The most basic responsibility of the Congress is to fund the government. Yet, since September 30th, the end of the fiscal year, Republicans who control the House and Senate have failed to pass a long-term spending bill. Instead, we’ve lurched from month to month, funding the government for just weeks at a time and kicking the can down the road on critical priorities for the American people
This is unacceptable. I have voted for short-term bills in the past to give us time to resolve these issues, but last night, I voted against another short-term continuing resolution – the fourth since last October – because we cannot continue this way. It hurts our military readiness and injects uncertainty into our economy.
As Defense Secretary Mattis said,“It just creates unpredictability… It makes us rigid. We cannot deal with new and revealing threats. We know our enemies are not standing still… So it's about as unwise as can be.”
It is time to stop governing by crisis. Congress must pass a long-term funding bill that provides certainty to our military and addresses the priorities of the American people. With so many unresolved and pressing issues, including the opioid epidemic, pension crisis, disaster relief and our broken immigration system, Republicans and Democrats must sit down together and get the job done.
I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to achieve these goals. You can’t run a business based on month-to-month budgeting, and Congress shouldn’t run the government that way either. We must continue to stand up for our values and provide certainty to the American people.
Sincerely,
Debbie Dingell
Member of Congress
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