IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
BARBARA COMSTOCK SHOWS NO LEADERSHIP TO PROTECT FEDERAL WORKERS FROM POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Yesterday state lawmakers in both Maryland and Virginia pleaded with Congressional Republicans to avert another government shutdown. Noticeably silent on this issue is Northern Virginia Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, who represents thousands of federal workers and their families who will have to go without pay indefinitely.
“Congresswoman Comstock’s lack of leadership to avoid another government shutdown suggests that she is indifferent to the thousands of her constituents who rely on paychecks from the federal government,” said Jermaine House of DCCC. “Given her silence on the issue, Congresswoman Comstock seemingly approves of her Republican colleagues’ reckless plan to shut down the government.”
ICYMI: Democratic lawmakers in Va. and Md. urge passage of a clean budget
The Washington Post
By Josh Hicks and Ovetta Wiggins
September 21, 2015
Democrats in Maryland and Virginia are warning of dire consequences if Congress again shuts down the government, saying their states cannot afford another funding lapse that leaves federal employees without paychecks and contractors without work.
On Monday, 46 state lawmakers sent a letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), urging them to “put politics aside” to avert a federal government shutdown.
The letter, signed only by Democrats, said a lapse in funding would be “catastrophic” for the region’s economy, wreaking havoc on the lives of federal employees and needlessly stifling economic growth in Maryland and Virginia.
Federal employment is a key component of the states’ economies, which are still rebounding from the 2013 shutdown. Some experts have estimated the impact of the 16-day closure was $217 million for the region, based on lost federal-worker and contractor wages.
Maryland Del. Andrew Platt (D-Montgomery), who worked with Virginia Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax) to collect signatures for the letter, said a funding lapse could put the states’ recoveries at risk.
“It’s not where we need to be right now,” said Platt, a freshman. “For two Republican leaders to do that to placate the extreme conservative wing of the caucus is insane and irresponsible.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has refrained from taking a direct stance on the threat of a shutdown, except to encourage negotiation.
“People are sick and tired of the divisiveness and dysfunction in Washington,” Hogan spokesman Matt Clark said. “They want leaders to lay aside partisan differences and work together to get things done.”
Brian Coy, a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), said the governor has been talking about the possibility of a shutdown and buttonholing members of Congress on the need to avoid one.
McAuliffe “usually interacts with a member of Congress almost every week,” Coy said. “He runs into one and it’s the first thing he says. . . . This is the governor’s chief concern.”
Funding for the federal government is set to expire Sept. 30, but lawmakers appear far from reaching a deal.
Democratic leaders have signaled a willingness to pass a short-term budget known as a continuing resolution to keep federal agencies operating. But they say that such a deal would have to include similar increases for defense and non-defense spending, with no language about ideological issues.
But since July, socially conservative Senate Republicans such as Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Joni Ernst (Iowa), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), have insisted on defunding Planned Parenthood, which performs abortions and provides health services to women, as part of any budget deal. The organization is at the center of a controversy over fetal-tissue harvesting.
Another sticking point is whether to continue ongoing, across-the-board spending cuts called sequestration that automatically took effect in 2011 after Congress failed to reach a deal to reduce expenditures. Republicans have indicated a willingness to exceed the caps for military spending, but President Obama wants to end them for domestic programs as well.
Some Republicans have promised an effort to remove Boehner if he concedes to Democrats on the Planned Parenthood and sequestration issues.
If a shutdown occurs, the federal government would force all its employees to stop working except for those whose jobs involve protection of human life and property — or other jobs deemed essential.
With all previous shutdowns, Congress and the president have agreed to pay federal personnel for the closure period after funding resumes, regardless of whether they worked. However, such action is not guaranteed.