Senators Introduce Legislation To ‘Permanently Prevent’ Government Shutdowns
A group of Republican senators introduced legislation that would permanently prevent the federal government from a shutdown Friday afternoon.
Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced the legislation — the “End Government Shutdowns Act,” that would make it so the federal government can never shut down.
This comes as the government has been partially shutdown for 21 days.
Some Republican members of Congress have lobbied other members to reach an agreement on a bill that would fund the government and protect the borders.
“It’s disappointing that both sides didn’t resolve this matter weeks ago. Shutdowns inevitably cost taxpayers more money once the government reopens. I hope that both parties come together and reach an agreement that brings a resolution to this issue as quickly as possible,” Portman said in a statement.
“Moving forward, we should end government shutdowns for good. This bipartisan legislation will accomplish that goal, providing lawmakers with more time to reach a responsible resolution to budget negotiations, giving federal workers and their families more stability, and ensuring we avoid disruptions that ultimately hurt our economy, taxpayers and working families,” he continued.
Daines, who also sponsored the bill, shared a similar message, saying government shutdowns do not work and that this legislation will help hold members of Congress accountable for keeping the government open.
“Shutdowns don’t work. Yet we’re seeing them happen time and time again,” Daines said in a statement.
“The End Government Shutdowns Act will hold Congress accountable to funding the government and ensure that hardworking folks aren’t paying the price for the partisan, political games being played in DC.”
Daines also introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns.
The bill, co-sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, came hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold his pay during the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.
Trump was on Capitol Hill Wednesday, meeting with Republican senators to discuss the shutdown and border wall funding.
After the meeting, he said Republicans were “unified.”
The president also warned Democrats he might declare a national emergency to fund the building of a border wall if they cannot come to an agreement soon.
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