Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) to discuss the importance of passing a two-step continuing resolution on the House floor to keep the government open while Republicans fight to change the way Washington runs. Additionally, Leader Scalise emphasized that Congress must not allow Iran, which funds terrorist organizations like Hamas, access to the $6 billion President Biden gave to them.
   

On changing the way we fund the government:

“As [Whip Emmer] talked about, we have a number of items to take care of. And today, front and center, is passing the government funding bill that I want to commend our speaker for negotiating, and frankly, for breaking a paradigm here in Washington. One of our biggest frustrations that we talked about for months since we took this majority is that we would not have an end of year Christmas Eve omnibus bill come to the House floor. 

“When Speaker Johnson got elected he made it very clear: We were not going to end this year with an omnibus where you get these 3,000-page bills that nobody's read – that get dumped right before Christmas Eve and then nobody has a chance to read the bill. It's got all kinds of Christmas list items, hundreds of billions of dollars that nobody even saw before. We finally are breaking that cycle by bringing this two-step CR to the floor today that's going to ultimately bring government funding into January and February, breaking the bills apart so you don't have everything expiring at the same time.”

On securing Biden’s dangerous open border:

“[We’re] also setting up a real fight over securing our nation's border, a fight that's been needed for a long time – since Joe Biden opened the border, since we started seeing millions of people coming into our country illegally, with all of the devastation that it's brought, with all of the concerns that you see around the world. There's no more important time that we have a secure border.” 

On freezing funds that enable Iranian backed terrorism:

“You saw Chairman McCaul talking about the devastation in Israel, and the war, and the need for us to support Israel in their fight, which we are supporting against Hamas and this terrorist organization. But there are dangerous countries all around the world – it's not just Hamas. 

“Iran is the largest sponsor of state terrorism, including Hamas and other terrorist organizations. We're bringing a bill to the floor this Thursday that will freeze the $6 billion that Joe Biden wants to give to Iran. And the Ayatollah recently said – bragged – that if he gets that $6 billion, he will use it for whatever purpose he chooses, including continuing to fund terrorism like Hamas. Why would the Biden Administration want Iran to get that $6 billion?

“Well, we're going to have a vote on the House floor to block that money, and hopefully you see a broad, overwhelming bipartisan vote. I know it was split in committee – all Republicans voted for it, the Democrats were split – but this should be a larger vote. 

“I think the whole country is going to be watching and saying ‘Why would you dare allow Iran to get another $6 billion when we know they use that money to fund terrorists like Hamas, who are killing Jews, who are beheading babies?’ You see the atrocities in Gaza still to this day. So hopefully, we can be united in that and get that bill to the Senate, and get that bill to the President's desk, so that he ultimately signs the bill and freezes that money so that Iran can no longer have that additional money to fund terrorism. 

“So we're going to continue to do our work this week, but it's an important week. And then hopefully, everybody has a great Thanksgiving.”