still need to decide what they stand for today.

To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, do they want the leverage or do they want to legislate? Do they treat Americans as collateral damage or as constituents, and do they answer to their caucus or their country?

For Republicans, the answer has been clear for the last 43 days. We have and we will continue to put Americans first. Democrats can join us. They have an opportunity to make the responsible choice to reopen our government and pass three official full-year appropriations bills. Mr. Speaker, eight Senate Democrats saw reason and did exactly that. I hope House Democrats do the same.

True courage is taking responsible action for the Nation even when politics makes it inconvenient. Let's reopen the government and get back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), our distinguished majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), who is the distinguished chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), my good friend and

the distinguished chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain), my very good friend and the chair of the House Republican Conference.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Michigan.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Moore), my very good friend and distinguished member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse), my very good friend and distinguished member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford), my very good friend and member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), my very good friend and chairman of the House Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Guam (Mr. Moylan), my very good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), my very good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden), my very good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it has been an interesting debate.

Frankly, as a couple of my colleagues have suggested, a lot of the rhetoric on the other side hasn't had much to do with the legislation in front of us. My friends chose all on their own to shut the government down 43 days ago.

During that time, soldiers have had to worry about getting paid. The only reason they were paid is because the President of the United States managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat twice or we would have military families completely unpaid.

We have our air traffic controllers. Most of us flew here today, yesterday, or in recent days. They are keeping the skies as safe as they can, but they haven't gotten paid.

We are in this Capitol Building. We are under the protection of the Capitol Police. They do a splendid job. They keep doing their job. They haven't been paid.

We have people who are in desperate need of some of the services this government has promised to give them, SNAP and WIC, at risk unless we pass this legislation tonight.

We can have all of these debates about all of these other issues. As a matter of fact, my friend, the Speaker, his counterpart in the United States Senate, the majority leader, and the President have said when you open the government, we will be happy to talk to you about some of these issues, but you are not going to shut down the government, punish the American people, put people's lives at risk, and think we are going to sit down and negotiate with you under those circumstances. That is not going to happen.

We told you 43 days ago, from bitter experience, government shutdowns don't work. They never achieve the objective that you announce. Guess what. You haven't achieved that objective yet, and you are not going to. We did the same thing twice, so I am not saying that we have clean hands over here. You guys did it on DACA. It didn't work there. It is not going to work here.

The only people who have suffered have been the American people, the people whom we are all here to serve.

Let's keep the focus on getting the government back open.

I would also add--and I appreciate this very much--there have been robust discussions back and forth, and we

have three appropriations bills attached to this. They are appropriations bills that do important things.

The Agriculture bill will make sure that people who rely on WIC and SNAP don't have to worry about another government shutdown between now and September 30 of next year.

The Legislative Branch bill will make sure that the Capitol Police and everybody else who is staff who allows this Chamber to function don't have to worry about getting paid until September 30 of next year.

Obviously, military construction and, more importantly, veterans rely on benefit commitments we have made. Passage of this bill makes sure that we fulfill those commitments between now and September 30 of next year, and we buy the time to sit down to rationally and responsibly negotiate other appropriations bills that we can bring, I hope, on a bipartisan basis to this floor to keep the government open.

I would just ask my friends to reflect on that. I hope some of you feel the weight of that decision. I know you do. I hope you can vote to keep the government open. There is no excuse to shut it down. The United States Senate operated to keep it open in a bipartisan fashion. Now, it took them a long time to do it, but they got there. Let's not follow that example.

When they finally got the job done, they sent us a product. It is not a perfect product. It has some things in it I don't like, but frankly, if we had kept the government open, we would never have been in this situation in the first place.

I would just ask my friends to remember their constituents. I know they think about them. I know they are serious about the points they make. Reopen the government and raise your issues. Let's see if we can come to a negotiated settlement, but let's not punish the American people.

A ``no'' vote on this, again, means soldiers and military families don't get paid. A ``no'' vote means that people in need of SNAP and WIC might not get it. A ``no'' vote means the people who allow us to come here to debate and work won't get paid either.

I can go down the list of horrors. It is pretty simple. This is a vote about two things: opening the Government of the United States, which you willfully tried to shut down. Fortunately, you did not succeed in that in this Chamber, but some of your colleagues, using arcane Senate rules, did manage to do it but finally came to their senses. You ought to pay attention to those people. They said enough is enough. Let's reopen the government.

I urge my colleagues to do that today. I hope it is done in a bipartisan way.

I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), the

Speaker of the House. He is my very good friend and a person I admire greatly.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, for yielding and for her steadfast leadership on behalf of working families and hardworking American taxpayers in the great State of Connecticut, and all across America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this woefully inadequate spending bill that fails to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis and fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for tens of millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, before I say anything further, let me thank our men and women in uniform, our Active-Duty troops, our hardworking Federal employees, our civil servants, our TSA agents, our Capitol Police, our staff here in the House of Representatives, and our air traffic controllers for their service, their sacrifice, and for the work that they do on behalf of the American people each and every day. It is our promise to all of them that we will continue to work hard to make sure they are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve in a year in which the Trump administration has gone after hardworking Federal employees relentlessly, including firing more than 200,000 Federal employees prior to the start of the Trump Republican shutdown.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. Donald Trump and Republicans made the decision to shut the government down, the longest shutdown in American history. They would rather do that than provide healthcare that is affordable to working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and hardworking American taxpayers.

All across the country, I am certain that there are people in America asking the question: Where do we go from here?

House Democrats have a simple answer. We will continue to fight to lower the high cost of living. House Democrats will continue to fight to address the healthcare crisis that Republicans have created, and House Democrats will continue to fight to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for tens of millions of Americans.

This fight is not over. We are just getting started. We will fight today. We will fight tomorrow. We will fight this week. We will fight next week. We will fight this month. We will fight next month. We will fight until we win this battle for the American people. That is our commitment as House Democrats.

There are only two ways that this fight will end. There are only two ways, Mr. Speaker, that this fight will end: Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the speakership of Donald J. Trump once and for all. That is how this fight ends.

Mr. Speaker, during this painful Trump Republican shutdown, what we have seen is two different philosophies in terms of how to govern for the American people. The Democratic Party philosophy is clear. We are ready, willing, and able to find bipartisan, common ground, anytime, anyplace, to enact spending agreements that actually make life better for the American people.

However, in order to do that, we need to have partners on the other side of the aisle who are actually willing to find the bipartisan path forward. What we have seen from Republicans from the very beginning of this Presidency is a my-way-or-the-highway approach. That has been the Republican philosophy. Jam your extremism down the throats of the American people. That is what we have seen from day one of this Presidency. That is the reason why the government has been shut down by Republicans and Donald Trump for the longest period of time in American history.

What have we seen from Donald Trump and Republicans during this shutdown? A consistent unwillingness to actually find common ground in order to make life better for the American people. Donald Trump, during the shutdown, found the time to play golf week after week after week. Donald Trump found the time to pardon serial fraudsters like George Santos and Rudolph Giuliani. Donald Trump found the time to meet with the Chinese Communist Party. Donald Trump found the time to destroy the east wing of the White House. Donald Trump found the time to extort $230 million from the Department of Justice so he could line his pockets. Donald Trump found the time to bail out Argentina with $40 billion. Donald Trump found the time to rip away SNAP benefits from 42 million Americans.

Mr. Speaker, these extremists are not like us. They are not like us. They have zero interest in fighting hard to make life better for the American people. Their philosophy: My way or the highway. Our response: Get lost.

We are going to continue to fight hard on behalf of the American people in the midst of a healthcare crisis and a cost-of-living crisis that is very real, despite what Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, has to say. He claims there is no affordability crisis in the United States of America.

However, why would anyone believe anything that Donald Trump or Republicans have to say on this issue? Throughout 2024, before the election, Republicans in the House and the Senate and Donald Trump on the campaign trail spent all of their time saying that costs were going to go down on day one.

Mr. Speaker, costs haven't gone down. Republicans haven't done a damn thing to lower the high cost of living. Costs haven't gone down in this country. Costs have gone up. Inflation is on the way up. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Electricity bills are out of control. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and out of control.

