Michigan members of Congress are joining efforts to prevent future federal government shutdowns.
The recently ended 35-day partial government shutdown failed to resolve the issues that created it, namely the president’s demand for $5.7 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) started the first month of her freshman term during the longest federal government shutdown in history. She doesn’t want there to be another.
Slotkin and other House freshmen are proposing to shift the financial burden of a government shutdown. In short, her bill would pay federal workers, but not members of congress nor senior administration officials.
“It transfers the pain from the average federal worker to the decision makers,” says Slotkin.
Slotkin’s bill, the “Shutdown to End All Shutdowns” (SEAS) Act, has support of Democrats. Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Mitchell’s (R-Dryden) resolution has bi-partisan support
“We ought to act like adults and resolve issues because we owe it to the American people,” says Mitchell.
Mitchell’s resolution would also keep the government funded, even if Congress and the president can’t agree on a budget. Under the resolution, Congress would commit to:
(1) Take meaningful bipartisan action to amend the United States code to prevent any future lapse in appropriations, and to permanently end government shutdowns. (2) Ensuring that no Americans, including federal employees, contractors, and citizens who depend on critical government services, have to suffer the consequences of future government shutdowns.
Neither proposal is expected to pass before February 15th, when current funding for some federal agencies runs out.
