House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey delivered the following remarks in support of H.R. 266, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The legislation is a bipartisan bill to reopen federal agencies and ensure that America's National Parks can fully reopen.
The Trump Shutdown is now in its 21st day. It is outrageous that more than 800,000 federal employees are going without pay, many of them while still working, and the American people are being denied vital services, all because of President Trump’s demands for a wasteful border wall.
The bill before us today would reopen the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, and other critical agencies such as the Indian Health Service and the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
The Trump Shutdown has suspended cleanups of hazardous materials and delayed lifesaving rulemaking to keep toxic chemicals like methylene chloride out of Americans’ homes.
The Trump Shutdown threatens the enduring natural beauty and conservation efforts of our National Parks as trash piles up, and the safety of visitors is in question.
Public health and safety should not be political bargaining chips.
House Democrats have passed bills to open the government, but the President and the Senate Republicans continue to obstruct and delay instead of working with us to get the people’s business done.
The solution to this crisis is simple: pass the bills where we can agree, and extend funding for Homeland Security for a month to allow time for negotiation on border security and immigration policy.
I hope that my colleagues across the Capitol come to their senses and stop this ridiculous Trump Shutdown.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
