Monday, January 22, 2018
Washington, D.C. – Today, in a scramble to find an agreement to reopen U.S. government offices around the world, Congressional leaders in both chambers from both parties voted on a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through February 8. The president is expected to sign the CR today which would open offices immediately, bringing the government up to full force on Tuesday.
The focus quickly shifted to the February 8 deadline for the next round of government funding bills when Republicans will face additional pressure to prevent the government from shutting down again. In the meantime, it will be politics as usual while Congress attempts to make progress on permanent appropriations for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018.
“Shutdowns are always a costly and painful process but I am happy to see that Congress was able to limit the damage to three days,” stated Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. “The business of country and the lives of federal workers and families should always take precedence over politics. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case. Therefore, we continue to endure these ridiculous parlor tricks from Congress when the American people deserve much better from their representatives.”