Torres Statement on Republicans’ Dysfunctional Government
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-CA) released the following statement regarding the House vote on H.R. 195, Continuing Appropriations Act:
"This bill marks the fourth time we are voting on a continuing resolution; this is no way to govern. We are four months into the fiscal year and Republicans have yet to figure out how they are going to pay for their trillion-dollar tax cut. This is what happens when you prioritize millionaires over the rest of America. Make no mistake, this is not about giving us more time to figure out the best way to fund our government, it's about this Republican Congress negating its responsibility to ensure the basic functionality of our government and harming our national security, children, and Dreamers in the process.
"A few of the responsibilities this Republican-led government is refusing to address are:
- Reauthorizing funding for Community Health Centers that provide high-quality care for more than 27 million Americans every year, including over 170,000 working families, children, and seniors in my district.
- Investing in our infrastructure. The Inland Empire (IE) is the fastest growing economy in Southern California and the 20th best performing metropolitan region in the country, an investment in infrastructure could mean billions in economic output for the rest of the country and high-paying jobs for the IE.
- Providing disaster funding for all wildfire, landslide and hurricane devastated communities in California, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Increasing access to vital resources for our veterans. The nearly 18,000 veterans in my district deserve better care and opportunities.
- Securing a legislative fix for our Dreamers. Approximately 10,800 Dreamers in my district would be eligible to receive protection under the Dream Act and would have the potential to contribute over $363 million to our GDP.
- Providing a permanent reauthorization for the Children's Health Insurance Program—not a short-sighted 6-year solution—which nearly 60,000 children in my district depend on.
"Other high-priority items this Congress still needs to address include funding to combat the opioid epidemic, lift budget caps to provide for a strong national defense, fund Medicare & Medicaid, and much more. But passing a short term budget every few weeks is the irresponsible way to do this.
"We have been here before. We have voted on a continuing resolution three times now in hopes that Republicans will finally get their act together. I will not enable Republicans' habit of playing politics with high-stake issues like our national security, healthcare, and so much more. If they want to continue down this destructive path, they have the votes to do so, but Democrats stand ready to work with them to help us move forward. Our country deserves better, my constituents deserve better. We need leadership from Republicans and this White House and so far we have not seen any."
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