Staff Report
Congress missed its midnight deadline to pass a budget funding the U.S. government into fiscal year 2014 Monday night as the elected officials quarreled over whether to defund the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.
The U.S. government’s partial shutdown kept 800,000 “nonessential” federal employees home Tuesday and could cost the American economy up to $1 billion per week, according to several national reports. The move comes after House Republicans and Senate Democrats were at an impasse over the president’s healthcare plan that began enrollment Tuesday.
This marks the first government shutdown in nearly 18 years, with the last one – during the Clinton administration – lasting 21 days.
Lloyd Doggett (TX-35): “Enough of these Republican shenanigans that have already cost America so dearly. The only path forward is to end the veto power of the Republican ‘Shutdown Caucus” by permitting a bipartisan House majority to join the Senate in approving continued operation of our government. Allowing majority rule was the only way we escaped the fiscal cliff crisis, got Hurricane Sandy victims relief, and belatedly approved the Violence Against Women Act.”
Lamar Smith (TX-21): “Obamacare is unpopular, unworkable and unaffordable. Even the President knows this. That’s why he gave businesses a one-year extension on the employer mandate. Unfortunately, his decision means that the full burden of Obamacare falls squarely on the shoulders of hardworking Americans and their families. But what’s good for businesses should be good for the American people too.”
