Dear Friend,
I wanted to give you another brief update on the government shutdown. Over the last three days, the House has passed a series of small funding bills so that we can begin to restart the federal government. By doing this, we can get noncontroversial areas of the government working right away while lawmakers negotiate the larger budget issues. So far, the House of Representatives has passed legislation to pay National Guard and Reserve forces, reopen the Department of Veterans Affairs, fund lifesaving research for cancer and other serious diseases, and open our national parks. The Senate has decided not to consider any of these bills.
On Wednesday night, House Speaker John Boehner joined President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House to discuss possible solutions to end the shutdown. The President and Harry Reid were committed, however, to negotiating only after the House of Representatives agreed to support their approach to federal funding.
The other thing to be aware of is that on October 17, the U.S. will surpass its debt ceiling, which means that if the ceiling is not raised we could begin to default on our loans. We must maintain the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Speaker John Boehner assured members yesterday that he is determined to prevent a default and that he is willing to pass a bipartisan measure to avoid it.
I know many in our district have been hurt by this government shutdown. I am committed to resolving this issue as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
Kay Granger
Member of Congress