Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Harris on the Danger of a Prolonged Shutdown
Washington, D.C. – Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for his press briefing to discuss the damage happening across our nation while the painful and reversible Democrat shutdown rages on.
Senate Democrats have now had eleven opportunities to join bipartisan majorities in both chambers in support of a clean CR to reopen the government and restore stability to the federal workforce. They have chosen to focus on unrelated issues, and spent the weekend celebrating their shutdown at "No Kings" events around the country.
Chairman Harris reiterated what everyone knows to be true: Democrats are keeping the government shuttered for purely partisan reasons. Read on for highlights from his remarks.
On who the Democrats are really hurting with this shutdown:
"The reason that the government remains shut down has become crystal clear to Americans: it’s because Senate Democrats have chosen to pander to their radical base instead of doing their job for the American people. Senate Democrats have had the opportunity to vote eleven times for the House-passed bill that pays our troops, pays our law enforcement, and pays our air traffic controllers now, and would immediately reopen the government. Instead, they side with the same radical activists who filled the streets this weekend chanting no kings. That rally was backed by the Communist Party USA and socialists, the same people who claim to hate power while demanding more control over your life. The question before us now is simple: will at least five Senate Democrats relent and break from their party’s left wing fringe and vote to reopen the government today?"
On the Democrats' radical demands:
"Let’s also be honest about what the Democrats are really fighting for. They’re demanding taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. They want to eliminate work requirements for welfare for able-bodied adults who could work but choose not to. And they’re defending hundreds of billions of dollars in continued corporate welfare for big, profitable health insurance companies that have already made a fortune off Obamacare with the ‘Biden bonuses’ the Democrats scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
"House Republicans have already done their job. The only thing standing between America and a reopened government is a handful of Senate Democrats too afraid of their activist base to do the right thing. But it’s time for those five Senate Democrats to show some courage, stand against their leadership – but with hardworking Americans – and vote to reopen the government."
Speaker Johnson also spoke to the important work Appropriators have been doing, saying that "[Appropriators] are continuing to work, even during the shutdown. They're working individually, and on their subcommittees, and even across the aisle to get the next batch of appropriations bills ready for passage. Is the time eroding quickly? Yes. Is it dangerous for them to shut the government down right now? Yes, because we have very pressing matters that we need to handle, but we can't do it when the Senate is stalling all of that."
Reiterating the need for Congress to return to regular order, the Speaker reminded everyone that finishing the appropriations process is "how we serve as good stewards of the American taxpayers."
As the shutdown heads into day 21, the Speaker said it best: "This is the most costly, most selfish, most dangerous political stunt in the history of the United States Congress."
###
