Congress averts government shutdown

With just days until a deadline to avoid a shutdown, Congress passed a short-term measure to keep government funded until early December.

First, the Senate passed the spending measure by a 72-26 count. Next, the U.S. House passed it by a 342-85 count. It keeps government funded until Dec. 9 and includes money to fight the Zika virus, help victims of recent flooding in Louisiana and various appropriations for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

On its final passage, all members of Congress who represent Rowan voted for the short-term funding measure. The story was different across North Carolina’s entire congressional delegation. North Carolina’s members of the U.S. House voted for the spending measure by a count of 8-5. Reps. Renee Ellmers, R-2, Walter Jones, R-3, Mark Walker, R-6, Mark Meadows, R-11, and George Holding, R-13, voted against the short-term funding measure.

When asked about his vote, Rep. Richard Hudson said America expects its elected representatives to “do our work.” Hudson accused Democrats in Congress of continuing to “grind the process to a halt.”

Earlier, Democrats had opposed the funding because it didn’t provide aid to alleviate water woes in Flint, Mich. — where the city’s water system had been contaminated with lead.

“Instead of continuing to kick the can down the road with continuing resolutions, we need to find long-term solutions that cut wasteful government spending, encourage job creation, and strengthen our economy, and I remain committed to doing that,” Hudson said in an emailed statement.

Rep. Alma Adams, D-12, also expressed disappointment with the fact that there’s no long-term budget. In an emailed statement, Adams said “there was too much at stake not to support” the funding measure, which includes money to combat the Zika virus and recent flooding in Louisiana.

Both of North Carolina’s U.S. senators — Richard Burr and Thom Tillis — voted for the measure.

Tillis, in an emailed statement, expressed similar sentiments to Hudson, accusing Democrats of filibustering bipartisan, long-term spending bills. Burr avoided criticizing Democrats in his statement, saying he was encouraged to have passed the funding agreement.