Peters Votes to Keep Government Open and Protect San Diego Funding, but Urges End to Stopgap Bills

September 1, 2026 Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) released the following statement after the House passed a Continuing Resolution (CR), or short-term government funding bill, to keep the government open and funded through December 11, 2026. The government was set to enter another shutdown on September 30th if a budget was not passed in time. “I've long said this Republican-controlled Congress's reliance on short-term, stopgap funding bills is unsustainable. But I won't let workers in San Diego and across the country get crushed by another lengthy government shutdown, so I supported this bill." "I was encouraged by the improvements to this CR from the version House Republicans forced through in July. It closes the loopholes they snuck in to secretly funnel more money to Border Patrol, a reckless agency already sitting on billions in unspent funds with zero accountability for its agents. And it puts guardrails in place to stop the Trump Administration from politicizing federal grantmaking for the next several months. That matters for cities like San Diego, where we depend on billions in federal grants for biotech, housing, military, and transportation. "But this isn't how government is supposed to work. We should be focused on a real, annual funding process and responsibly use taxpayer dollars. I've led proposals to get us there, like the Budgeting for a Better America Act, which would establish a two-year budgeting framework and a bipartisan advisory commission to lower the risk of disastrous shutdowns and CRs altogether. The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, and it's time we used that power wisely." Background: Rep. Peters voted against the CR in July both on fiscal grounds and because the resolution did not include language to restrict the Trump Administration from directing appropriated funds to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. Rep. Peters has also repeatedly spoken out against Congress's habit of funding the government through continuing resolutions rather than passing full budgets on time. As co-chair of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum with Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Peters helped reintroduce the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act (PGSA) alongside Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington and a bipartisan group of colleagues. The bill would create an automatic continuing resolution at current spending levels whenever appropriations lapse. He's also the lead cosponsor of the No Budget, No Pay Act , which would stop Members of Congress from getting paid if they fail to pass a budget or funding bills on time. ###