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Lawmaker presents reconciliation bill, cites shutdowns, border and election concerns
Summary
An unnamed lawmaker told the House Committee on the Budget that Democrats' recent opposition led to shutdowns and threats to homeland security and election confidence, and presented a reconciliation bill proposing emergency funding for military readiness, food-supply resilience and election safeguards.
A lawmaker delivering testimony to the House Committee on the Budget presented a reconciliation bill aimed at emergency funding for military readiness, strengthening the nation’s food supply resilience and boosting election safeguards.
The lawmaker opened by criticizing recent Democratic opposition to funding measures, saying, "The American people deserve better than what they've gotten for the last year," and arguing that Democratic tactics had led to government shutdowns and impeded governance.
The testimony accused Democratic lawmakers of rejecting a "clean continuing resolution" and of demanding repeal of integrity measures included in prior legislation rather than offering a compromise. The lawmaker said this dynamic led to a prolonged halt in funding that, they asserted, included an interruption of Department of Homeland Security operations and a period in which, the lawmaker claimed, "they defunded ICE and CBP." The speaker added that funding was restored unilaterally through reconciliation and that no Democrats voted for that measure.
The speaker also argued that longstanding bipartisan practices had been broken, saying for the first time in decades the National Defense Authorization Act had been held up in the Senate and that action on FISA Section 702 was delayed. The lawmaker described those holds as threats to the nation’s counterintelligence and security tools.
Explaining the reconciliation bill’s stated priorities, the lawmaker said it would provide "emergency funding for our sons and daughters" to ensure baseline battlefield readiness, allocate emergency resources to strengthen the food supply, and put in place measures intended to shore up public confidence in elections. Quoting a remark by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi that "our election was hijacked," the lawmaker said public confidence is low and urged safeguards such as a photo ID requirement.
The testimony consisted of assertions and policy proposals; the transcript does not record responses, opposing testimony, or a formal vote on the reconciliation bill. The lawmaker concluded by saying, "I think it is incumbent upon us to act and act, with purpose and with urgency," and yielded their time.
Next steps were not specified in the testimony recorded in the transcript.
