Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., released the following statement after voting to pass the continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown and keep the government open.
“Late tonight, I voted on the fourth short-term continuing resolution for FY2018 in order to keep the government open. While I voted for this continuing resolution because I refuse to support a government shutdown, it doesn’t mean I believe this should be the way we govern. We are already more than 3 months into FY2018 and we still don’t have a budget to fund our government for the rest of the fiscal year. Every time we pass another short-term funding bill, we put our national security at risk, we stall critical projects and throw our economy and our citizens into limbo. We have important work to do including ensuring our military is equipped to protect our country, fighting the opioid epidemic, keeping our promise to coal miners so they don’t lose their hard-earned pensions, fully funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Community Health Centers, expanding broadband access and passing a comprehensive infrastructure package.
“Funding the government is one of our most basic constitutional obligations and now because of partisan politics, the government will shut down. Governing this way is dangerous to our national security and embarrassing for both political parties. We must come together to do our job, and find a solution to reopen the government as soon as possible. I will work around the clock in order to get that done.”