As the government shutdown dragged into its 32nd day, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) went on Fox News ‘Saturday in America’ to sharply criticize Senate Democrats for obstructing a clean continuing resolution (CR), arguing their actions were solely responsible for the ongoing crisis.
Emmer maintained that the path to reopening the government is straightforward: House Republicans passed a “clean continuing resolution” well ahead of the September 30th deadline, but Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have refused to provide the 60 votes needed to pass the measure.
He noted that this was the 13th time they had blocked the funding bill, which the same Democrats had voted for just six months prior and multiple times under a previous administration.
The Republican Whip detailed the severe financial pain caused by the prolonged stalemate, which extends far beyond Washington. He pointed out that air traffic controllers and other federal employees had missed their paychecks, leaving their families in peril.
More gravely, 42 million low-income Americans have their food assistance (SNAP benefits) at risk due to the funding lapse. The economic impact is also hitting the private sector, as Emmer reported that over 65,000 small businesses that contract with the federal government have collectively lost $12 billion in the first 30 days.
He referenced the largest federal employee union, representing 820,000 workers, which has publicly called on Congress to pass the clean CR to end the suffering.
Emmer directly challenged the Democratic Party’s public narrative, which claimed their resistance was to secure enhanced Obamacare healthcare premium subsidies. He called this a distraction, stating that their official alternative bill was over 60 pages long, with only a tiny fraction actually addressing the health credits.
According to Emmer, the bill was a disguise for a massive spending wish list, including “$1.5 trillion in new spending” and attempts to gut the $50 billion rural health care fund. He concluded that the shutdown is fundamentally “not about healthcare” but about Democrats being afraid to upset the “virulent, violent left-wing radicals” within their own party.
He speculated they are waiting until after next Tuesday’s elections to avoid political backlash from that faction. Emmer insisted the only way to move forward is for the Senate to pass the clean CR, allowing Congress to then return to the negotiating table to finalize the 12 annual appropriations bills.
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