[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 15 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
URGING SENATE DEMOCRATS TO REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT
(Mr. GIANFORTE asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, last week the House voted to keep the
government open with legislation that, on any other day, every Member
would have supported. It funded the government and it reauthorized CHIP
for 6 years, a program that 24,000 Montana children depend on for their
healthcare needs.
On any other day, these proposals would pass with broad bipartisan
support, but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in this
Chamber opposed it and 44 Senate Democrats opposed it. And for what?
An unrelated immigration issue that can be addressed before March.
What has been the result of these misplaced priorities?
The government shutdown. More than 2 million servicemen and -women
aren't being paid; 9 million American children, including 24,000 in
Montana, are losing their healthcare insurance.
My colleagues in the Senate will soon consider reopening the
government. I urge them, particularly the 44 Senate Democrats who voted
for the Schumer shutdown, to reopen the government, pay our troops, and
restore health insurance to children.
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