Senator Coons statement on likely Republican government shutdown

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement after voting against the Republican funding bill, which failed on a nearly party-line vote, 55-45. The federal government is set to shut down at midnight tonight barring further action:

"As I just said on the floor of the Senate, tonight's fight is about health care and the refusal of the Republicans who control Congress and the White House to change direction on the rising health care costs of all Americans. Once again, Republicans have failed to secure the votes needed to fund the government, and tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including our armed forces and federal law enforcement, will work without pay. Critical government services will be delayed or stopped altogether, all because President Trump and Republicans have decided that letting the cost of health care rise for every American is more important than keeping the government open.

"I have previously voted to keep the government open under both Democratic and Republican administrations, and I don't take today's vote lightly. Republicans can avert a lengthy shutdown by coming to the table and finding a path forward that stops Americans' health care costs from spiking and completes the bipartisan appropriations process that the Senate has been working on for months. If Republicans commit to stop playing games with Americans' health care and fund the government in a bipartisan way, we can re-open the government and end the damage from a needless Republican shutdown."

Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.