{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20131028024019/http://shea-porter.house.gov/media-center/carolscolumns/the-mess-in-washington", "The Mess in Washington", "2013-10-09", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Carol Shea-Porter", "S001170", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Gridlock in Washington has hit New Hampshire as the federal government is shut down for the first time in 17 years.\nIn order to keep all of the government operating, Congress needed to pass a budget by October 1st. But Republicans and Democrats could not agree on a budget, so instead, they agreed to pass what\u2019s called a Continuing Resolution or CR. A CR would fund the government at existing levels for six weeks while the House and Senate worked on a long-term budget agreement. Republicans and Democrats agreed on the funding level for a Continuing Resolution, but a number of Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives also insisted on defunding or delaying the Affordable Care Act. As a result of this refusal to allow consideration of a \u201cclean\u201d Continuing Resolution to fund the government, the government shut down on October 1st.\nHere\u2019s how the Washington Post put it: \u201cIt's true that House Republicans are holding up a spending bill, but they're not holding it up over demands for spending cuts or tax increases or some other package of deficit reduction. In fact, they're happy with the level of spending in the bill. It's a number they proposed, after all\u2026 [But] Republicans weren't willing to keep the government open unless Democrats let them dismantle Obamacare.\u201d\nI am willing to work with anyone who has a serious proposal to improve the Affordable Care Act; responsibly reduce our deficits; and invest in long-term economic growth. But those debates should take place through the regular, open legislative process, not through a hostage-taking stunt like shutting down the federal government. We are a nation of laws. If someone dislikes a particular law, they work to change it through elections and the legislative process laid out in America\u2019s founding documents.\nThe government shutdown does not come without significant pain to families in New Hampshire. Overall, it\u2019s costing taxpayers $300 million per day, not to mention added stress on small businesses and hardworking federal employees. This also doesn\u2019t include agencies being closed and historic monuments shuttered from lack of staffing, claims backing up at the VA, and all of the other problems caused by the government being shut down.\nI understand how difficult a government shutdown is for everyone, especially federal employees. During the last shutdown in 1995, my husband was a federal employee, and I remember how hard it was. That is one of the reasons why I am a cosponsor of the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, which unanimously passed the House last week. This legislation will guarantee that federal workers will not be punished for Congress\u2019 inability to fund the government by making sure that, at the end of this shutdown, all federal employees receive pay for the duration of the shutdown, regardless of their furlough status.\nNow, instead of putting an end to the government shutdown by passing the clean CR that the Senate has already agreed to, Republican Leaders in the House are offering bills to open individual agencies and programs instead of the entire government. Make no mistake \u2013 this is not an honest attempt to reopen the government. These cherry-picked funding bills serve only to give political cover to the very people who caused the government shutdown. As former Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) said, \u201cPiecemeal or partial spending plans do not adequately ensure that our veterans \u2013 and indeed all Americans \u2013 have access to the system of self-government established to serve and protect them.\u201d\nAs USA Today said, \u201cStarting to feel public pressure, the House Republicans who forced the government closure as part of their quixotic quest to kill Obamacare offered to reopen some of the most popular programs, such as parks and the Department of Veterans Affairs, on a piecemeal basis. That might spare them some political heat. But it's like seizing a school bus full of kids then offering to release the cutest ones\u2026The sooner the Republicans free all their hostages, the better.\u201d\nA piecemeal approach is grossly unfair and dishonest to the American people.\u00a0It serves only to draw out the shutdown, instead of resolving it.\u00a0 We need a clean CR that funds the entire government, not a political gimmick that continues to damage our economy and middle class, and threatens our national security.\nI am talking to my Republican and Democratic colleagues, trying to find common ground and get things moving here in Washington. We must work together, for the sake of our country and our people.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131028024019/http://shea-porter.house.gov/media-center/carolscolumns/the-mess-in-washington"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1455890964716673, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}