In remarks delivered on the Senate floor on Jan. 11, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called for an end to the current government shutdown.
While voicing her concern to ensure strong borders, Murkowski said “that shutting down the government is not governing. Nobody is winning in this.”
Murkowski said she had read all accounts of who is responsible for the shutdown and concluded “it is on the backs of all of us, of the men and women who are the federal workers who work hard, who get up every day doing the job that we’ve tasked them to do, some of whom are furloughed, some of whom are working without pay, but all of whom are worried about where we are.”
On the issue of border safety, Murkowski said she is prepared to deal with the difficulties of that issue, “the true humanitarian issues that we are seeing on the southern border today with an influx of children and families, those who are seeking asylum, those who are frustrated with our systems, count me in as one of those who wants to address these issues.”
Murkowski is also one of nine Senate Republicans who have introduced legislation to end government shutdowns permanently,
The End Government Shutdowns Act, to ensure that essential government services aren’t disrupted and to protect taxpayers who bear the resulting cost, was introduced on Jan. 11 by Murkowski, Rob Portman, R-OH; Chuck Grassley, R-IA; Steve Daines, R-MT; Johnny Isakson, r-GA; Mike Enzi, R-WY; John Barrasso, R-WY, Jim Risch, R-ID and Mike Lee, R-UT.
The measure would create an automatic continuing resolution for any regular appropriations bill or existing continuing resolution, keeping the federal government open when budget negotiations falter before key spending deadlines.
“The ripple effect of a government shutdown has consequences for all Alaskans, most directly on the thousands of federal employees and tens of thousands more that rely on our federal agencies,” Murkowski said. “This legislation permanently ends government shutdowns with a commonsense solution to avoid a funding lapse, ensuring the jobs and livelihoods of federal workers and contractors are not held hostage during political disputes.
“For the sake of our federal employees, their families, and our nation, I’m proud to support the End Government Shutdowns Act,” she said.
