January 19, 2024
Photo – Congresswoman Harriet Hageman – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Washington, D.C., Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman was one of the 108 who voted “no” on the government funding extension.
The U.S. House cleared the stopgap spending bill on Thursday afternoon by a 314-to-108 margin, keeping federal agencies funded through early March.
The continuing spending resolution now heads to President Joe Biden.
In a statement, Rep. Hageman said, “While I appreciate the difficult position that Speaker Johnson has inherited, we simply cannot continue the status quo even one more day. Each day that passes brings thousands more illegals that have been trafficked across Joe Biden’s open southern border. I have been to the border at both Eagle Pass and Yuma, where local sheriffs have been imploring us to do everything possible to stop the surge of illegals – even if it means shutting down the government to force border security. “
Hageman noted that the United States is $34 trillion dollars in debt and that over 8.5 million people have illegally crossed the southern border during Biden’s time in the White House.
Hageman said in her statement, “Both problems are unsustainable and threaten the safety, security, and very future of our country.”
The bill may have passed, but the budget battle is not over yet. Parts of the government are funded through March 8. Dozens of annual spending bills remain unpassed as congressional conservatives seek deeper cuts.
If lawmakers fail to clear those bills over the next six weeks, appropriators warn that Congress might have to pass yet another a stopgap spending bill through the rest of the fiscal year. That would saddle federal agencies with flat budgets or steep funding cuts.
This week’s stopgap spending bill is the third that Congress has passed in this fiscal year—a sign of the dysfunction in Washington.
Expect the fight to steepen. House conservatives, enraged by Speaker Johnson’s agreement with Senator Chuck Schumer, say they’ll fight for conservative policy wins across a dozen spending bills — on thorny issues like abortion and the border.
Hageman said in her statement, “We can either close the border, or we should close the government until we do.”
