Media

Thank you, Chairman Amodei and Ranking Member Cuellar, and thank you to our witnesses for being with us today. Every member at this dais has an Article I responsibility, and every member here – regardless of party – knows how damaging a shutdown is, both to the power of the purse, and the American people. The consequences are real, and so should our conversations in relation to the situation at hand. I expect my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will focus their remarks on immigration enforcement efforts. They’ll say they are taking a stand against ICE and CBP. I find that position difficult to reconcile with the facts. Neither a shutdown nor continuing resolution enhances oversight – but our bipartisan, bicameral FY26 bill did.

Welcome to our distinguished panel. I sincerely thank you for being here – especially on such short notice. I’m going to do something completely out of character for me – I’m going to start with a brief opening statement. The focus of this hearing is fairly straightforward. Absent the passage of a Continuing Resolution in the coming days, the Department of Homeland Security will shut down. We have already passed the time when bill text should have been shared with Members, in accordance with the 72-hour rule. The short story is that finalizing a bill at this point before Friday is impossible. A shutdown is a distinct possibility. But not all components will equally share the pain during a shut down.

Good morning.  It is my pleasure to convene our first hearing of the year on the critical issue of childhood literacy. As we all know, developing strong reading skills at an early age is a foundational building block for lifelong success. When students master basic reading skills by the fourth grade, they make the important transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” That is why these early years are so crucial, and why we owe it to our children to provide them with proven, effective instruction in reading.