Press Releases

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement about the government shutdown caused by a Senate Democratic filibuster:

“Senator Schumer and his Democratic Senate colleagues have chosen to shut down the government for their own political purposes. There is nothing in the continuing resolution (CR) passed by the House of Representatives on January 18 that they object to. It funds the government and additionally provides six years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), objectives they claim to support. Instead of backing this measure, Senator Schumer decided to shut down the government on behalf of illegal immigrants who do currently not face any imminent risk of deportation.

“The Senate’s failure means 66,000 Virginia children stand to lose their health insurance. This fact makes the votes by Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine particularly disappointing. They apparently believe a political win on an immigration issue unrelated to government funding is more important than children’s health insurance, the military, and others working for the government.

“The vote to end debate last night was 50 to 48. Senator McConnell voted no in order to be able to revive the motion to end debate today, so the real tally was 51 to 48. In most republics based on democratic principles, including ours until 1975, that’s a win and thus no government shutdown. But the current Senate rules fly in the face of democratic principles and republican philosophy. This manufactured shutdown crisis shows yet again that the Senate’s arcane rules are an impediment to progress. They should be abolished to decrease the likelihood of future pointless obstruction.”

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