Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today released the following statement regarding a potential government shutdown:
“For the first time in our nation’s history, it is possible we will have a government shutdown tonight while one party controls the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives. A government shutdown is both regrettable and 100 percent avoidable. The problem is that President Trump has previously declared he wanted the government shut down and is doing all he can to get it. The truth is that there is broad bipartisan agreement that the government should not shut down, the Children’s Health Insurance Program should be extended for 10 years and that Dreamers should be protected. Unfortunately, the President and his irresponsible enablers in Congress refuse to take yes for an answer and instead want to hold America hostage for funding for a taxpayer-funded and ineffective border wall he promised Mexico was going to pay for. I will continue to work with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to avoid this manufactured crisis from the President. However, I will not support another short-term continuing resolution that does not protect children’s health insurance and DACA recipients.”