Blue Dogs, Republicans Call for Agreement to Fund Government Through End of Fiscal Year

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan coalition of House members sent a letter to House and Senate leadership Thursday calling for an agreement that will fully fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2020.

The letter was signed by dozens of members of the House, Democrats and Republicans alike, including members of the Blue Dog Coalition of centrist House Democrats and the Tuesday Group of moderate House Republicans.

“We write to express grave concerns regarding the dwindling timeframe for the consideration of regular appropriations bills prior to the current funding deadline on December 20,” the signers tell House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“With six days on the legislative calendar before funding expires, a bipartisan commitment is needed to fully fund the entire government through the end of FY 2020 and prevent yet another costly and unnecessary government shutdown,” they say.

Noting that millions of Americans depend on federal funding, the members say “any lapse in appropriations represents an unacceptable outcome that needlessly jeopardizes their well-being.”

“In the absence of a long-term spending agreement, Congress has become reliant on short-term continuing resolutions (CRs) to avoid a government shutdown. These stop-gap CRs create financial uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and an even larger number of Americans who depend on the services they provide,” the letter continues.

“Congress must end the political games and focus on delivering meaningful solutions to the American people,” the letter concludes.

The letter was signed by all members of the Blue Dog Coalition leadership — Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., Lou Correa, D-Calif., Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., and Kurt Schrader, D-Ore. — as well as Tuesday Group co-chairs, Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Tuesday Group member, Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark.

Additionally, several members of the Blue DogCoalition signed the letter, including Reps. Ed Case, of Hawaii, Jim Cooper, of Tenn., Jim Costa, of Calif., Charlie Crist, of Fla., Joe Cunningham, of S.C., Vicente Gonzalez, of Texas, Josh Gottheimer, of N.J., Kendra Horn, of Okla., Daniel Lipinski, of Ill., Ben McAdams, of Utah, Collin Peterson, of Minn., Max Rose, of N.Y., Brad Schneider, of Ill., David Scott, of Ga., Mikie Sherrill, of N.J., Abigail Spanberger, of Va., Xochitl Torres Small, of N.M., and Jeff Van Drew, of N.J.

Also signing the letter were several House Republicans, including, Reps. Susan Brooks, of Ind., Paul Cook, of Calif., John Curtis, of Utah, Rodney Davis, of Ill., Mario Diaz-Balart, of Fla., Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pa., Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, of Puerto Rico, Bill Johnson, of Ohio, David Joyce, of Ohio, Adam Kinzinger, of Ill., David McKinley, of W. Va., and Elise Stefanik, of N.Y.