Senator Hirono Statement on Government Shutdown

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the government shutdown:

“Tonight, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump turned things upside down. They’ve spent the past year working behind closed doors to take away health care from millions of people and pass huge tax cuts for the richest people and corporations in our country without input from Democrats or the public. At the same time, they’ve ignored reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, funding Community Health Centers, protecting DREAMers, and providing parity between defense and non-defense programs. All of these issues have bipartisan support and should have gotten done months ago.

“Republicans are in charge of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. They are in charge of setting the time table and the agenda, and now they’re blaming the Democrats for their own misplaced priorities.

“Congress is a separate branch of government. Instead of bowing to the unpredictable, mercurial, and unreliable positions of the President, we should do our jobs and send the President a government funding bill that addresses all of these priorities.”

Background: Senator Hirono is a cosponsor of Pay Our Military legislation that would ensure that our servicemembers and Department of Defense employees are paid throughout the shutdown, and the Federal Employees Fair Treatment Act, legislation to ensure that all federal civilian employees receive back pay in the event of a shutdown.