U.S. government shutdown

U.S. government re-opens as talks continue on border security issues

by

What a difference a day makes: The day after the U.S. Senate failed to pass votes to end the partial U.S. government shutdown, Congressional leaders worked out a temporary spending bill with President Trump on Friday.

The three-week agreement to re-open and fund government operations goes through Feb, 15 and includes no border wall funding, as the president wanted, while negotations continue.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of East Cobb, one of six Republicans who voted Thursday for a Democratic bill that didn’t get a two-thirds majority of votes, hailed Friday’s actions. His office issued the following statement:

“I’m glad the leadership of the House and the president have come to an agreement and hope that we can now sit down and negotiate in earnest to secure our border and get the government back in operating order.”

Ga. Senator David Perdue, a Republican from Warner Robins, said the following:

President Trump just announced a bipartisan solution to reopen the government while border security negotiations continue. We still have a crisis at our southern border, and President Trump is exactly right to address it. I applaud the President for continuing his efforts to enter into good faith negotiations with Democrats in the House and Senate.

Many Democrats have previously supported border security. Unfortunately, throughout this process they’ve clearly demonstrated they want to keep immigration a political issue instead of finding a real solution. If Democrats refuse to come to the negotiating table to tackle this national priority over the next three weeks, President Trump will do what is necessary to protect America.

Ultimately, this situation underscores the total dysfunction of Washington’s funding process. These conversations should have been completed last year, not four months into this fiscal year.

Trump made an announcement about the temporary deal at the White House early Friday afternoon. That followed news from the Federal Aviation Administration that flights were being grounded at East Coast airports, including LaGuardia in New York, due to shortages of air traffic controllers, and causing delays elsewhere

They were among the many thousands of federal employees who have not been paid during the shutdown, the longest in U.S. history at 35 days.

Last week, Isakson had expressed concern that the shutdown would adversely affect plans for the Super Bowl, which is being played next Sunday in Atlanta.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Isakson votes to re-open U.S. government, but shutdown continues

by

As the longest shutdown in U.S. government history continues, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson broke party ranks Thursday and voted for a Democratic spending bill without border wall funding demanded by President Donald Trump.

Sen. Johnny Isakson

UPDATED: The shutdown ended temporarily on Friday with a three-week budget extension.

Isakson was one of six Republicans who supported a budget bill that would fund the government for three weeks and have Congress continue negotiating border security issues while providing back pay to furloughed government employees.

That bill passed 52-44, but it needed 60 votes to end a filibuster. The other Republicans voting for the measure were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.

Georgia’s junior Senator, Republican David Perdue, voted against that bill.

He and Isakson, an East Cobb resident. had previously voted for a bill that would have given Trump his $5.7 billion in border funding and provided some immigrants with certain legal protections.

That bill failed 50-47, so the 34-day stalemate between Trump and Congress will continue indefinitely. Here’s Isakson’s statement from the Senate floor Thursday:

“You know a lot of people think Congress’ job is to come to Washington and change things for the better. When it comes to immigration, all we ever change is the subject. We never end the debate, we never pass a result, and often times we would call each other names for the wrong reason.

“I’m here for one reason: To thank the colleagues that are on the floor here and all those others that are ready to do some business. I’m ready to do some business.

“It’s time we put the workers in our government back to work. It’s time we were doing what we promised the people of the United States of America we would do, and it’s time we went to work. Because when everybody’s out of work, it’s our fault. These are the people who carry the mail, empty the garbage, cook in the cafeteria, clean up the parks, and do everything they do without any complaint whatsoever. But they’re out there, many of them not even being paid right now, while we’re sitting here debating a subject that we can’t reach a solution on, period.

“We need to take our armor off, leave our weapons at the door, walk in the room, shake hands. . . . Let’s sit down, and let’s pass a bill we can both agree on that gets Americans back to work and restores the spirit of Ellis Island and the pride of the United States of America.”

Isakson earlier this month co-sponsored federal legislation to permanently end government shutdowns.

Isakson said little good comes from shutdowns, and he cited the five shutdowns in his time in Washington.

“Idle hands are never good,” he said.

Here’s what Perdue, a strong Trump supporter, said after Thursday’s votes:

“Many of us fought to keep the Senate in session last August to avoid this funding situation in the first place. President Trump has tried to reopen negotiations with a reasonable proposal that not only fully funds the federal government, but also addresses critical border security and disaster relief. It is unacceptable that Senate Democrats continue to reject every opportunity to compromise in good faith. In the real world, both sides have to negotiate to find a solution. It’s time to work together to tackle these national priorities.”

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!