Once again, Washington finds itself in a completely avoidable mess. The federal government is shut down, not because Republicans refused to act, but because Democrats chose politics over people.
House Republicans did our job. We passed a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution to keep the government open, ensuring our men and women in uniform, farmers, and federal workers wouldn’t miss a paycheck. Instead of joining us in doing what is right for the people, Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) decided he would rather make a political point at the expense of hardworking families.
DEMOCRATS IMITATE TRUMP WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING HIS APPEAL
Right now, Alabama farmers are facing uncertainty about United States Department of Agriculture services and disaster relief programs on which they depend. Military families, who sacrifice for this nation every single day, have to worry about their next paycheck. Small businesses that rely on federal permits or loans are left to worry if they’ll be able to keep the doors open.
Even the men and women of the Capitol Police, the very people who protect the halls of our government, are being punished by Schumer and Democrats’ political games as they work to ensure peace at “No Kings” protests without pay.
This is not leadership. It is leveraging the people, and they admit it.
Schumer said, “Every day [of the shutdown] gets better for us.”
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the No. 2 in House Democratic leadership, said, “There will be families that suffer … but it is one of the few leverage times we have.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said, “That just gives the president more leverage if we reopen the government.”
If just five Democrats in the Senate had the courage to walk onto the Senate floor today and vote for the clean continuing resolution passed by House Republicans, the government would reopen before the end of the day. Five votes. That’s all it would take to end the pain this shutdown continues to cause for millions of Americans.
Democrats like to claim they’re fighting for working people and families, but every hour this shutdown continues, those very same people Democrats claim to fight for are paying the price for their cheap political stunt.
NO, MEHDI HASAN, SLAVERY DID NOT BUILD AMERICA
House Republicans acted responsibly. We put aside partisanship and voted to keep America running, just like Congress has done many times before. Democrats must do the same.
The people deserve a government that works for them, not one that uses them as pawns in the Democrats’ political games. It’s time for Senate Democrats to do their jobs, pass the House’s clean resolution, and let our nation move forward.
Barry Moore represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
