Rep. Joe Garcia Signs Petition to Reopen the Government, Calls on Republicans to Sign On

Press Release

Over the weekend, Congressman Joe Garcia announced he signed a petition to reopen the government. This special congressional procedure, known as a discharge petition, allows a majority of members to bypass Speaker Boehner and force an up or down vote on a bill to reopen the government. The federal government has been closed since October 1, 2013, and Republican leaders have repeatedly refused requests from Democrats, and some Republicans, to pass a funding resolution without controversial items and reopen the federal government.

"With no end in sight to this damaging shutdown of the federal government, I joined with my colleagues to sign onto the discharge petition that will allow a vote on a bill to reopen the government," said Rep. Garcia. "This shutdown is hurting my constituents and threatens our national economy. I urge my Republican colleagues to come together in the spirit of bipartisanship to end this crisis by signing onto the discharge petition."

The government shutdown has hurt the middle class and our economy, and will make it worse as this continues. Costing taxpayers up to $300 million a day, the shutdown has stopped critical loans to small businesses and slowed the processing of veterans disability claims. The shutdown has prevented many hospitals from taking new patients, halted life-saving medical research and stalled much-needed housing loans for American families.

The discharge petition for H. Res. 372 would allow an up or down vote on a clean continuing resolution, providing funding through November 15, at a compromise level requested by Speaker Boehner. This discharge petition only needs a majority of House members to sign on and does not require any action by the Republican leadership.

Discharge petitions have been proven successful in the past in bringing up legislation for consideration.

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