Langevin and Reed on re-opening the government

Langevin highlights Democratic House bills to fund agencies, Reed warns us not to be distracted by Trump’s phony border “crisis”

Langevin Votes to Shield 65,000 Rhode Island Families from Effects of Trump Shutdown

In addition to restoring vital nutrition programs, bills will ensure safety of food supply and transportation systems

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 265, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Act, 2019, and H.R. 267, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019. 

These are part of a series of four appropriations bills that House Democrats are passing this week to reopen government agencies that are not involved with border security. 

Both bills match funding levels agreed to and passed by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate last Congress.   

House Democrats continue to present solutions for reopening the government agencies affected by the Trump shutdown. The funding bills we passed today will ensure 175,000 Rhode Islanders will not go hungry due to a lapse in nutrition assistance programs. 

They will put food safety inspectors back on the job and allow air traffic controllers to be paid for the critical work they are doing to keep the traveling public safe. They will prevent veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities from being evicted from HUD-supported housing.

These are not partisan issues, and they are not partisan bills. Republicans in the Senate set these funding levels, and they passed last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. 

I implore the President to cease his irresponsible obsession with a border wall and reopen the government before he causes further harm to the American people and our economy.”

Senator Jack Reed: It is time for this irresponsible shutdown to end.

On Tuesday night, Donald Trump commandeered prime-time television to again make the case for his wasteful and misguided border wall. But in the end, all he did was demonstrate yet again that his intransigence and stubbornness is the problem -- not the solution.

Lawmakers are prepared to fund the government and support smart, effective ways to tackle our nation's security and immigration challenges. 

But instead of governing, Donald Trump is holding the paychecks of 800,000 federal workers -- including U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents -- hostage to his whims.

It's unacceptable, and we can't allow it to go on any longer.

Join me: Demand that Donald Trump put federal workers and real immigration solutions first by reopening the government now!

The President needs to stop listening to his own voice and start listening to the voices of Americans who are calling for real leadership, instead of this budgetary brinkmanship.

Americans can't afford to have the government shut down for, as the President has threatened, "months or years". Federal workers need to pay their bills. National Parks must be conserved and maintained. Food safety inspections need to be carried out.

An expensive, ineffective wall isn't the solution to the humanitarian challenges that we face at the southern border. Comprehensive immigration reform and smart border security measures are. But we won't achieve those as long as President Trump continues to shift the blame in this shutdown fight.