Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, told Newsmax on Thursday that the House has been "very consistent" in advancing key funding measures and said the Senate must stop "playing politics" and pass legislation needed for border security and national defense.

Appearing on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Nunn said the House has already acted to fund critical agencies and pass appropriations bills, arguing that senators should now do their job and deliver the money needed to protect the country.

"I think the House has been very consistent since the start of this," he said. "We have to fund Customs and Border Patrol. We have to fund DHS [Department of Homeland Security]."

Nunn said the consequences of Washington funding fights are directly felt by federal workers on the front lines.

"Look, the Democrats shut down funding for this agency for 76 days," he said, referring to DHS. "That's the longest in history."

"It means our TSA guys went without pay, our Coast Guard went without pay," Nunn continued. "And our border security guys right there on the front line were not getting the money that they had earned, deserved and were protecting us for."

He pointed to the House's record on appropriations, saying it recently delivered results not seen in more than 30 years.

"We, in the House, have passed every single appropriations bill that came up this year," Nunn said. "That hasn't happened since Newt Gingrich was speaker, and we got it to the president's desk."

The congressman called those votes "real wins," saying they reflect the kind of responsible budgeting expected of American families and businesses.

The same standard should also apply to the Senate, he said, especially when the issue is paying American service members.

"I think we expect that the Senate should be able to pay the men and women in uniform who are protecting our country, not continuing to play politics with this," Nunn said.

He also said another reconciliation package is expected to include defense funding and support for U.S. troops.

"Coming up is going to be a reconciliation — it's been dubbed 3.0 — but that has funding for things like our national defense, particularly supporting our military troops," Nunn said.

Pointing to recent military demands in the Middle East, the Iowa Republican said U.S. forces need resources replenished after the Iran conflict.

"The reality is, right now, we spent nearly 40% of our air protection missiles in the first opening days of the conflict, retaliating against Iran," he said.

Nunn said National Guard members from his home state recently returned from a lengthy deployment and deserve to have the equipment and support they need.

"Our troops came home to Iowa, the Iowa National Guard, after serving there for over a year," he said. "I want these guys to be able to have the weapon resupply they need. We've got to pass that budget."

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