Hudson Votes to Reopen Government
January 23, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2018
Hudson Votes to Reopen Government
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), Fort Bragg’s Congressman and an outspoken advocate for North Carolina's military community, released the following statement after the House passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through February 8, 2018:
“Senate Democrats’ 3-day shutdown was unnecessary. It was reckless. And it defied common sense. The American people – particularly our men and women in uniform – deserve better. Today I voted once again to fund the government, support our Armed Forces, and put the interest of our country first.”
Last September, the House passed all twelve appropriations bills to rein in spending and responsibly fund the government and our military, but the Senate failed to fulfill its duty with Senate Democrats refusing to even debate the appropriations bills. This brought us to Thursday’s House vote on a CR to keep the government open and fund our military while Congress and the Trump Administration continue to work to reach a long-term solution.
The House passed the funding bill to extend defense and non-defense discretionary funding to February 16, 2018 at current levels, suspend several taxes created by the Affordable Care Act, extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, and provide additional funding for several health care related programs on Thursday, but Senate Democrats blocked a vote late Friday night.
Over the weekend, they continued to filibuster a reasonable government funding bill that contained zero provisions they disagreed with. Today, the Senate voted to break the Democratic filibuster and passed a federal spending bill to fund the government through February 8, 2018.
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