WASHINGTON – The federal government will stay open until November 17 thanks to the passage of a continuing budget resolution, earning comments of frustration and praise from New Hampshire’s four members of Congress.
All four voted for the measure, which passed with Democratic support after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggled to find a path forward due to rebels within his own caucus.
New Hampshire’s members of Congress released the following statements after their votes on the measure.
U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH-01)
With just hours remaining before government funding runs out, I’m glad that the House finally passed a bipartisan proposal to prevent a shutdown and fund essential priorities, including natural disaster relief. But I’m frustrated that this measure was not brought forward until the last minute, wasting precious time on a manufactured political crisis instead of the issues our constituents are counting on us to address.
We have a matter of weeks now to pass bipartisan, full-year legislation that meets our nation’s pressing needs and ensures the health, strength, and security of the American people. It is also essential that we do not turn our backs on our democratic allies in Ukraine as they fight for their freedom against Putin’s unprovoked invasion. I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to urge Speaker McCarthy to stop the partisan brinksmanship that only undermines Congress’s ability to solve problems and get the job done.
U.S. Representative Annie Kuser (D-NH-02)
The American people elected us to Congress to solve problems, not create them. Yet, for weeks, Speaker McCarthy and extreme House Republicans have refused to work in good faith with Democrats to fully fund the government, despite our continued calls to find a bipartisan path forward.
At the last second, Republicans have come forward with a resolution that will keep the government open for 45 days and provide much-needed disaster relief. Let’s be clear: this isn’t a perfect deal or a permanent solution, but New Dems are dedicated to avoiding a shutdown and protecting our economy. While we support this measure to end this immediate crisis, we continue our calls for additional funding to support Ukraine in their fight for democracy and will work tirelessly to ensure they have the assistance required to win this war.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
While it never should have come to this point in the first place, it is important that we came together on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown that would have hurt our economy, jeopardized vital services for Granite Staters, and forced our military to work without pay. I am glad that some House Republicans finally stopped playing politics to join us in passing legislation to continue government funding and provide critical disaster relief, but it is outrageous that they refused to include funding for Ukraine — endangering our own national security as well as the Ukrainian people.
Ukrainians are fighting for what we have – freedom and autonomy. If Putin or other autocrats are emboldened by a successful invasion of Ukraine, we could see future aggression across the globe, including targeted at NATO countries and other places that the United States is committed to supporting with our military directly — potentially putting American lives on the line. So as Putin and dictators around the world watch what the United States does, I will not let up in pushing for our nation to continue standing united with our allies to support Ukraine and counter Putin.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
On behalf of Granite Staters and all Americans, I’m relieved this bill was passed to keep the government open and prevent significant harm to families and small businesses in New Hampshire but make no mistake: it should never have come to this kind of brinkmanship. While this temporary fix will ensure federal workers and service members get their paychecks and families can continue to access critical services, I’m deeply disappointed this stop-gap bill does not include any new aid to support Ukraine’s war efforts. Republican refusal to do so only emboldens Putin and his efforts to reshape the world order, which could continue to have severe impacts right here at home, such as higher fuel and food prices, creating hardship for American families. I will work with my colleagues to stand by Ukraine to ensure additional aid is included in any long-term funding legislation.
In the Senate, we’ve worked diligently to craft strong, bipartisan funding bills and the partisanship we’re seeing from House Republicans is unacceptable. Stop-gap funding bills create inefficiencies within government that only serve to waste American taxpayer dollars and sow uncertainty in the economy. It’s time House Republicans act responsibly, hold to the bipartisan deal they made with President Biden in May and work with Democrats to pass full-year appropriations bills.