January 25, 2019

Duckworth Statement on Deal to End Government Shutdown

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — In response to news that a deal has been reached to temporarily end the partial government shutdown, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement:

“For 35 days, Donald Trump has caused serious damage to our country by holding the paychecks of more than 800,000 federal workers and contractors hostage and disrupting critical government functions. I hope today’s announcement, which is similar to the deal Trump rejected in December, means that this ridiculous and unnecessary government shutdown will end immediately.”

Days before government funding expired in December, Duckworth voted for bipartisan legislation to keep the government open that passed the Senate unanimously. Donald Trump then announced he would refuse to sign any government funding legislation unless it included billions of taxpayer dollars for a wall that he had promised Mexico would pay for, sparking the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Since then, Duckworth has highlighted the challenges facing federal workers and their families, helped introduce legislation to provide relief to government workers and contractors and she has strongly urged Donald Trump to stop holding government funding hostage.

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