In the midst of this affordability crisis, seeing this, Democrats said we have got to fight to make sure we extend Affordable Care Act tax credits so that tens of millions of people--working-class folks, middle-class folks, people in rural America, working-class America, small-town America, the heartland of America, Black and Brown communities all throughout America--don't experience premium increases that in some cases will go up by $1,000 or $2,000 per year.

In many cases, month after month after month, it will go up $1,000 or $2,000 per month. That is tens of thousands of dollars per year. It is unacceptable in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. This is in the midst of a Republican healthcare crisis.

Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They ripped health insurance away from 14 million Americans. As a result of Republican policies, hospitals, nursing homes, and community- based health centers are closing all across America including in rural parts of this great country of ours.

Now because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, tens of millions of Americans are at risk of being unable to afford to see a doctor when they need one. It is happening in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world.

It can't be the case that healthcare is simply a privilege for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. Mr. Speaker, that is the Republican perspective.

As Democrats, we believe that healthcare has to be a right and a right that is affordable and available to every single American in the United States. That is what this fight is all about, and that is what the fight will continue to be about as we move forward.

Many of my Republican colleagues have suggested that they want to deal with the healthcare affordability issue. They want to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across this country. We have an opportunity for them to do so.

There is a discharge petition connected to legislation that House Democrats have introduced to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for 3 years. We believe that working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and everyday Americans deserve the same level of certainty that Republicans always provide to the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected donors. Working-class Americans deserve that level of certainty.

We ask our Republican colleagues to join us in extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It is not too late. We are in the midst of open enrollment. The tax credits expire on December 31. We will stay on this issue until we get this issue resolved for everyday Americans.

Mr. Speaker, as I close, I have had the opportunity, as many of us do, to serve in the United States Congress with legendary figures, too numerous to mention. Some of those legendary Members include, of course, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, the great Jim Clyburn, Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings, and Charlie Rangel.

Our own Marcy Kaptur is the longest serving woman in the history of the United States House of Representatives. We have all had the opportunity to serve with legendary Members like John Dingell. As I said, they are too numerous to mention.

Mr. Speaker, one can't call that roll without calling the name of the great John Lewis. I had the distinct honor of serving with John Lewis for several terms. Many of us here in the House of Representatives did.

I will never forget on my first day in Congress that I had the opportunity to meet John Lewis for the first time in person. He called me over to see him on the House floor. He just asked me a simple question. He said: Are you the new guy?

I said: Yes, sir, Mr. Lewis, I am.

He said: Well, we are colleagues now. You don't have to call me Mr. Lewis. You can call me John.

I said: Yes, sir, Mr. Lewis, I understand.

Then he said to me: You are from Brooklyn, right?

Mr. Speaker, I have to be honest. I was tempted to say that Brooklyn is always in the House. Instead, since my mother, Laneda Jeffries, raised me with some sense, I said: Yes, sir, I am from Brooklyn.

Then he said something to me that I have never forgotten. He said: Well, I hear some positive things about you from your predecessor, but Washington, D.C., young man, can be a rough place. I don't want you to get into any trouble unless it is good trouble.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to stop by on the House floor to make sure it is clear to the American people that the spirit of John Lewis lives amongst House Democrats. We will continue to get into good trouble to make their lives better. That is our commitment to every single American all across this country, from this day and for every day, moving forward.

It was John Lewis who said to us that ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime and maybe even many lifetimes. Each one of us in every generation must do our part.

Mr. Speaker, we love Mr. Lewis. We were blessed by our opportunity to serve with him. House Democrats are here to do our part. We are in this fight until we win this fight for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 7 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill that does nothing, not one thing to address the Republican healthcare crisis amid a cost-of- living crisis.

More than 20 million Americans will have to pay double, even triple their monthly insurance premiums in just a matter of weeks, and this bill leaves families without even a glimmer of hope that their costs might go down.

Energy prices are up. Grocery prices are up. Housing costs are up. When two-thirds of American workers are living paycheck to paycheck, you can understand why the most important issue on their mind is affordability.

