NRDC Reaction: Chaos Nearly Upends Last-Ditch Budget Measure
Budget: “It shouldn’t be this hard”
WASHINGTON, DC - Hours before a critical budget deadline, Congress passed a stripped-down temporary funding measure to avert a government shutdown.
Alexandra Adams, Chief Policy Advocacy Officer at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), made the following statement:
“So it begins - a last-ditch budget measure nearly upended by petulance, intimidation and the latest rant on X. The nuts and bolts of governance really shouldn’t be this hard.
“It shouldn’t be this hard to get urgently needed disaster relief to Americans reeling into the holidays from devastating floods, storms and fires. It shouldn’t be this hard to make sure our military gets paid, to get help to farmers hit with heat waves and drought, to keep the gates open at our national parks.
“The House managed to make a lay-up, while allowing extremists in thrall to a billionaire’s whims to strip out funds for essential health needs, conservation support and other priorities manifestly in the national interest.
“So begins the long winter of chaos - with inauguration still a month off.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).