Shutdown Saga
Special Edition: Comment from the Capitol
In this week’s special edition of Comment from the Capitol (CFTC), I had the honor of welcoming Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The Speaker breaks down the latest on the government shutdown—how we got here, what’s at stake, and what happens next.
Listen HERE.
How did we end up here?
The lead-up to this week’s government shutdown is complicated. From the start, the appropriations process faced an uphill battle without a topline budget agreement and with much of Congress’ energy directed toward budget reconciliation in the start of the year. Despite this, the House Appropriations Committee, which I serve on, did its job and reported all twelve appropriations bills—something that hasn’t been accomplished in years. The House even managed to pass three of those bills, putting us on the path to fund the government in regular order.
But the truth is we simply didn’t have enough time to pass the remaining bills and conference with the Senate before September 30, the end of the fiscal year. Knowing this, the House put forth a clean, straightforward funding extension called a continuing resolution (CR). This CR funds the government at current levels for seven weeks. Notably, this is the same type of “clean” CR that Democrats passed 13 times during the Biden administration.
The House passed that CR on September 19 with little support from Democrats. From there, it went to the Senate, where 60 votes are required for passage. With only 53 Republican senators, support from Democrats is required. Our hope was that enough Senate Democrats would recognize that a shutdown only hurts the American people and pass the CR.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Instead, Democrats chose to make certain Affordable Care Act subsidies their sticking point. These tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. That’s an important issue no doubt, but the time to debate it is when the government is open, and it certainly should not be used as leverage to force a shutdown.
Yet, a majority of Senate Democrats voted Tuesday evening to shut the government down. Without a funded, functioning government, active-duty military, air traffic controllers, TSA officers, border patrol and ICE agents, and federal law enforcement like the FBI go unpaid. As a shutdown drags on, that becomes an increasing safety and security risk for all Americans.
We are now on Day 3 of the shutdown. And while the situation remains murky, there are early signs that bipartisan talks in the Senate could help break the ice.
Regardless of how long the shutdown lasts, I want to assure you that my office remains open and ready to answer your questions about how it may affect you and your family.
Interested in learning more about the shutdown? Watch my interview with 5NEWS HERE.
In other news…
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I welcomed Mayor George B. McGill and the Fort Smith Board of Directors to D.C. As Fort Smith continues to grow, we must meet the River Valley’s infrastructure needs for water and wastewater management. We discussed funding opportunities and ways the federal government can be a partner to meet this challenge. In addition, the mayor provided me with an update on the F-35 FMS mission at Ebbing Air National Guard Base and how my office can continue supporting our airmen.
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The Simmons Foods executive team stopped by my office to discuss critical issues affecting the pet food industry from trade, input costs, and FDA regulation. Simmons is one of AR-3’s largest employers, and I always appreciate hearing how our office can support their growth in the region.
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I had the opportunity to take the Kemp family on a tour of the Capitol. While in Statuary Hall, we ran into Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who spoke with them about life in Arkansas compared to his home state of Louisiana. The Speaker also shared how he’s working to reopen the government. Afterwards, I showed them some of my favorite statues in the Rotunda, including Harry Truman and the Portrait Monument to the Suffragette Pioneers.
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While at the Capitol ready to help end this government shutdown, I also made it a priority to keep you updated back home through your local news outlet.
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Have a great weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around! Be sure to check out my website, X, and Instagram pages in the meantime. |