A resolution authorizing the use of funds from the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account for security enhancements and services provided to Senators.

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.

Mr. Speaker, there are many flaws in the hastily written Senate Republican Continuing Resolution, before us today. The most egregious is the Continuing Resolution's failure to ``continue'' tax credits for health insurance which have been on the books for 4 years, right at the same time 24 million Americans are enrolling for 2026 insurance coverage in the ACA health exchanges. For millions, the abandonment of premium assistance will result in increases of 100 percent, 200 percent, and even higher. A couple in Enfield, Connecticut, in their 60s, who visited with me last week with their premium notice, are looking at an increase from $300/month to $2,449/ month. The only way they can pay that is to draw funds from their retirement 401k, triggering tax penalties on top of the increased out- of-pocket costs. My office heard from many other constituents with similar shocking increases, whose stories are attached to my written statement.

I also want to alert Members of the House that this new continuing resolution (CR) released this past Saturday November 8, 2025, which funds the government to January 30, 2026, has a serious gap in funding for the Columbia-class submarine program. This program, which has been referred to as the ``number one acquisition priority'' of both the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense, is building new ballistic submarines on a very tight schedule to replace the aging fleet of Ohio-class submarines, who have been on patrol starting in the 1980's. The first two submarines--USS District of Columbia and USS Wisconsin--are under construction and fully funded with appropriations approved by prior Congresses. The third, USS Groton SSBN 828 is ready to start construction, subject to Congress approving the funds.

For this CR, The Navy requested an anomaly for full fiscal year 2026 Columbia program funding to Congressional leadership to keep this program on track. In past years, this has been a normal request in order to make sure production stays on schedule, regardless of late passage of the full Navy budget. Astonishingly, Mr. Speaker, the Senate continuing resolution refused the Navy's request and Columbia program has zero additional funding. This is not a minor bookkeeping concern. The absence of a set aside, or anomaly, to fund construction of SSBN 828, will create serious risk of a halt work order to the production schedule of the Nation's most critical defense program.

The legislative chaos of the last two months, with the House shut down at the Speaker's behest, has suffocated the normal communication and negotiation that would address glaring harm, such as the cut off of health insurance subsidies and steady funding of the Navy's shipbuilding budget. There is a better path, Mr. Speaker, which is to have our chamber exercise its independent constitutional role and protect both the health care and national security of our Nation. Reject this budget and fix these glaring flaws. I include in the Record the following written statements from my constituents:

Kristin McShane--Norwich

My name is Kristin McShane and I live in Norwich CT. My

husband and I own a martial arts school. We buy our health

insurance through the state health exchange and on average

pay $850 a month for insurance. We got a letter the other day

that our rates will be increasing a lot due to ACA rates

expiring. On top of high monthly premiums, we have high

deductibles and many things are not covered. We also pay for

all vision and dental expenses out of pocket as they are not

covered and out of pocket coverage is even more than that.

It's hard to have so much of our monthly income going to

medical bills and insurance. We haven't been told exactly

what our increase will be but we are going to have to make

cuts to other parts of our lives to afford them. It's not

right or fair to give very earthly people tax breaks while

increasing necessary expenses for average hard working people

who are barely getting by. I can't remember the last stress

free day we have had because of the increasing costs of

everything but most especially healthcare.

Caleb--Norwich

As a small business owner in Connecticut, I am writing to

share my deep concern about the potential loss of the health

insurance exchange and the premium tax credits.

For business owners like me, the ACA marketplace (the

exchange) is often the only way to get affordable health

coverage. The tax credits are not just a small help--they are

essential. Without them, many of us, our families, and even

our employees would not be able to afford health insurance.

Losing this system would negatively impact our business. It

would mean facing impossible choices between our health and

our livelihood. It makes it harder to run a stable business,

stay productive, and provide for our families.

We are counting on you to protect the health insurance

exchange and the tax credits that make coverage possible.

Please oppose any efforts that would take away this critical

support for Connecticut's small business community.

Lee--Mystic

She and her partner buy their insurance through the

exchange and she's expecting their premium to go from $700 to

approximately $2,500 per month. Her partner left a higher

paying job last year to take a different role without

insurance, and now they aren't sure if they can make it work.

Anonymous--Clinton

I won't be able to afford insurance next year without the

ACA. I work for a small business that can't afford to offer

benefits. At 54 I will go without coverage and hope I stay

healthy.

Anonymous--East Haddam

I am a widow who resides with my 23-year-old son who just

graduated from college in May '24. He is, and has been,

seeking full time employment in the criminal justice field. I

have a full-time and part-time job. My full-time employer

does not provide medical insurance. Both my son and I are on

a medical/dental insurance policy which I purchased through

Access Health CT. Due to our household income, we qualify for

tax credits. Even with these tax credits, I am currently

paying close to $700/month for our insurance. I know that I

cannot afford a monthly premium upwards of $1000!

It is a well-known fact that health insurance premiums in

the United States are ridiculous! Our healthcare system is

broken, now it will become unaffordable! it is a sad

statement when other countries medical programs far surpass

the United State of America!

Jill--Niantic

Current plan is no longer available. New Bronze Anthem plan

($6k deductible) but without dental or vision. Premium is

$1,384.15 which is a 14% increase. Premium tax credits are no

longer available, leading to a monthly premium of $1,384.15

(258% increase) however, also need to add in a dental plan

with premium of $23.56 so final monthly premium for 2026 will

be $1,407.71.

