U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine released the following statement on his vote earlier today to reject the latest attempt by House Republicans to use the threat of keeping the government closed to delay a key part of the Affordable Care Act.
A motion to table a request to go to conference on an interim spending measure to fund the government was agreed to by the Senate, 54-46.
“House Republicans let the United States government shut down at midnight because they would not accept a compromise spending bill passed by the Senate last week to fund government until November 15 at the precise spending level proposed by the House.
“After allowing the shutdown to occur, House Republicans decided to pass a motion seeking a conference between the two houses on government funding. The Senate has been seeking a budget conference sinceMarch 23 and has been blocked by Republicans 18 times in the last six months. The House’s decision to finally seek a conference to discuss short-term budget issues after shutting government down shows a callous disregard for the economy and for millions of American families who are affected by the shutdown.
“The House should act to re-open the federal government by accepting the compromise offered by the Senate. Otherwise they are responsible for keeping the government closed to make an ideological point over health care.”
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