The government has been shut down for a month now. Today, our country officially entered the longest government shutdown in history. How and when we will emerge from this mess remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that this shutdown is unnecessary.
Before this shutdown began, we were closer than we have been in years to returning to regular order — funding the government on time without temporary spending measures. The House Appropriations Committee had passed all 12 appropriations bills. For the first time since fiscal year 2019, we were preparing to conference with the Senate to resolve our differences on those bills. As one of 19 Republican conferees on that bipartisan conference committee, I was dedicated to continuing the process.
While we were close, we needed a bit more time to finish the job. To keep our momentum going, the House passed a clean, short-term bill to fund the government. I voted for that bill to avoid a shutdown. Unfortunately, the Senate shot it down. We have seen this story before.
In 1995, Republicans refused to pass a continuing resolution unless President Bill Clinton accepted a seven-year balanced budget plan. That standoff triggered a five-day shutdown followed by a short-term deal. A month later, another 21-day shutdown ensued over the same dispute. The public was outraged. Clinton signed a compromise budget to end the shutdown, allowing him to coast to reelection, while Republicans lost seats in Congress. while Republicans lost seats in Congress.
In 2013, Republicans led another shutdown — this time to repeal Obamacare. After the shutdown reached 16 days, public opinion turned sharply against Republicans, who were forced to agree to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government.
Finally, in 2018, Republicans led yet another shutdown — this one over President Donald Trump’s border wall funding request for $5.7 billion. Senate Democrats refused, and the government shut down for 35 days, the longest in history — at least, until now. In the end, President Trump reopened the government without the funding needed to build the wall.
Democrats now continue the pattern by making the same mistake.
As we approached the fiscal year deadline on Oct. 1, Democrats were vocal in calling for a clean continuing resolution (“CR”) to buy time to negotiate a broader agreement. But as the deadline neared, they abruptly changed course. On Sept. 19, the House passed a clean CR, only for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to dismiss it as a “partisan Republican spending bill” — even though it came at Democrats’ request and extended the same budget Democrats supported in March.
Instead, Senate Democrats introduced their own CR loaded with partisan policy riders, including:
- Reversing commonsense Medicaid reforms designed to protect the program’s long-term solvency; and
- Permanently extending pandemic-era Affordable Care Act subsidies, turning a temporary emergency measure into a bloated entitlement.
Their CR failed. So did the House’s clean one. And now, here we are, facing what is now the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history. As a result, Utahns are suffering — 86,000 Utah households lost their SNAP benefits. If you or someone you know are struggling with the effects of this shutdown, I invite you to visit my website to find resources available in our state.
So where do we go from here?
The path forward is simple and achievable: Seven Senate Democrats must vote with Republicans to pass a clean continuing resolution — no gimmicks, no partisan add-ons — and reopen the government. Then we can return to debating healthcare, spending and the future of our economy through the normal legislative process.
Shutdowns are no way to govern the greatest country in the world. And as history rightly shows, they rarely end well for those responsible for them. It is time to turn the lights back on, pay our public servants and get back to doing the people’s work.