OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Government Shutdown

Floor Speech

By: Ami Bera
By: Ami Bera
Date: Sept. 17, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations

Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, in 6 legislative days, our government will shut down. This is a bad idea.

Last time the government shut down, our economy lost more than $20 billion, $4 billion in tax refunds were delayed, 20,000 veterans disability claims per week were delayed, and $140 million in small business loan applications were not processed. If you look at the analysis, over those 2 weeks, 120,000 fewer jobs were created. This is a bad idea.

In Sacramento County, my home community, thousands of employees of the VA, Department of the Interior, and other agencies were threatened. This hurts American families.

It doesn't have to be this way, Mr. Speaker. We could come together, put together a budget, keep the government open, and get people back to work. That is what we are sent here to do.

Let's work together, Democrats and Republicans. Let's avoid a government shutdown, and let's put America back to work.


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