Democrats Waste Time as Federal Workers Suffer

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement after House Democrats passed H.R. 648, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a minibus of six appropriations bills which explicitly excludes funding for the Department of Homeland Security and provides no funding for a border wall:

“Under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, House Democrats keep voting for the same legislation over and over again and expecting a different result. The President has been very clear: any legislation that does not include funding to secure the border is dead on arrival in the Senate and will not be signed into law. This package is yet another attempt by Democrats to avoid offering a serious border security proposal to address the humanitarian and security crisis along the Southwest border.

“Instead of considering the President’s latest compromise proposal that includes many policies Democrats have supported in the past, Speaker Pelosi still refuses to negotiate, even as rank-and-file Democrats increase the pressure on Democratic leadership to take responsibility, make a counteroffer, and move negotiations forward. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers face another missed paycheck this Friday. Democrats need to follow President Trump’s lead and get serious about coming to the table to reopen our government and secure our border.”