Lewis: Democrat Majority Puts Politics Above Troop Funding -Fails to Pass a Clean War Supplemental Spending Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif), Ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement today on the failure of the Democrat majority to pass a clean supplemental spending bill before the Memorial Day recess:

“It is a sad day for this institution, for our troops, and for this country. As a result of election year procedural gimmickry by the Democrat leadership, the House will not pass a clean, critical funding bill to provide for our troops before going into recess today.

“Our troops have been waiting for 16 months to get the total funding they need to do their jobs. Our Defense Department has been waiting as well, knowing that the money needed for paychecks and housing for our military and their families is rapidly running dry, and will be completely gone by mid-summer. 

“Now, after 16 months of stalling and inaction by the Democrat leadership, we have still not made any forward progress on an acceptable war supplemental spending bill that the President can sign. Instead, the Democrats have decided to pursue a gimmick-riddled process to jam through a bill laden with extraneous spending – which is destined for a Presidential veto. This flawed strategy will now leave our troops out to dry without adequate funding for a minimum of another week while the members of the House and Senate leave town for recess.

“The Democrat leadership is deliberately disregarding the welfare of our military and blatantly ignoring our national security needs so they can play election year games and political “gotcha” with the White House. It is absolutely inexcusable that instead of taking up a clean, responsible spending bill that will actually make it past the President’s desk, the Democrat majority is yet again punting the issue even further down the field – threatening the livelihood of our troops and the security of our country.

“Memorial Day is a time to honor the work and sacrifices of our military, but the Democrat majority is choosing to recognize this holiday by rewarding our troops with the threat and uncertainty of no paychecks. We’ve seen a lot of stalling and evasion of tough issues from this majority – who promised to bring change and action when they gained control of the Congress – but their failure to pass a clean supplemental before this Memorial Day recess takes the cake.”