WASHINGTON— Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson – Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee – voted in favor of S. Amdt. to H.R. 2872 – Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024, a stop-gap funding measure that modifies the two expiration dates established in the second continuing resolution. This legislation extends appropriations and authorities under the jurisdiction of four Appropriations Subcommittees through March 1, 2024, and the other eight Subcommittees through March 8, 2024.  

“A vote to shut down the government is a vote to take away the paycheck of the nearly 20,000 border security agents who are working to keep fentanyl out of our country and protect unaccompanied children from human trafficking,” said Rep. Simpson. “Make no mistake, our southern border must be secured, but playing political games with government funding is not the way to achieve this goal. Congress has a Constitutional duty to fund the government, and the House Appropriations Committee is continuously working to address spending by crafting and passing conservative single-subject appropriations bills on the floor. Shutting down the government – whether it’s a partial or total – jeopardizes these very goals my colleagues and I are working hard to accomplish.” 

Rates of human and drug trafficking have increasingly spiked within the last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including Air and Marine Operations, seized 27,293 pounds of fentanyl coming across the Southwest border—enough to kill more than 6 billion people. Additionally, in FY23, 169 people whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the Southern Border, an all-time record. 

The measure was approved with a vote of 314 – 108.