Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) issued the following statement slamming House Republican leadership for playing politics with the federal budget after the House failed to pass the GOP’s partisan funding package. 

“Once again, Republicans are putting the well-being of hardworking families and our economy at risk by pushing a hyper-partisan government funding package that their entire caucus doesn’t even support. Speaker Johnson knows that his extreme proposal is a non-starter in the Senate, yet Republican leadership continues to waste precious time playing political theater with the budget.

“Government funding bills are typically bipartisan because they have to be, especially in a divided Congress. I urge Speaker Johnson to reject the most extreme voices in his party and work with Democrats to pass a bipartisan, short-term funding deal to keep the government open and working for the American people.”

Republican leadership paired the 6-month stopgap funding bill with the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote even though it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Additionally, Republicans’ proposal would hold funding at FY2024 levels, which would:

• Jeopardize veterans’ access to medical care at VA facilities;

• Force the Social Security Administration to reduce hours or close field offices;

• Threaten national security and military preparedness by freezing the Department of Defense’s operating budget; and

• Put FEMA’s disaster recovery efforts at risk and defer long-term public assistance recovery and hazard mitigation projects.

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