Versus 2025 premium of $386.90 means the premium increase

is $1,020.81 every month (264%) which is $12,249.72 for the

year or 13% of our annual income. Additionally, under

the new plan available, copays have been changed to co-

insurance and I've lost vision insurance.

Anonymous--Enfield

Currently paying $295.70 per month for 2 adults. Going up

to $2,449 per month.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, for not only yielding but bringing this important bill to the floor.

Our appropriators worked tirelessly to negotiate a multi-bill package that

is part of this bill to reopen the government. We never should have been here, Mr. Speaker. Over a month ago, we tried, as Republicans, to prevent a government shutdown. We had a vote here on the House floor. Mr. Speaker, 99 percent of Republicans voted to keep the government open, and 99 percent of Democrats voted to shut it down.

Then that bill went over to the Senate. We watched for 42 days, where time and time again Democrats, just to appease their most radical base, continued to vote in unison to shut the government down.

Mr. Speaker, during that shutdown, we saw millions of families experience pain. They experienced pain and suffering that Democrats themselves acknowledged they imposed on the American people. They said over and over again--and we have quote after quote from Democrats during this shutdown--that they needed to oppose the suffering to get leverage. They wanted to use the American people as pawns to get leverage. Mr. Speaker, for what?

They ultimately filed an alternative bill. It was a $1.5 trillion mad spending spree that included things like $200 billion of taxpayer funding for illegals to get taxpayer benefits, while they gutted the $50 billion rural healthcare fund that we put in place in the working families tax cut.

Mr. Speaker, anybody who comes up here and says they care about healthcare is also advocating to gut the $50 billion rural healthcare fund to provide $200 billion in taxpayer-funded benefits for illegals. It is insanity.

If we want to look at where this all began, as some on the other side, Democrats, want to talk about a healthcare crisis, the healthcare law of the land is what many refer to as ObamaCare. Let's remember the original name that Democrats gave that bill when they created it. They called it the Affordable Care Act. Only Democrats voted for it. Republicans knew it was going to be anything but affordable. It was going to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. Unfortunately, it has done that.

If we want to talk about affordable, maybe the only other bill that is more laughable in its name is the Inflation Reduction Act. That is another product brought to us by Democrat-only votes. The Inflation Reduction Act ushered in the inflation under Joe Biden that we are still trying to shake today.

Mr. Speaker, since the Affordable Care Act started, Americans have seen over 80 percent increases in their healthcare costs because of a bill created by Democrats that they want to now blame on Republicans. I understand why they would want to try to now pawn that off on somebody else.

If we then look over time, during COVID, they created a temporary relief fund, Mr. Speaker, not to individuals but to insurance companies. Democrats called it ``temporary'' in the law. They created a temporary COVID relief tax credit to insurance companies to bail out big insurance companies who were seeing record profits. That is now what they want Republicans to renew.

It is an insurance company bailout that Democrats created to be temporary. They set it up to expire. They are now saying that the world is going to end if that insurance company bailout doesn't get renewed.

At the same time we as Republicans worked to actually lower premiums for families, they fought it every step of the way. That is right. We had a bill we passed through this House just a few months ago in the working families tax credit.

Part of that bill was called the cost share reduction. It was scored by the CBO to lower premiums for families by over 12 percent. What happened? By the way, every Democrat voted against that, too, because they have never cared about lowering premiums.

That bill goes to the Senate. Senate Democrats worked overtime to get that provision removed. If we look at the Senate Committee on the Budget website, they still brag that they removed that provision that would have lowered premiums for families.

Republicans absolutely have worked and will continue, by the way, to work to lower premiums for families. Make no mistake that the high premiums that everybody faces today are a result of the inaptly named Affordable Care Act and the many failures associated with it.

Mr. Speaker, this bill today is about ending the misery Democrats created on families. This is not just about funding the government. It is not just about solving other problems that we should be working to solve. It is about getting the government back open, while not holding the American people hostage.

That is what has disgusted the American people most during this shutdown. It should never have happened. It has caused real suffering for American families. Our men and women in uniform had to wonder whether or not they were going to get paid. Air traffic controllers already had a really stressful job and then had to show up for work without getting paid. They missed multiple paychecks.

We know a lot of those air traffic controllers are going to work jobs as Uber drivers. They aren't able to show up for work because they have bills and rent due. They are trying to put food on their table, and Democrats want to vote ``no'' tonight to keep denying them food.

The 42 million SNAP recipients are people who are low-income and who need those food benefits.

Mr. Speaker, if Democrats vote ``no'' today, then they are voting to deny those 42 million low-income families basic food needs. Mr. Speaker, don't talk about how much you care about low-income people and vote ``no'' tonight to deny them food, basic services, basic things that American families need who shouldn't be part of the leverage Democrats want to show their radical base, that they are fighting Donald Trump because they are upset with the results of the election from November.

It is time to end this madness, Mr. Speaker. Let's get this government back open. Let's go negotiate our differences, which are many, but let's do it while not continuing to hold the American people hostage.

I urge my Democratic colleagues who have voted relentlessly to shut this government down and impose this suffering on the American people to stop. Stop imposing the suffering. Let's open the government, and let's get back to the work of the American people.