Rep. Horsford Signs Petition to Reopen the Government, Calls On Republicans to Sign On

Press Release

Today, Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-4) announced that he signed a discharge petition to reopen the government. This congressional procedure allows a majority of members to bypass Speaker Boehner and force an up or down vote on a bill to reopen the government.

The federal government has been closed since October 1, 2013, and Republican leaders have repeatedly refused requests from Democrats and some Republicans to pass a funding resolution without controversial items and reopen the federal government.

"I joined my colleagues and signed onto the discharge petition because Nevadans are demanding that we reopen the government and end this senseless shutdown ," said Horsford. "This shutdown is hurting my constituents and threatens our economy. I urge my Republican colleagues to work with Democrats in the spirit of bipartisanship to end this crisis by signing onto the discharge petition."

The government shutdown has cost taxpayers up to $300 million a day, it has stopped critical loans to small businesses and slowed the processing of veterans disability claims. The shutdown has prevented NIH from taking new patients and halted life-saving medical research and stalled much-needed housing loans for American families.

The discharge petition for H. Res. 372 would allow an up or down vote on a clean continuing resolution, providing funding through November 15 at a compromise level requested by Speaker Boehner. This discharge petition only needs a majority of House members to sign on and does not require any action by the Republican leadership.

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