WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Republicans attempted to pass an extreme, partisan Continuing Resolution that would cut the vast majority of domestic programs by nearly 30 percent across-the-board, including food assistance for women and children and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, while slashing over 70 percent of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which thousands of Rhode Islanders depend on to heat their homes during the cold winter months.

The House of Representatives rejected the bill on a vote of 232-198, with all Democrats voting no.  

U.S. Senator Jack Reed said the bill had zero chance of passing the Senate.  Still, Reed, a leading Congressional champion of LIHEAP, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), condemned the Republican proposal – which garnered nearly 200 votes -- as short-sighted and mean-spirited.

“The extremist House Republicans attempting to force a shutdown are beyond irresponsible.  They’re wasting time and money making obscene demands that Congress leave vulnerable people out in the cold this winter or else they’ll follow through on their shutdown threats.  But instead of standing up to them, Speaker McCarthy is letting the extremists call the shots.  It’s time for House Republicans to end the dysfunction.  They should take up and pass the bipartisan agreement on the table and keep the U.S. government open and operating.  Neither side is going to get everything they want here, but every elected official should prioritize the needs of taxpayers,” said Senator Reed.

The failed proposal put forth by House Republican leaders would have:

  • Slashed investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Medical research into treatments and cures for diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease would have been cut with the reduction of 7,000 research grants.  
  • Cut Title I education and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) support for schools.  Republican proposed cuts would be the equivalent of removing nearly 150,000 teachers and service providers from classrooms serving low-income students and students with disabilities. And thousands of children would have lost access to Head Start, undermining early education for children in low-income communities and parents’ ability to go to work.  
  • Decimated the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by cutting LIHEAP funding by roughly 74 percent. More than 5 million low-income households nationwide – and over 25,000 in Rhode Island -- would have had their home heating support cut this winter.
  • Slashed resources for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Opioid Use Disorder treatment. The Republican CR would have cuts funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by 38 percent.  Americans facing a suicidal or mental health crisis could be impeded accessing support services through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and individuals could be denied admission to opioid use disorder treatment, denying them a potentially life-saving path to recovery.
  • Denied women, infants, and children needed nutrition support under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), by cutting WIC’s budget by 30 percent.  Other nutrition services, such as Meals on Wheels, would also have been cut for elderly and homebound Americans in need of nutrition assistance.
  • Shutter the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) during a shutdown and reduce Entrepreneurial Development Programs by 30 percent.  This could have resulted in 400,000 fewer small businesses accessing SBA-assistance.

“The list goes on and on,” said Senator Reed.  “But the bottom line is this: Republicans have been pushing to shut down the federal government.  If Republicans follow through on their threats, the shutdown will force an estimated 2 million military service members and more than 1.5 million federal civilian employees to go without pay during a funding lapse.  That’s bad politics, bad business, and this Republican shutdown is bad news for all Americans.  The longer it goes on, the worse it will get.  But it could be prevented or ended at any moment if the House takes up the bipartisan agreement already supported by nearly 80 U.S. Senators from both parties.”

Reed noted that even House Republicans are placing the blame squarely on their fellow Republicans, with Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) accusing extremists of committing legislative arson: “They can't set a fire, call the fire department, turn off their water supply and then blame them for not putting out the fire.  That’s kind of what's happening right now."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate continues to work on bipartisan legislation introduced by Senate Democrats earlier this week that would keep the U.S. government open and extend government funding at current levels until November 17.  Senator Reed said he expects negotiations and votes to continue through the weekend.

Congress has a deadline which technically begins at 12 a.m. Sunday, when funding for most federal agencies expires.