{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=686ad1be-84ee-4045-995b-c18611307c71", "Manchin Statement on Government Shutdown", "2013-10-02", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 02, 2013\n\t\t\t Manchin Statement on Government Shutdown \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued the following statement on the federal government shutting down.\r\n\u201cI am embarrassed and ashamed of Congress and the unnecessary harm that is being inflicted on our citizens and country. Shutting down the federal government is unacceptable. The voters sent us here to work together and fix problems, not engage in partisan fights to score cheap political points. Today, for the first time in seventeen years, our government is not open. The people of West Virginia rely on their government for essential services like mine safety inspection, Head Start, small business loans and veteran\u2019s benefits, and today, instead of solving problems, we continue to fight.\u00a0\r\n\r\nWhile I continue to have strong concerns about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the choices and costs that West Virginians will face, I believe there are aspects of the health care law that are important to West Virginia\u2019s seniors, children, uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions. I believe that today, as the exchanges open, we will see first-hand which parts of the law need to be reformed, repaired or repealed as we did with the burdensome 1099 tax reporting requirements for businesses, and I will be the first one to work with my colleagues to do so. That being said, I do not believe we should hold our government hostage while we work through the health care law.\u00a0\r\n\r\nHealth care for Americans is a serious issue, but I still believe that it should not be part of the budget negotiations that fund our government.\u00a0 The real problem is that we have refused to deal with our budget crisis in a responsible manner. \u00a0For too long we have kicked the can down the road from one crisis to the next. It is time that Members got serious and start working towards commonsense solutions that will grow our economy and put Americans back to work. We must get our financial house in order.\r\n\r\nBefore we can even start fixing our nation\u2019s many challenges, we first need to fund our government.\u201d\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 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://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=686ad1be-84ee-4045-995b-c18611307c71"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7964379619807005, "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"}