Rep. Zoe Lofgren on the U.S. Government Shutdown

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose, Calif.) released the following statement today on the shutdown of the U.S. Federal government resulting from the inability of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to pass a funding bill to keep the government operating in the new the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2013:

"Late last night Republicans in control of the House of Representatives made a politically-driven decision to close the Federal government. They insist funding the people's government should be tied to overturning the healthcare reform law that was duly passed by Congress, upheld by the Supreme Court, and reaffirmed by voters in the 2012 elections.

"Instead of working to grow our economy, put Americans back to work, or fix our broken immigration system, the Republican House has instead been fixated on "Obamacare" and have voted over 40 times to repeal the law. Now they have shut down the government. It's no wonder a recent poll conducted by CNN poll found 69% of Americans think the House Republicans are acting like 'spoiled children' and six out of ten respondents reject the GOP's approach.

"As of October 1st hundreds of thousands of Federal employees and businesses that contract with the government are indefinitely furloughed, and many Federal employees and contractors that continue to work may not be paid during the shutdown. I want residents in California's 19th Congressional District to know that my offices in San Jose, CA, and Washington, D.C., will remain open and my staff and I will do everything in our power to help folks navigate federal agencies that are being impacted by the government shutdown, and to help them get the services they need. But, this will be a frustrating time.

"What Republicans are doing now is not legitimate governing, nor is it responsible. This brinksmanship is reckless and will hurt working families, seniors, small businesses, veterans and our economy. Republicans who brought us to a shutdown should be reminded that they ran for office, sought control over Congress, swore an oath to uphold our Constitution and government, but now refuse to actually govern and address the nation's problems. This is an unacceptable dereliction of duty. House Republicans have failed to even keep the government open and functioning. They should pause and return to sanity, common sense, and responsibility to give us a functioning government."

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