Hoyer: The Time has Come for the House to Work in a Bipartisan Fashion

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement:

“After months of internal divisions and dysfunction, the Republican House Majority has pushed our government to the brink of a shutdown that will begin in just eight days if Congress fails to act. As an appropriator and former Majority Leader, I believe it is irresponsible for Republicans to waste these precious next few days of Floor time trying to jam through one or more of their radical appropriations bills that they know will never become law. 

“Anyone familiar with my record knows that I am a staunch advocate for regular order in the appropriations process. This is not that. My colleagues across the aisle have had nine months to advance individual bills yet only succeeded in passing one. If the experience of the past week is any guide, Republicans will be unable to get any of their bills enacted, much less passed, within a week while simultaneously bridging the massive divides within their own party on the most pressing matter at hand: a continuing resolution to keep the government open. The American people will suffer because of this failure to govern. 

“The time has come for the House to work in a bipartisan fashion to find a compromise that keeps the government funded and functioning as we continue to negotiate fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. We must not allow a small, isolated group of far-right, extreme, and irrational Members to hold the American people and their government hostage. The Republican leadership and the majority of Republicans, who claim they are opposed to these extreme actions, should join with Democrats to pass a bipartisan continuing resolution to keep the government running. We’ve done this in the past, and it is the only possible, reasonable, and responsible path forward.”