Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s District 4, voted in support of House Resolution 7463 yesterday, the Extension of Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act 2024, to once again avoid a federal government shutdown.
McClellan has repeatedly spoken out in the last year against the lack of compromise by Republicans in Congress toward reaching an agreement to keep the federal government funded in 2024.
“Chaos and dysfunction have defined the Republican conference from the beginning of the 118th Congress. They have manufactured one crisis after another. At every point, House Democrats remained the only adults in the room, providing the votes necessary to avert catastrophes and protect the American people. In May, we bailed Republicans out after they brought the nation to the brink of a devastating default. In September, November, and January, Democrats put People Over Politics to pass Continuing Resolutions (CRs) to avoid government shutdowns.”
For the fourth time yesterday, according to McClellan, Democrats voted to keep the government open and operating on schedule.
“I voted for the Continuing Resolution to protect our economic stability and hardworking Virginian families, including the 170,000 federal employees and 130,000 active-duty servicemembers in Virginia who would have been forced to work without pay during a shutdown.”
However, despite avoiding another shutdown this week, McClellan said the vote is not celebratory.
“For months, Republicans have squandered legislative session weeks and made little progress on our annual appropriations bills. We cannot continue to operate on these stop-gap measures with the looming threat of a shutdown. House Republicans must abandon their extreme agenda and prioritize our nation’s needs over their own interests. As always, House Democrats stand ready and willing to work in a bipartisan manner to develop a responsible budget. It’s past time Speaker Johnson and Republicans actually govern and do their jobs.”