Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) issued the following statement following House passage of H.R. 1968, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025. This government funding bill, commonly referred to as a Continuing Resolution (CR), is being used by House Republicans to appease Donald Trump and his billionaire allies by ceding Congress’ constitutional authority over government funding and paving the way for drastic cuts to essential services and programs.
“House Republicans have once again failed to negotiate a bipartisan agreement that puts the needs of the American people first. Instead of working across the aisle to address our nation’s most pressing priorities, they passed a partisan Continuing Resolution that hands a blank check and unchecked power to the Trump administration and Elon Musk so that they can continue to gut critical public services and programs, ultimately hurting working families. House Republicans have chosen, once again, to put their loyalty to Donald Trump and Elon Musk over their responsibility to the American people.
“I will not support a continuing resolution that undermines the constitutional responsibility entrusted to Congress. Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress – not the President or unelected officials – the power of the purse. That is because our founders understood that only the elected representatives of the American people should pass laws and decide how taxpayer funds should be spent. This power held by Congress remains an essential element of our Constitution, intentionally designed to protect us from authoritarianism. The President does not have the unilateral authority to eliminate federal programs created by Congress, nor can any President transfer such authority to an unelected, unvetted, and unaccountable billionaire. Yet, this resolution weakens Congress’ power of the purse, yielding greater control over how taxpayer dollars are spent to the President and his billionaire allies.
“While Republicans currently hold a majority in the House and Senate, Democrats have historically worked with them to keep the government open and prevent disastrous shutdowns. In fact, Democrats have saved Republicans from their own dysfunction, helping to pass the past three CRs. However, this time, House Republicans are determined to move forward with a bill that slashes funding for critical programs, like health research, veterans’ health programs, and housing assistance, and the bill does nothing to prevent Trump and Musk from ignoring the law. House Republicans have failed to uphold their responsibility to their constituents and the nation – all in service of staying within the good graces of an erratic and despotic President.
“What we are witnessing is a pattern of House Republicans’ lack of leadership and inability to govern. While the House Republican conference remains in disarray, the one thing they have unified around is relinquishing the co-equal power of Congress to Donald Trump and delivering wins for billionaires – at the expense of the American people.”
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Issues: 119th Congress