Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Chairman Cole, who has done an extraordinary job in this process.
Mr. Speaker, we all know why we are here. House Democrats voted to shut down the government. It was 54 days ago when we had that vote. It was September 19. Since that time, Senate Democrats have voted 14 times to close the government. Republicans voted a collective 15 times to open the government for the people, and the Democrats voted that many times to close it.
Then they admitted, many of them--and we can name them here, but I am not going to take the time--they admitted they were using the American people as leverage in this political game. They knew that it would cause pain, and they did it anyway. The whole exercise was pointless. It was wrong. It was cruel.
In mere moments, I want everyone to watch the board. They will do it again. I will guess most of our Democrat colleagues will vote again to close the government, again to take food out of the mouths of families who need it, again to deny pay to Federal employees, and again to stall flights and cancel airlines and do all the rest that they have done. We are not going to let them succeed in that gambit. That is right.
While the Democrats keep voting to shut the government down, Republicans are going to vote to open it back up. We are going to get the American Government running again and working for the people, as they deserve.
I am going to close with this. As Speaker, I have the ability to talk as long as I want, but I am not going to do that tonight. We are not going to waste any more time of the people.
I am just going to say this. I think that everybody needs to remember this one simple thing: From the very beginning of this whole ordeal, on the Republican side, we operated in good faith. We offered a clean, nonpartisan CR. We were honest and transparent with the American people from the very beginning. Every single day of the shutdown, we went out and looked right into the camera with a press conference and told the American people the simple truth. We have done for the people what has been right and just and truthful. In the end, that is what God honors always. Don't forget it.
We need to get this government open as soon as possible. The American people demand and deserve it.
Mr. Speaker, let's get this done.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source