What does President Trump say? Affordability is a ``con job.'' How out of touch can he be? The President should start to listen to the American people, not his millionaire, billionaire friends.

President Trump and my Republican colleagues refuse to address this issue. They continue to avoid it. They were so intent on avoiding it that they shut down the government instead of dealing with it.

Speaker Johnson has indicated that he will not deal with it. He has shown no interest in holding a vote on extending the healthcare subsidies, which would prevent monthly costs from soaring.

Republicans have tried to say they will deal with this problem their own way, but they have no plan. They are trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as they have been trying to do unsuccessfully for 15 years. However, they are poised to succeed, which is why it is so important for this continuing resolution to fail.

President Trump and Republicans' plan is to drive up prices for everybody, compounding the cost-of-living crisis. More than 2 million Americans are expected to lose their health insurance next year because it has simply become too expensive.

There are more than 50 pages of healthcare provisions in this bill. Not one of them stops costs from skyrocketing at the beginning of next year. Not one of them offers relief to American families being squeezed tighter and tighter by the Republican crisis.

There is one group of people, however, who will receive some relief thanks to this bill: United States Senators who may have participated in an insurrection. Snuck into this bill at the eleventh hour by Senate Republicans is a provision to pay out at least a million dollars each to eight United States Senators implicated in the January 6 insurrection. Understand, this is a corrupt precedent. This is where Members can profit from their own votes. It is the fleecing of the American people, which they get and understand.

At the same time, this bill excludes a provision that would order a plaque to be hung that honors the police officers who put their lives on the line to defend our democracy from that same insurrection. What a contrast.

It is yet another instance of this administration's shameless corruption that is financially ruining American families. While there is $230 million for the President to pay himself from the Department of Justice, $8 million for some of his closest Senate allies, $200 million for a pair of private jets for the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, and $40 billion to Argentina, the American people are left with nothing but higher costs.

This bill also fails to fully cover the Toxic Exposures Fund, which was created to support veterans exposed to burn pits and Agent Orange. We made a promise to stand by the men and women who served our country in uniform. This bill does not live up to that promise.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans need to stop taking photographs with veterans and then vote against their healthcare.

Those who lead in the appropriations process here believe in the constitutional power of the purse. Over the past month, President Trump has been firing Federal workers en masse. When his administration has failed there, they have made life so miserable for Federal workers that they had no choice but to leave.

Federal workers should be ``traumatically affected.'' Those are the words of the Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, an unelected bureaucratic.

The Federal workforce has dwindled by 200,000 since January, jeopardizing the public services that so many people rely on. I say: Spare us your false concern.

Mr. Speaker, since January, this administration has been stealing from our communities, withholding as much as $410 billion in funding approved by Democrats and Republicans--House and Senate--signed into law. They are illegally blocking authorized funds from being distributed.

Even now, as we debate this bill, the Trump administration is arguing to the Supreme Court that they should be allowed to withhold food stamp funding that Congress lawfully approved. They were ordered by three separate courts to distribute food assistance and are still fighting to withhold it.

It is not connected to opening this government. They have the money. They have it now for food stamps. They just refuse to use it. Imagine using food as a political weapon. It is unspeakable and immoral. It seems like their only plan is to strip children of food assistance, while kicking their parents off their health insurance.

They have demonstrated that that is who they are. These are their true colors. We cannot expect Democrats to go along with any bipartisan funding deal if that agreement can be undone with a party line vote. Congress must assert its authority over the power of the purse.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I remind the majority leader that for a 60- year-old couple earning $82,800 per year, their premiums will rise by over $17,000. This is a 255 percent increase.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), the distinguished ranking member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I have the greatest honor to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker Emerita and, I might add, probably the epitome of the best Speaker that

this Nation has ever had, in addition to which millions of Americans have healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act because of Speaker Pelosi. She is also Italian American.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the distinguished ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the distinguished Democratic whip.

Mr. Speaker, this bill fails to prevent healthcare costs from skyrocketing and fails to address the crisis of affordability. It fails to keep our promise to veterans. It provides a million-dollar jackpot to eight Senators. It fails to protect Congress' power of the purse. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I have the honor of yielding 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), our distinguished Democratic leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.