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Congressman Cohen Votes to Re-Open Government

January 22, 2018

Says shutdown makes it difficult for constituents to live day to day

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) voted for the measure to re-open the federal government Monday. Afterward he made the following statement:

"Many of my constituents have government jobs and need government programs. A government shutdown makes it difficult for them to live day to day. If I had a wealthy district, it wouldn't have made as much of a difference. The tax cuts were already skewed to benefit them the most and they generally don't work for the government or rely as heavily on SNAP payments or other federal programs.

"Government serves the people and it's an important facet of our society, and it needs to work.

"Many of my colleagues held out for a resolution to the situation with individuals brought to this country as children, and I was pleased to hear that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to bring the issue to a vote in the weeks ahead. However the House Speaker, Paul Ryan, has made no such pledge and I seriously doubt he'd bring the Senate measure to the floor. Instead, I suspect the House will be offered a more draconian immigration bill that the Senate can't accept and the matter may well end in a stalemate."

"I suspect that, come February 8, we may be facing a similar crisis since the president and House Republicans have shown no inclination to resolve outstanding issues on a bipartisan basis. It's important that we work for parity with defense spending for domestic programs important to the 9th Congressional District and its citizens."