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Congressman Biggs' Statement on the Government Shutdown

January 20, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Biggs released the following statement on the federal government's shutdown:

"This government closure can be laid at the feet of the Democrats and the United States Senate. Democrats are withholding government funding to give amnesty to illegal aliens, and the Senate has ignored the House-passed budget we sent them over four months ago.

"There are two ways out of this current mess. Senate Democrats can come to their senses and vote for the continuing resolution or Senate leadership can suspend its unconstitutional 60-vote rule and let the majority of the Senate vote this resolution out of that body.

"We must eventually pass a budget into law because continuing resolutions perpetuates fiscal irresponsibility and harm our military personnel. That's why I supported a continuing resolution that would have fully funded the military for the remainder of the fiscal year, and kept the rest of the government open.

"Even though the last three months have produced more revenue for the federal government than ever, we will run a deficit of more than $1 trillion dollars for the current fiscal year because our spending is out of control. Why is that? Because Congress uses these short-term spending gimmicks called ‘continuing resolutions' instead of cutting spending.

"Congress must resolve to pass a long-term budget that provides stability. We cannot afford to return to negotiations month after month - especially with artificial deadlines. I will continue to demand that my colleagues join me in solving this perpetual problem by producing a balanced budget."

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Congressman Andy Biggs is a first-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees, and is the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.