During my time in Congress, I voted for clean funding bills with both Republicans and Democrats — precisely the kind of legislation put forth by Senate Republicans that Senate Democrats are rejecting — because I understood government shutdowns hurt our workforce.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle agreed with this commonsense position as recently as last year. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) even said that “no reasonable member on either side — Democrat or Republican — wants a government shutdown.”
The same Democratic senators responsible for today’s government shutdown previously passed 13 clean funding resolutions when they held the majority in Congress. Now, they no longer seem interested in reason; they seem more interested in grandstanding for completely out-of-touch policies that put American workers last, like providing free healthcare for illegal immigrants.
From the Department of Labor’s perspective, it’s clear these games will harm working families and wage earners across the country. Wildland firefighter pay will be affected — and so will the pay for our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every single day. Small business loans that support our Main Streets won’t be dispersed. Key economic data that businesses, workers, and policymakers rely on to make informed decisions cannot be collected or reported, creating even greater uncertainty than what is already rippling across the economy from this shutdown.
SENIOR HOUSE DEMOCRAT DARES GOP TO END SHUTDOWN BY NUKING SENATE FILIBUSTER
Our efforts to Make America Skilled Again will also be stunted by the shutdown, preventing the department from registering key apprenticeship programs and bolstering the skilled talent pipeline to answer the demand of growing workforce shortages in critical industries. Not to mention, our efforts to advance the boldest deregulatory agenda for American workers in recent history are being brought to a standstill.
For these reasons and many more, the administration is committed to keeping the government open for Americans. We understand what is at stake and must remain laser-focused on supporting President Donald Trump’s efforts to create a Golden Age of economic prosperity.
We do that by continuing to fight for free and fair trade, increasing blue-collar wages beyond the 1.4% we’ve already achieved, incentivizing investments here at home, and expanding on the hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs that have already been created.
The Democrats have brought our economic success to a halt due to their unwillingness to come to the table with Republicans in Congress. Under President Trump, we have achieved a 3.8% GDP, but because of the Democrats’ shutdown, we could see a substantial hit to the GDP, a hit to our economic growth, and a hit to working families. A recent memo from the White House Council of Economic Advisers warns that the United States could lose $15 billion in GDP each week the government is shut down, with a monthlong shutdown leading to an additional 43,000 Americans unemployed.
Just nine months into this administration, our economy is growing faster than expected, driven by consumer spending, more affordable homes, and a booming stock market. We can’t take our foot off the gas now.
SHUTDOWN SENDS CAMPAIGNS INTO OVERDRIVE TO SEIZE ON GOVERNMENT CHAOS
President Trump’s America First policies are working, but it’s all coming to a screeching halt because my former colleagues across the aisle are playing political games and refusing to come to the table. Senate Democrats have created a preventable crisis that will inflict real harm on the very people who form the backbone of our nation’s economy.
It’s time for them to do the right thing and join us in putting American workers first.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer is the U.S. secretary of labor.
