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Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5860, a bill that keeps the government open until November 17^th.

While I would rather be here speaking on the floor about final appropriations bills, I want members to understand why passing this short-term funding bill today is so important.

First, I want to explain how we find ourselves in this situation.

Just nine months ago, when Republicans took back the Majority in the House, our commitment was to Regular Order for appropriations.

No more omnibus measures released in the dead of night. No more Christmas Eve votes on thousands of pages of text that Members of Congress had not read.

Unfortunately, there were a few stumbling blocks as we sought to change the process.

For example, the Administration's budget request was more than a month late. It then took months for the President to come to the table on the debt ceiling negotiations.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak on the Spending Reduction and Border Security Act of 2024.

The most basic duty Congress must complete every year is our Constitutional power to fund the government. This bill will provide funding to keep our government open until October 31^st. Unless we act now the government will shut down at midnight on Saturday.

The House of Representatives has already passed 4 appropriations bills, constituting the majority of funding for our government, while the Senate continues to sit on their hands and has failed to pass anything. Typical.

The country has nearly 32.9 trillion dollars in debt, and our deficit this year is $1.9 trillion. The Biden administration has gone on a spending binge with money we do not have to spend. It is time we slow our funding to a more sustainable level.