01.09.19

Senate Democrats Urge Passage Of Legislation To End The Trump Shutdown

…Package Passed The House With Bipartisan Support Last Week…

WASHINGTON (WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9, 2019) – Senate Democrats Wednesday urged passage of two bills to reopen the federal government and end the Trump Shutdown, which is now in its 19th day.  The two bills received bipartisan support in the House last week.  The first bill is a six bill minibus containing the bills that were either reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee or passed the full Senate with broad bipartisan support last year.

Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, “These bills are the product of months of bipartisan work.  Congress was doing its job until President Trump ground our progress to a halt over his ever changing demands for a border wall, which he promised Mexico would pay for.  It is time to end this nonsense and for Leader McConnell to bring these Republican bills to floor so we can do our job, reopen the government and end the Trump Shutdown.”

Four of the bills in the six-bill minibus passed the Senate last year 92 to 6, and the other two were reported out of the Appropriations Committee on nearly unanimous votes.  The package is the product of bipartisan compromise and provides billions of dollars in new resources to address critical needs of the American people and to protect U.S. national security.  These investments include:

  • Billions of dollars to invest in rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure;
  • Support for our nation’s law enforcement;
  • Support for farmers and the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill;
  • More than half a billion dollars to help combat the opioid crisis that has gripped every corner of our nation;
  • Historic support for programs to prevent domestic violence and violence against women under the Violence Against Women Act;
  • And more than a half a billion dollar investment in broadband to rural communities across the country.

The Trump Shutdown, now in its 19th day, has robbed more than 800,000 public servants of their paychecks and denied millions of Americans access to government services.  Farmers cannot access loans as field offices across the country have shuttered their doors ahead of the next planting season, and the country’s National Parks are overflowing with trash and unstaffed, creating dangerous conditions.  Homebuyers are finding out their Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan applications are on hold.  Food safety inspections are slowing.  The Small Business Administration has stopped issuing new business loans and our Federal courts are running out of money.  The path forward offered by Senate Democrats is based on Republican bills, already has the support of the House, and can end the Trump Shutdown. 

The package includes a continuing resolution through February 8 to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, pay the men and women who protect our borders and our coast, and allows time to continue to debate the best way to invest in the security of the country’s borders.

Bill Summary: https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/download/six-bill-summary-

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CONTACT: Jay Tilton 202-224-2667