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Here at home, the United States Congress has two pressing responsibilities: Pass the budget
on time and pay our bills on time. If Congress chooses not to pass a budget by Monday, the
end of the fiscal year, they will shut down the government, along with many vital services
that the American people depend on.
The good news is, within the past couple of hours, the United States Senate, Democrats
and Republicans, acted responsibly by voting to keep our government open and delivering
the services the American people expect. Now, it’s up to the Republicans in the House
of Representatives to do the same. I say that because obviously, Democrats have a great
interest in making sure that these vital services continue to help the American people.
So far, the Republicans in the House of Representatives have refused to move forward. And here’s
the thing: Unlike the last time they threatened this course of action, this debate isn’t
really about deficits. In fact, our deficits are falling at the fastest pace that they
have in 60 years. By the end of this year, we will have cut our deficits by more than
half since I took office. So that’s not what this is about. And in fact, if you’ve
been following the discussion, the Republicans in the House don’t even make a pretense
that that’s what this is about. Instead, the House Republicans are so concerned with
appeasing the Tea Party that they’ve threatened a government shutdown or worse unless I gut
or repeal the Affordable Care Act.
I said this yesterday; let me repeat it. That’s not going to happen. More than 100 million
Americans currently already have new benefits and protections under the law.
On Tuesday about 40 million more Americans will be able to finally buy quality affordable
health care, just like anybody else. Those marketplaces will be open for business on
Tuesday, no matter what, even if there’s a government shutdown. That’s a done deal.
As I said before, if Republicans have specific ideas on how to genuinely improve the law,
rather than gut it, rather than delay it, rather than repeal it, I’m happy to work
with them on that through the normal democratic processes. But that will not happen under
the threat of a shutdown.
So over the next three days House Republicans will have to decide whether to join the Senate
and keep the government open or shut it down because they can’t get their way on an issue
that has nothing to do with the deficit.
I realize that a lot of what’s taking place is political grandstanding, but this grandstanding
has real effects on real people. If the government shuts down on Tuesday, military personnel,
including those risking their lives overseas for us right now, will not get paid on time.
Federal loans for rural communities, small business owners, families buying a home will
be frozen. I’m already starting to get letters from people worried that this will have an
impact on them directly. Critical research into lifesaving discoveries will be immediately
halted. Federal government has a large role across the country and touches the lives of
millions of people, and those people will be harmed.
And even the threat of a shutdown already is probably having a dampening effect on our
economy. We saw that the last time these kinds of shenanigans were happening up on Capitol
Hill.
So to any Republican in Congress who’s currently watching, I’d encourage you to think about
who you’re hurting. There are probably young people in your office right now who came to
work for you without much pay because they believed that public service was noble. You’re
preparing to send them home without a paycheck. You’ve got families with kids back in your
districts who serve their country in the federal government, and now they might have to plan
how they’re going to get by if you shut the government down.
Past shutdowns have disrupted the economy, and this shutdown would as well. It would
throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some
traction. And that’s why many Republican senators and many Republican governors have
urged Republicans to knock it off, pass a budget and move on. Let’s get this done.