CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026

On 2026-02-03, Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA-41) delivered a floor speech titled "CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation including HR7148, HRES1032.

CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 24 (Tuesday, February 3, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 3, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1960-H1967] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026 Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1032, I call up the bill (H.R. 7148) making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendments thereto. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Foxx). The Clerk will designate the Senate amendments. Senate amendments: (1)In section 2 in the matter preceding division A, strike the matter relating to division H and insert: Division H--Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (2)On page 4, strike lines 15 through 22. (3)Beginning on page 1132, strike line 9 and all that follows through ``Sec. 554.'' on page 1235, line 16, and insert: [[Page H1961]] DIVISION H--FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026 Sec. 101. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37) is amended by striking the date specified in section 106(3) and inserting ``February 13, 2026''. Sec. 102. For the purposes of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37), the time covered by such division shall be considered to include the period which began on or about January 31, 2026, during which there occurred a lapse in appropriations. Sec. 103. Amounts made available in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 for personnel pay, allowances, and benefits in each department and agency shall be available for payments pursuant to subsection (c) of section 1341 of title 31, United States Code and such payments shall be made. Sec. 104. All obligations incurred and in anticipation of the appropriations made and authority granted by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (division A of Public Law 119-37) and by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 for the purposes of maintaining the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bringing about orderly termination of Government function, and for purposes as otherwise authorized by law, are hereby ratified and approved if otherwise in accord with the provisions of such Act. Sec. 105. (4)On page 1235, strike lines 22 and 23 and insert: This division may be cited as the ``Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026''. Motion to Concur Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I have a motion at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the motion. The text of the motion is as follows: Mr. Cole of Oklahoma moves to concur in the Senate amendments to H.R. 7148. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1032, the motion shall be debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) and the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma. General Leave Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Oklahoma? There was no objection. Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time that I may consume. Madam Speaker, the House has done a tremendous job these last few months as we have finalized true bipartisan, bicameral bills to fully fund our government in a Member-driven, district-focused way. Six of those bills have been signed into law by President Trump, fully funding those departments and agencies through the end of the fiscal year. While the remaining six bills have all passed the House, we are dealing with a partial government shutdown that could have and should have been avoided. Funding the government is not an optional exercise. It is the most basic duty we have in Congress. Two weeks ago, the House and the Senate struck a bipartisan and bicameral deal to move forward on these remaining appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026. The House acted expeditiously to pass these bills, marking historic progress for our appropriations process and the return to regular order that every Member of this Chamber wants to see. I share the frustrations of many that the Senate altered our deal at the last minute. However, our obligation is not to these emotions. It is to the American people. While we all worked hard, especially our cardinals, to ensure that all 12 bills would be signed into law before the January 30 deadline, the Senate has put us on a different path. The best choice before us is to pass these five bills and the short-term stopgap for the Department of Homeland Security. This approach delivers full-year funding to more than 95 percent of the government and avoids the consequence of inaction. To continue the government shutdown would be to repeat all the same mistakes my friends across the aisle made in October of last year, throwing Federal employees into chaos and confusion while they are forced to work without pay, wreaking havoc on our airports while TSA and FAA are unfunded, putting undue stress on our military families, and causing further instability to the United States economy. Shutdowns are never the answer. They don't work. They only hurt the American people. {time} 1240 Today, lawmakers in this Chamber have an opportunity to avoid repeating past mistakes. I encourage everyone on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing and close out five of our remaining six appropriations bills for FY 2026 while enacting funding for core priorities, including: strengthening America's defense and providing a well-earned pay raise to our troops; advancing lifesaving biomedical research and critical education programs; enhancing the safety and reliability of our skies and infrastructure; supporting small businesses and strengthening cybersecurity; restoring American deterrence on the world stage and reinforcing economic and community strength across the country. The package also includes a 2-week continuing resolution for our sixth and final bill, the Department of Homeland Security, which will give the White House additional time for negotiations. President Trump is leading by example and engaging directly with Democrats in good-faith conversations on that front. He also has been explicitly clear that holding the government hostage is wrong. I wholeheartedly agree with him. As he stated just yesterday: We need to get the government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this bill, and send it to my desk without delay. I say to this Chamber: Let's get it done. The American people deserve stability, and they expect results. These bills deliver both. For anyone consulting their conscience, these measures have already passed the House with strong bipartisan support. The work has been carried out, and the responsibility now is to get it across the finish line. This vote is about governing responsibly and doing our jobs. I look forward to us nearing the completion of our FY26 duties. I urge all Members to support this bipartisan package. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There are two paths before us today: one if this bill passes and another if it fails. If we take the first path, if the bill passes, here is what will happen: The Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, Treasury, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development will be fully funded through the end of September. The Democratic wins we secured in this bill will be locked in. We will reject $163 billion in cuts to public services proposed by President Trump. We will increase funding for the National Institutes of Health biomedical research by $450 million. We will provide over $66 billion for rental assistance programs. We turn back in the Labor-HHS bill 47 programs that the administration had slotted for elimination. In the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, 24 programs were slotted for elimination. We reversed that. We will increase funding for childcare and Head Start by $170 million, secure an additional $5.5 billion for humanitarian assistance, and boost funding for Federal Public Defenders by $350 million. We will establish meaningful constraints on the Trump Administration's ability to abuse the budget process, take expansive power over Federal funding, Federal spending away from Russ Vought, and reclaim it for the Congress. If not, the President and Russ Vought will be in charge of the funds, and we will have no say. At the same time, funding for the Department of Homeland Security will continue at its current level for 10 days. It is important to note that is about 6 legislative days. If we do not pass another bill by next Friday, the Department will shut down. Having passed the other full-year funding bills [[Page H1962]] today, every other department would remain open. If we are not satisfied with where we are in those 10 days--6 legislative days--we can withhold our votes without jeopardizing all of the important Democratic priorities I just laid out and more. We will be in the strongest possible position to fight for and win the drastic changes we all know are needed to protect our communities: judicial warrant requirements, no more detentions or deportations of United States citizens, an enforceable code of conduct, taking off the masks, putting the badges on, requiring body cameras, and real accountability for the egregious abuses we have seen. If we choose the second path, however, if this bill does no

Referenced legislation: HRES1032, HRES1032, HR7148