KEY VOTE: “No” on the continuing resolution (H.R. 3935)

Last December, a Democratic-controlled Congress passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that worsened the federal government’s dire fiscal trajectory and did nothing to rein in the Biden administration from continuing on their disastrous policy path that has fueled crisis after crisis.

The funding package did nothing to prevent the Biden administration from encouraging and incentivizing illegal migration, which has caused catastrophe and allowed over 2.8 million illegal crossings in FY2023. It took no action to block President Biden’s illegal attempts to use every lever of power in the federal government to promote abortion, including taxpayer-funded abortions at the VA and through the Pentagon. Further, the overall spending levels provided resources for woke and weaponized federal agencies to attack the Biden administration’s political opponents, jeopardizing the freedoms of all Americans.

A clean continuing resolution (CR) allows business as usual to continue for the Biden administration. Funding this disastrous administration without taking seriously the responsibility of Congress’ power of the purse to rein in President Biden’s abuses of power is unacceptable.

Heritage Action has continually said that any continuation in funding must, at a minimum, achieve two goals. The first is meaningful spending cuts to alter the trajectory of the nation’s discretionary spending. Since the onset of the Covid lockdowns, Congress has dramatically increased discretionary spending, setting the country’s fiscal trajectory on a dangerous path.

Specifically, top-line spending should be lowered to Fiscal Year 2022 levels, which would begin to return discretionary spending levels to a trajectory that ensures we do not bankrupt our children’s future.

Second, any short-term funding extension should include policy changes to secure the border and prevent the Biden administration from continuing its open-border agenda. Each month the crisis gets worse, with September on pace to set a new monthly record for illegal border crossings. America’s communities are being crushed by the burden of illegal immigration, and elected officials in cities and states across the country — and with leadership across the political spectrum — are calling on Congress to fix the problem. Fortunately, nearly every Republican in Congress has already voted for a solution — the House-passed Secure the Border Act — which is a historic step to correct the Biden administration’s lawlessness. The bill would comprehensively overhaul our immigration system, closing loopholes that have allowed the Biden administration to ignore the intent of the law.

Unfortunately, this continuing resolution corrects neither of the unsustainable trajectories America is on — runaway spending and rampant illegal migration.

In a striking admission of the Senate’s priorities to fund a foreign war over securing our own communities, the package includes more than $6 billion in new Ukraine funding without addressing any of conservatives' basic accountability requirements for additional aid. Instead of considering new funding on its own merits, it has been stapled to legislation being considered just days before the government funding deadline with no attempt to offset the new spending. President Biden has yet to outline our strategy in Ukraine or what a path to victory looks like outside of saying we'll be there “as long as it takes,” but the American people are increasingly wary of making or fulfilling this commitment. The American people overwhelmingly rank China as our greatest threat, and yet the Biden administration has still not outlined the impact that our support to Ukraine will have on our ability to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The American people deserve answers to these questions, and if President Biden and Congress cannot provide answers, then they should not send additional taxpayer dollars to Ukraine.

The economic hardships Americans face as a result of President Biden’s policies are increasing, and we cannot afford to let them get worse. Nor can we afford to sit idly by as government abuse erodes constitutional freedoms and erases American opportunity. Continuing to fund this administration without taking any steps to cut spending or rein in abuses of power is unacceptable. Senators should reject this continuing resolution and vote no on the floor.