“These bills will make certain that veterans’ programs remain funded so that the VA continues to operate to serve our veterans.”
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – In order to address critical priorities while the federal government is temporarily shut-down, the House of Representatives has passed additional targeted spending bills over the past two days to address funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration and for the National Guard and Reserves. Following passage of these bills, Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) issued the following statement:
“Following the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democratic-controlled Senate to stop five bipartisan attempts by the House to keep the federal government running, the House of Representatives has begun a process to pass targeted spending bills to address critical national priorities while we wait upon the Senate to negotiate with the House to reopen the federal government.
“In this regard, today the House voted to ensure that our commitments to our veterans, National Guard and Reserves are honored regardless of any funding related shutdown of the federal government. These bills will make certain that veterans’ programs remain funded so that the VA continues to operate to serve our veterans. The House also passed legislation to guarantee that our National Guard and Reserves receive pay and services during the shutdown.
“Yesterday, the House also voted to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary center of federal health research which provides a wide range of grants to tens of thousands of scientists at institutions engaged in medical research to find cures for our worst diseases. In contrast to our House efforts to address funding priorities with bipartisan passed bills, when asked about supporting the House effort to fund NIH even if it meant he could help just one child who has cancer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid replied ‘why would I do that’. This shocking statement illustrates his focus on placing partisan politics above the critical needs related to cancer research, veterans, and our National Guard and Reserves.
“These three bills along with earlier passed bills related to Military pay, National Parks, and the District of Columbia, bring to six the number of bills that have passed the House on a bipartisan basis to deal with critical funding issues. While we are very pleased that the Military pay bill was later passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the Senate has held up consideration on the other critical funding bills for political purposes.
“The Senate continues to refuse to meet with the House to negotiate a deal to fund the government. Meanwhile, the House remains committed to funding our federal government and we will continue to put forward targeted legislation to fund our country’s priorities as this shutdown continues. If the Senate would like to put an end to this and fund our government, they need to come to the table, engage in dialogue and negotiate a solution with the House.”
Congressman Bill Flores represents the 17th District of Texas and is an entrepreneur, former energy executive, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and member of the House Budget, Natural Resources and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
