Author: Community Contributor

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, we are just a few days away from a potential government shutdown that has been engineered by the extreme right-wing. This comes after President Biden negotiated a bipartisan budget deal with Speaker McCarthy back in May to fund the government, making sure the United States did not default on its financial obligations and protecting our economy from disaster. Both the Senate and the House passed this bipartisan deal.

Speaker McCarthy has not brought this deal to the floor. Now, a small faction of extremists are holding our government hostage and blocking the passage of crucial funding bills. If these extremists continue to be unyielding and proceed with a government shutdown, they are jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of Americans, jeopardizing the overall economy, and threatening our national security.

Congress cannot let these extremists thrust our economy into chaos, plunge millions of Americans into unemployment and poverty, and deprive children and our most vulnerable populations of vital services and resources. With the deadline to avoid a government shutdown rapidly approaching, I recently joined my colleagues from the New Democrat Coalition in urging Speaker McCarthy to reject the extremists and focus on passing a bipartisan government funding bill to avert a self-inflicted economic catastrophe.

I am committed to preventing this avoidable crisis – and I will be working hard to ensure that Congress keeps our government open.

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