Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: End the Schumer Shutdown

The federal government is currently shut down.  This is a Schumer Shutdown. 

 Nebraskans’ services will be limited under this Schumer Shutdown.  Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are directly responsible for creating this.  I'm fighting to end this Schumer Shutdown and responsibly fund the government.  

Republicans offered Chuck Schumer and Democrats a clean extension of the current bipartisan spending deal.  Democrats voted it down.  They are hypocrites.   

They voted for 13 clean continuing resolutions under Joe Biden.  That includes voting for this very budget.  In fact, these are the same funding levels they voted for four time in the last 18 months.  Chuck Schumer voted for it all four times.  

Yes, Chuck Schumer voted for these spending levels four times in a row.  But now, to appease far-left activists, he’s chosen a shutdown.  What a hypocrite.  

Here is what Chuck Schumer specifically said about shutdowns.  Back in 2013, Schumer asked in an interview: 

“What if I persuaded my caucus to say: ‘I’m going to shut the government down.  I’m going to not pay our bills unless I get my way.’?  It’s a politics of idiocy, of confrontation, of paralysis.”  

Here’s what Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy said in 2013, talking about the need for a funding bill that avoids partisan debates on healthcare:  

“[T]here is a time and a place to debate health care …  but not when the funding of the federal government, and all the lives that are impacted by it, hang in the balance.”  

The hypocrisy from Schumer and the Democrats is stunning.  Now, Schumer is holding the federal government and hardworking Nebraskans hostage. 

Chuck Schumer demanded $1 trillion of partisan spending in exchange for keeping the government open for seven weeks.  He demanded free healthcare for illegal aliens.  He demanded that we eliminate the $50 billion Rural Healthcare fund that Nebraskans will rely on.  He also wants to restore a burdensome staffing rule that would force the closing of rural nursing homes in Nebraska.  

Chuck Schumer’s demands aren’t reasonable.  These radical policies will hurt Nebraskans.  

Meanwhile, my Republican colleagues and I are working to responsibly fund the government.  We continue to advocate for a clean continuing resolution.  This extension would give Congress more time to work through the regular appropriations process.  We passed three bipartisan appropriations bills before the August state work period.  The Appropriations Committee has readied more bipartisan appropriations bills for consideration.  Senate Republicans want to pass appropriations bills through the regular process.  

A clean continuing resolution means extending the current bipartisan spending deal.  Passing a Clean CR is what we as Republicans are fighting to do.  It was also the position of three Senate Democrats. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Independent Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, all voted for the Clean CR.  

Instead of being reasonable, pro-shutdown Democrats are playing political games. This is harming all hardworking Nebraskans.  

When the federal government runs out of funding, service levels decline.  Some programs stop.  For example, women and children cannot enroll in the WIC program.  While Social Security checks will continue to go out, Social Security’s customer service could be disrupted.  Veterans and their families could face delays in accessing their benefits.  National Parks might close.  The taxpayer advocate will be unavailable to help with IRS questions.  

My Republican colleagues and I will continue working to pass a clean funding bill. That way, essential services will be protected.  We will continue working to complete the regular appropriations process and responsibly fund the government.  

I am fighting to support Nebraska seniors, service members, veterans, workers, families, and everyone who interacts with the federal government.  They deserve a government that works. Schumer must end this shutdown.  

Throughout the duration of the shutdown, my team and I are here to serve you.  My offices remain open in Scottsbluff, Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha, and Washington, D.C.  Contact us anytime by phone at 202-224-4224.  You can also view my website at www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact.