January 11, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 6 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRESS HAS A CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO FUND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

  (Mrs. FLETCHER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues here 
and in the Senate to vote to end this shutdown.
  Across Texas, there are nearly 30,000 Federal workers who will not 
receive their paychecks today, many of them still dutifully performing 
their jobs.
  This Congress has a constitutional duty to fund the government so 
that the agencies can do their important work, the work of and for the 
American people, and there is much of it.
  In my own district in Houston, for example, this shutdown is delaying 
our recovery from one of the most devastating natural disasters in our 
country's history. As Members of this body will recall, Hurricane 
Harvey hit Houston and the Gulf Coast in August of 2017, causing nearly 
$115 billion in damage.
  This body appropriated funds to aid the recovery from Harvey, but 
nearly 18 months later, the City of Houston, and Harris County, still 
awaits these funds. And the funds can be distributed only after the 
publication of rules from the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, funds that are desperately needed.
  The shutdown has delayed publications of these rules, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote to end the shutdown.
  I understand that we have differences over issues--including the best 
way to secure the border--but shutting down the government is neither a 
responsible nor reasonable approach to our differences.
  I urge Senator McConnell to take up the multiple spending bills the 
House has passed this week, which Senators approved with a large 
bipartisan majority just weeks ago, so that we can open the government 
and get back to work for the people.

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