Murkowski Joins Colleagues in Unsuccessful Vote to Avert Government Shutdown
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statement following the Senate’s failure to pass H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act:
“This evening, the Senate voted on a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open through late November. I supported that legislation because it would have provided more time to work on appropriations bills, but its failure means that a harmful shutdown will begin at midnight tonight.
“There is no such thing as a good government shutdown, and it is imperative that we come together to put a quick end to this one. To do that, I recently proposed a framework which includes three Senate-passed appropriations bills, a short-term fix to help millions of Americans avoid massive increases in their health insurance costs, temporary funding for rural public broadcasting stations, and a reversal of recent unconstitutional pocket rescissions.
“I realize that the framework I put forward ten days ago reflects my priorities, and others might have different ideas on how to re-open the government. I am willing to talk with any of my colleagues, and welcome good faith negotiations to make this shutdown as short and painless as possible for the American people.
“To Alaskans who may be affected by this shutdown, my office is ready to help. As information becomes available, my team and I will post updates about the shutdown to my website in real time, which can be accessed at https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/government-shutdown.”
