Senator Murray Discusses Her Nonstop Bipartisan Efforts to Prevent Shutdown, Again Calls on House Republicans to Get Serious

ICYMI: Murray Releases Bipartisan Continuing Resolution – MÁS AQUÍ

Senador Murray: “I have been working around the clock—and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle—to put together a serious, straightforward, and bipartisan bill that will keep the government open, and give Congress more time to pass our full-year bipartisan appropriations bills.”

***VIDEO recording of the press call AQUÍ***

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, hosted a virtual press conference to discuss her around-the-clock work to prevent a government shutdown and talk about the bipartisan Continuing Resolution (CR) she negotiated and that she is pushing to pass and send to the House as soon as possible. Senator Murray also discussed why a government shutdown would be devastating for Washington state families and businesses. Senator Murray’s bipartisan CR would prevent a harmful, pointless shutdown—and keep the government funded through November 17 so that Congress can continue working to pass full-year bipartisan appropriations bills.

“As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have been working around the clock—and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle—to put together a serious, straightforward, and bipartisan bill that will keep the government open, and give Congress more time to pass our full-year bipartisan appropriations bills,” dijo el senador Murray. “This is a meticulously negotiated, bipartisan bill that I am confident can pass the Senate, can pass the House if it is put up for a vote, and that President Biden has already said he would sign into law.”

“Let me be crystal clear: if MAGA Republicans force our government to shut down, families and communities in Washington state and everywhere in our country are going to feel the pain. A needless shutdown will cut off parents and kids from child care they rely on through Head Start; small businesses and farmers from loans they need to get by; and patients from NIH trials, community health centers, and important youth mental health resources. A shutdown will cut off paychecks for our military border officers stopping fentanyl, firefighters, and so many other public servants,” El senador Murray prosiguió.

“Look, people in Washington state do not want chaos. They do not want to have to worry about whether the government is going to fulfill our most basic obligation and stay open! There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to pass a CR and prevent a government shutdown—none. So that’s what I’m working to get done here in Washington, D.C.—every hour of every day to try and get my colleagues to cooperate and move as quickly as possible,” agregó el senador Murray.

In Washington state, more than 54,526 federal workers and 62,100 military personnel will be furloughed or forced to work without pay if the government shuts down. Approximately 1,326 TSA officers and 327 air traffic controllers in Washington state will be forced to work without pay—leading to staffing shortages and longer lines and delays for travelers. A government shutdown would also delay 47 long-term disaster recovery projects in Washington state and undermine community preparedness, among many other harmful impacts for our economy and our nation.

Senator Murray’s bipartisan Continuing Resolution would:

• Extend government funding through November 17.
• Extend funding to help communities struck by disaster and continue support for Ukraine at a pivotal moment.
• Prevent critical health statutes from lapsing to ensure funding for community health centers and teaching health centers do not expire.
• Extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) authorities through the end of the calendar year.
• Ensure federal wildland firefighters will not see a pay cut.

In contrast, earlier today, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy introduced an extreme, dead-on-arrival Continuing Resolution that would decimate funding for domestic programs with an across-the-board 30% cut—immediately slashing funding for everything from NIH research and child care to heating assistance and law enforcement. The CR failed to pass the House of Representatives in a 198-232 vote this afternoon. You can learn more about House Republicans’ extreme stopgap funding proposal AQUÍ.

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