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Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House - Keep House in Session Until Shutdown Averted

Letter

By: Kathleen Rice, David Cicilline, Kyrsten Sinema, Scott Peters, Steve Cohen, Debbie Dingell, Matt Cartwright, Paul Tonko, Bill Foster, Jim McGovern, André Carson, Cheri Bustos, Raul Grijalva, Filemon Vela, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Tammy Duckworth, Judy Chu, Dave Loebsack, Jim Cooper, Mike Quigley, Annie Kuster, Robin Kelly, Ed Perlmutter, Bobby Rush, Mark Pocan, Sandy Levin, Jared Huffman, Grace Meng, Karen Bass, Lloyd Doggett II, Loretta Sanchez, Diana DeGette, Ben Luján, Jr., Danny Davis, Marcia Fudge, Tony Cárdenas, Henry Cuellar, Derek Kilmer, Mark Takai, Jan Schakowsky, Julia Brownley, Linda Sánchez, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Juan Vargas, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Lois Frankel, Joe Kennedy III, Emanuel Cleaver II, Elijah Cummings, Dan Kildee, Brad Sherman, Alma Adams, Ann Kirkpatrick, Donald Norcross, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Sam Farr, Corrine Brown, Ted Deutch, Brendan Boyle, Seth Moulton, Mike Thompson, Jackie Speier, Dutch Ruppersberger, Jim Langevin, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Madeleine Bordallo, Jared Polis, Jim Costa, Ruben Gallego, Rick Nolan, Brad Ashford, Joyce Beatty, Gwen Graham, Suzan DelBene, John Delaney, Katherine Clark, Luis Gutiérrez, Chellie Pingree, Elizabeth Esty, Mike Honda, Tim Walz, Mark DeSaulnier, Steve Israel, Donna Edwards, Gerry Connolly, Patrick Murphy, Marc Veasey, Alan Grayson, Joaquin Castro, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Capps, Sheila Jackson Lee, Alan Lowenthal, Joe Courtney, Stephen Lynch, Don Payne, Jr., Peter Welch, Sean Maloney, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Barbara Lee, Ami Bera, Grace Napolitano, John Garamendi, Jim Himes, Nita Lowey, Adam Schiff, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Charlie Rangel, Terri Sewell, Denny Heck, Rubén Hinojosa, Sr., Peter DeFazio, Susan Davis, Eleanor Norton, John Carney, Jr., Joe Crowley, Rosa DeLauro, Niki Tsongas, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Ted Lieu, Eddie Johnson
Date: Sept. 22, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending

Dear Speaker Boehner,

We write you today to express our deep concern regarding the looming government shutdown which will occur on October 1st should Congress fail to reach a bipartisan consensus to fund the government.

As of right now, there are just six five legislative days scheduled before the end of the month. The American people deserve to know that their elected representatives are working around the clock to avoid another self-inflicted Washington wound on our national and local economies.

As the Speaker of the House, you have the power to change the legislative calendar. We strongly urge you to keep the House of Representatives in session every day from now until we reach a deal.

We already know the impact that a shutdown will have on our economy because it happened just two years ago. According to Standard & Poors, the 16 day government shutdown of 2013 cost the U.S. economy $24 billion and reduced 4th quarter GDP growth by 0.6%. We simply cannot allow this failure to happen again.

As Representatives, each of us has an obligation to the American people--the working families, seniors, veterans and others we have the privilege of serving. Now is the time to reject partisan gridlock and work together toward a common sense solution for the American people.

With the clock ticking, we can't afford to waste a moment. As Speaker, you have the power to keep Congress in session. We urge you to exercise that authority before it's too late.


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