GOP Rep. Meehan Calls On House To Pass Clean Resolution To Fund Gov’t

House Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies subcommittee Chairman Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday March 20, 2013, during the subcommittee's he... House Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies subcommittee Chairman Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday March 20, 2013, during the subcommittee's hearing on cyber threats from China, Russia and Iran. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) MORE LESS
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Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) on Tuesday called on his GOP colleagues to vote for a “clean” short-term resolution to fund the government and bring the shutdown, which went into effect late Monday night, to an end.

“I came to Washington to fix government, not shut it down,” he said in a statement. “At this point, I believe it’s time for the House to vote for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to the table and negotiate a responsible compromise.”

Senate Democrats rejected House Republicans’ 11th hour gambit Monday night to initiate conference committee negotiations and achieve a resolution on a stopgap bill to temporarily keep the government funded. The result was the first federal government shutdown in 17 years, setting up a high-stakes game of chicken as hundreds of thousands of federal workers wait on the sidelines.

Meehan said that even though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) refused to delay the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in exchange for funding the government, Congress should still vote and bring the shutdown to an end.

“Senator Reid has made it clear that he would rather shut down the federal government than accept efforts to mitigate the worst of Obamacare,” he added. “A shutdown is bad for Pennsylvania families, bad for our economy, and bad for the small and medium sized businesses already struggling to get by. It hurts the hardworking American taxpayers who pay for this government in the first place. Not on my watch.”

Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) similarly called for a vote on a clean continuing resolution Tuesday, lamenting the harmful effects of a shutdown on top of automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. Moderate Reps. Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Peter King (R-NY) also opposed leadership’s shutdown strategy Monday night.

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