[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 79 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 79

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Government 
     shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2019

 Ms. Wexton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                 the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Government 
     shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur.

Whereas a portion of the United States Government was shut down from December 
        22, 2018, to January 25, 2019;
Whereas the shutdown resulted from the President of the United States attempting 
        to use a lapse in appropriations in order to achieve a legislative end 
        that he had not achieved in the regular order of the appropriations 
        process;
Whereas the Senate, on December 19, 2018, unanimously passed legislation to fund 
        Government operations and avert a Government shutdown;
Whereas the President of the United States on December 20, 2018, announced that 
        he would refuse to sign that legislation due to the President's 
        insistence that appropriations for particular items be provided at his 
        preferred levels;
Whereas as a result of the President's refusal to sign legislation continuing 
        funding for certain other operations of Government, appropriations 
        lapsed on December 22, 2018;
Whereas the Government shutdown lasted for 35 days, the longest Government 
        shutdown in the history of our country;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations deprived Americans of important services and 
        caused 800,000 Federal workers to go without pay for more than a month, 
        imposing significant financial hardships on those workers and their 
        families;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations detrimentally affected the Federal 
        Government's ability to recruit and retain career public servants;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put at risk thousands of small businesses 
        with Federal contracts and created severe financial hardship for tens of 
        thousands of employees of Federal contractors;
Whereas the top economic advisor to the President of the United States predicted 
        that the Government shutdown would reduce economic growth by 0.1 percent 
        for each week it lasted;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations forced Transportation Security 
        Administration screeners and air traffic controllers to work without 
        pay, causing many to be unable to afford to work and thereby putting at 
        risk the safety and well-being of the traveling public, leading to 
        flight delays, and harming airport security operations;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put the health of all Americans at risk by 
        curtailing and delaying food safety inspections;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations made our Nation less safe by impeding 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation efforts to crack down on child 
        trafficking, violent crime, and terrorism;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in the shuttering of and, in some 
        cases, damage to, countless national parks, monuments and other public 
        lands;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations furloughed numerous Federal employees at the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Housing and 
        Urban Development (HUD), limiting the Federal Government's ability to 
        help communities rebuild after natural disasters;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in a majority of Environmental 
        Protection Agency employees being furloughed, with negative consequences 
        for public health and the environment, such as halted clean-up work at 
        hundreds of toxic Superfund sites across the country, a cessation in 
        inspection and enforcement activities, and a stop to new chemical and 
        pesticide safety evaluations and approvals;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed payment of Department of Agriculture 
        loans, operating loan decisions, planting and marketing decisions and 
        much-needed assistance for farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs imposed 
        on American agricultural exports, prevented the implementation of a new 
        farm bill with critical support for struggling dairy farmers and other 
        operations, and cast damaging uncertainty on the nutrition assistance 
        relied on by millions of vulnerable Americans;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed the issuance of tax refunds to 
        America's hard-working taxpayers;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations penalized small business owners by halting 
        the approval of Small Business Administration loans;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations impeded the operations of United States 
        embassies abroad, undermining the ability of United States personnel to 
        combat terror, enforce sanctions, and strengthen alliances;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations undermined the ability of the Department of 
        Homeland Security to respond to increased cybersecurity threats, natural 
        disasters, and terror threats;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed approval of FHA-backed mortgages, 
        putting Americans at risk of losing the house they were attempting to 
        buy or sell;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations hobbled the ability of the Department of 
        Housing and Urban Development to administer the Section 8 low-income 
        housing program that allows for HUD to provide affordable rental housing 
        to low-income tenants, including the elderly and disabled;
Whereas Senator Mitch McConnell has called shutdowns ``a failed policy'';
Whereas Representative Kevin McCarthy said on December 13, 2018, that ``going 
        into a shutdown is stupid'' and said on January 13, 2019, that ``it is 
        unacceptable that 800,000 U.S. employees are not being paid;''
Whereas Representative Mike Simpson said on January 23, 2019, that ``this 
        shutdown is stupid'';
Whereas Senator Susan Collins said on January 23, 2019, ``shutdowns represent 
        the ultimate failure to govern and should never be used as a weapon to 
        achieve an outcome''; and
Whereas Senator Lamar Alexander said on January 24, 2019, ``it is always wrong 
        for either side to use shutting down the Government as a bargaining chip 
        in budget negotiations--it should be as off-limits as chemical weapons 
        are to warfare'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the shutdown of the Government of the United States, or 
        any portion thereof, causes substantial damage to Federal 
        employees, to every American who benefits directly or 
        indirectly from Federal services, to our Nation's economy, and 
        to the reputation of the United States around the world;
            (2) shutting down the Government of the United States, or 
        any portion thereof, is not an acceptable tactic or strategy 
        for resolving differences regarding policy, funding levels, or 
        governing philosophy; and
            (3) in the future the Congress must ensure the continued, 
        uninterrupted operations of the Government of the United States 
        and its services as well as its duty to protect and promote the 
        security of the American people.
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