Latinos are paying the price for the shutdown circus. It’s time to end it.

It’s week five, and the government is still closed.

Congressional Democrats have voted down (more than a dozen times) a clean continuing resolution that would reopen the government at current spending levels and put an end to this crisis.

And who’s paying the price for the Democrats’ political posturing?

Hardworking Latinos like you, who are wondering how they’ll make it to the end of the month.

At least 1.4 million federal workers have either been furloughed or are working without pay. Many government programs have stopped, and with no end in sight, millions of Americans are unsure if they’ll have enough to make ends meet.

These are real people. Real families. And they’re being hurt by a government elected to serve them.

When Washington bickers, the American people pay the price

Take Eduardo Niño, for example.

He owns a small landscaping company in North Carolina, and even though he and his company aren’t on the federal government’s payroll, they’ve been struggling since the shutdown began.

“With so many people getting hit by the shutdown, many clients cancel contracts with us.”

Since Eduardo runs a small business, he’s had no choice but to ask some employees to stop coming in or cut back on their hours. There just isn’t enough work right now, which means it’s getting tougher for his workers to pay their bills and make it to the end of the month.

Then there’s Noe Chavez.

He owns a venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, and since the government closed, things have gotten tougher by the day.

“People are not calling, they’re not booking as we used to. So we’re cutting expenses as it just gets hard to keep the business afloat.”

If business keeps slowing down, the people who make their livelihoods in Noe’s business might even be in danger of losing their jobs.

Eduardo and Noe are just two of the millions of Latino entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, opportunities, and prosperity across the country.

While Democrats play political games on Capitol Hill, people like Noe and Eduardo are paying the real price.

That’s not fair, and it’s not what our elected representatives should be doing.

Congress: Reopen the government now

That’s why we want the government shutdown to stop.

The LIBRE Initiative is stepping up. We’re sharing these stories, knocking on doors, and demanding accountability because our community deserves better.

We believe in a government that works for the people — not one that shuts down and walks away when things get tough.

This shutdown is a failure of leadership. It’s a failure of responsibility. And it’s time to call it out.

Democrats in Congress need to stop the excuses, stop the delays, and stop hurting the very people they claim to represent.

Reopen the government. Do your job. Let American families go back to work.

Join us in our fight to reopen the government and get America back on track.