MEUSER ISSUES STATEMENT ON DAY 18 OF SENATE DEMOCRATS’ BUDGET STALEMATE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) issued the following statement:
“Let me be very clear: Republicans did not bring on this government shutdown. Every single Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives — except one — voted to keep the government open through a seven-week continuing resolution. Every single Democrat in the House—except one—voted to close it. It is Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, who have voted eleven times to shut down the government, who are responsible for the delay in services and payments from the federal government.
“This shutdown has real consequences. Our military, veterans, and federal workers are being directly impacted. 750,000 federal employees are being furloughed. Veterans’ benefits, IRS services, and SNAP payments are being delayed — all because Democrats would rather play politics than govern responsibly for their constituents.
“If not for the decisive leadership of the Trump administration, the consequences would be far worse. Ronald Ward, the Acting Administrator of the SNAP Program, sent a letter to all states stating that due to the government shutdown there are insufficient funds to pay full SNAP benefits in November. Ward has also said that the USDA is working on a contingency plan to fund SNAP.
“President Trump has taken many other extraordinary steps to protect the American people during this Democrat-caused shutdown — repurposing tariff revenues to fund the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, redirecting Pentagon research funds to ensure our troops continue to be paid, and working expeditiously to maintain pay for law enforcement and other essential personnel.
“In the 2018 shutdown, USDA was able to continue funding SNAP but had to use various funds to pay out benefits and issued an advance SNAP payment. If the 2018 shutdown continued any later, SNAP would not have been able to distribute benefits.
“The fact remains that if just a handful of Senate Democrats had voted for the clean, Republican-passed continuing resolution, the government would be open today, and there would be no shortfalls or delays in any government program — including SNAP.
“It is outrageous and shameless that the Shapiro administration would knowingly repeat false claims to mislead Pennsylvanians. This is pure political theater. Governor Shapiro and his administration are showing their left-wing extremism and a complete disregard for the truth. Anyone who makes comments like this, including the Shapiro Administration, is no different than Chuck Schumer politicizing and lying about this terrible situation.
“I also found the WNEP article, along with the Shapiro Administration, completely mischaracterized the letter and the situation. USDA has no funding to support critical program because Senate Democrats have blocked the CR that funds the program now 11 times.
“I trust the people of Pennsylvania to see through this. If Shapiro actually wanted the government to operate for those in need he'd be calling on Democrats to vote yes rather than cast phony, ridiculous, blame on Republicans who voted to keep the government open and these funds flowing.
“If Governor Shapiro wants to continue to align himself with Schumer’s reckless shutdown strategy, that is his choice — but it will prove to be deeply foolish and entirely obvious to every Pennsylvanian paying attention.”
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