Skip to main content

Government Shutdown Update: 21st Day

January 11, 2019
Document

Over the last two weeks, I've received questions from some of you asking why I voted against bills to "open" the federal government. As always, thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. I'd like to address those concerns today, and also share some of mine with you. One of my biggest concerns throughout this shutdown is why House Democrats continue making us take pointless votes that make it appear as if the House is trying to reopen our federal government – when really, these bills will do nothing to get us out of our current situation. We just voted on the same bills that failed to end the shutdown last week, the same bills Senators McConnell and Schumer still refuse to consider, and the same bills the President will still not sign. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, the reality is, these are dead bills.

Couldn't our time be better spent negotiating a workable deal to reopen our federal government as soon as possible? Sure, it could. Unfortunately, the facts tend to be some of the last things considered when the politics of identity, emotion, and partisanship take over. Speaker Pelosi knows these bills have no chance of reopening our federal government, and instead of utilizing her time to come to the table to negotiate a solution, she insists on putting Members of the House on the record just to secure political "wins". I urge Speaker Pelosi to quit forcing the House to perform these futile exercises and to begin working with her counterparts in the Senate on a realistic bill that actually has the potential to resolve this crisis and put an end to the political posturing.

Issues:In Case You Missed It