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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Chair of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, today spoke on the floor in support of a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown while encouraging her Republican colleagues to remember their “solemn duty to exercise our power of the purse” and come to the table to negotiate a full annual appropriations package to avoid the need for future stop-gap funding bills.

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“It is my strong hope that this short-term extension will be the last one and that my colleagues across the aisle will acknowledge our solemn duty to exercise our power of the purse,” said Pingree in her floor remarks. “A full year continuing resolution does not serve the American people. I am the Chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and I can attest that the investments in the House Interior bill would benefit all of our constituents. The bill makes long-overdue investments to protect human health, fight the climate emergency, and meet our trust obligations to tribal nations. It provides critical resources to rebuild the federal workforce so that these agencies can meet their missions and better serve the public.”

“Failing to complete a full year bill means no additional investments for EPA to research and develop standards for harmful pollutants like PFAS; no further investments in domestic renewable energy; and insufficient resources for the health care of nearly 2.2 million American Indian and Alaska Natives. Regardless of whether we pass a full year bill, we can be certain that millions of Americans will be exposed to pollution, health care costs will rise, and our window for mitigating climate change will shrink,” she said.

“To ignore these threats is not in the nation’s best interests nor any of ours. We were sent to Congress to improve the lives and livelihoods of our constituents.  While a short-term continuing resolution is necessary to keep the government open, it is not the way to run the government or achieve the goals we have set before us to improve the country for all Americans, we need omnibus legislation,” Pingree concluded.

The short-term funding bill will keep federal agencies funded through February 18 and provides $7 billion to continue supporting Afghanistan evacuees after the end of 20 years of war. The new humanitarian aid will help with immediate resettlement needs including food and shelter.

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