Government Reopens — But Americans Deserve Better Than Shutdown Politics

Democrats could have avoided shutdown since day one

(Arlington, VA)—Today, The LIBRE Initiative, the country’s largest center-right organization, issued a statement regarding the government reopening after approximately 40+ days of a shutdown.

Sandra Benitez, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, issued the following statement:

“While we are happy to see the government reopening, the reality is that it should never have gotten to this point. This was a manufactured crisis driven by political gamesmanship from Democrats who refused to support a clean continuing resolution that would have kept the government running.

This latest government shutdown disrupted essential services, undermined trust in Congress, and led to prioritization of politics over people. Instead of working together to protect American families and ensure stability, Democrats chose to play politics, putting federal workers, small businesses, and essential services in limbo. This kind of partisanship doesn’t serve the people – it hurts them.

This cannot be the norm. We cannot govern crisis to crisis at the expense of the American people.

In addition to passing legislation like the Prevent Government Shutdown Act, which will prevent another government shutdown, now that the government has re-opened, lawmakers focus on pro-growth policies that will expand opportunity for all Americans – including our country’s Latino community.”

Background:

Government shutdowns are a relatively recent development in U.S. history. It was not until a 1980 legal opinion by President Carter’s Attorney General, Benjamin Civiletti, on the Antideficiency Act that it was reinterpreted to mean federal agencies must shutdown during a lapse in funding.

Prior to this reinterpretation, federal agencies would routinely continue functioning during budget negations under current funding levels under the assumption that they would be eventually remunerated.

This break from more than two centuries of history meant that elected officials started using government shutdowns as a weapon in political gamesmanship instead of a sign to focus on constructive negotiations.