I'm sorry for the delay in this week's newsletter - but I just walked off the floor of the House after voting to avert a shutdown in the form of a 45 day bipartisan funding agreement. The agreement holds funding levels steady and avoids steep and harmful cuts that were being debated earlier in the week.
I was proud to vote for this agreement. House Democrats held the line on ensuring our servicemembers received a paycheck, key nutrition programs were fully funded, and loans for small businesses could be processed.
This came after Speaker McCarthy broke his agreement with President Biden over government funding, forcing this bipartisan agreement to be delayed until the 11th hour. That delay created uncertainty, confusion, and fear for our constituents.
Now that the Speaker has finally recognized that seeking a bipartisan solution was the only path forward to keep the government funded in the short term, he should recognize that it is also our path forward in the long term. We must get to work immediately on crafting bipartisan appropriations legislation that provides much-needed aid to Ukraine and funds the government for the rest of the fiscal year. We must come together and meet our obligations for the American people.
The agreement is now headed to the Senate, where I anticipate it will pass this afternoon. And while today was a positive outcome and a shutdown was avoided, our work is not finished.
As always, I'll be sure to keep you updated.
