Pelosi: Congressional Leaders Must Come Together Immediately to Finish Bipartisan Budget Agreement
Contact: Ashley Etienne/Henry Connelly, 202-226-7616
San Francisco – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released this statement calling for Congressional leaders to meet immediately to work toward a bipartisan budget agreement:
"Now that the Trump Shutdown has ended, Congressional leaders must come together immediately to finish the bipartisan negotiations that have been taking place for months to find agreement on a budget for the remainder of FY ‘18. We are now on the 4th stop-gap spending bill since September because of the incompetence of the Republican Majority, a situation which is deeply harmful to our military.
"Republicans have shamelessly misrepresented the plight of DREAMers. As Democrats continue to work to protect DREAMers in these negotiations, we are honoring our values as a country as a beacon of hope. However, if there had never been one DREAMer, we would still have our work cut out for us to reach a bipartisan budget agreement which honors our responsibilities to the American people.
"Unfortunately, there is a dark cloud over the Capitol because of the GOP tax scam. Republicans continue to use the $2 trillion increase to the national debt that the GOP tax scam created as an excuse to shortchange the domestic agenda. In our negotiations, Congressional Democrats have been fighting for a budget that increases funding for defense as well as domestic, bipartisan priorities, which we have proposed to the Republicans and sent to the President:
- Immediate action on the opioid epidemic;
- Funding for veterans' infrastructure and services;
- Reauthorizing community health centers and other health extenders;
- Saving Americans' endangered pensions;
- Protecting the DREAMers;
- Providing strong disaster recovery funding including Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and other victims of hurricanes and wildfires; and
- A budget that funds the military and the domestic investments that keep our nation strong.
"It is imperative that, with the next deadline coming in only a matter of weeks, the top Congressional leaders immediately come together to get the job done for the American people."
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