Blog: Preventing Government Shutdown, Saving Jobs

Statement

Back in April, during the last budget debate, partisan bickering very nearly forced a shutdown of the federal government, putting thousands of livelihoods and our national security at risk. I believe Americans shouldn't have to suffer because Congress can't work together -- so I introduced a bill to keep the government funded at the previous year's level if a budget couldn't be agreed to before time ran out. With another shutdown looming, the importance of passing my bill is even more urgent.

This shutdown would affect hundreds of thousands of Americans, threaten our still-fragile economic recovery and hold hostage the people who provide services we rely on every day, like the troops who keep us safe, farmers waiting on loans to put next year's seed in the ground, and new homeowners who can't get their mortgages guaranteed. My bill would serve as a bridge until Congress can agree to complete the job we were elected to do and prevent the American people from paying the price for Congress's infighting and inability to act.

While I believe we need to make smart cuts across the board to address our mounting national debt, real people's lives are at stake. This failure to see the forest for the trees is unacceptable. Once again, political brinksmanship has pushed government to the verge of shutdown, and -- again -- I'm calling on Congress to use common sense and put in place this failsafe measure to ensure the threat of a government shutdown never happens again.

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