WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) released the following statement after the Senate failed to pass a bill before the end of the day on Friday, January 19, 2018, to keep the government open. On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to keep the government open and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years.
“Thursday, the House passed an agreement to fund the government and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for 6 years, but sadly tonight, the Senate decided to put partisanship before the people they represent. The talking heads on tv are already debating who loses more from this shut down: Democrats or Republicans. But with both sides pointing fingers at each other, the real losers are the American people and the millions of children that rely on CHIP for their healthcare.
“It’s clear that Washington is fundamentally broken, and it won’t be fixed until our “leaders” start actually leading instead of trying to one up each other and get a sound bite to put in their next TV ad. Everybody supports extending CHIP and everybody supports keeping the government open, so let’s get this job done.”
###
