Rep. Chavez-DeRemer votes for bipartisan stopgap funding measure to avert government shutdown

(Update: Statements from Chavez-DeRemer, Blumenauer, Merkley)

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) voted Saturday in favor of H.R. 5860, which would fund the government through Nov. 17 and provide extensions for key expiring programs. The measure passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 335-91 and later passed the Senate.

“I’ve been working tirelessly to find a pragmatic solution to keep the government open," Chavez-DeRemer said. "This stopgap measure will ensure there are no disruptions in government services for Oregonians as Congress continues considering long-term spending bills that fight inflation, secure the border, and support farmers and ranchers.

"I understand the political posturing that we’ve seen over the past several days has caused a lot of unnecessary uncertainty for Oregonians, and I hope the Senate will advance this stopgap measure quickly to prevent a damaging and costly shutdown,” Chavez-DeRemer said. 

In addition to funding the government for 45 days, H.R. 5860 also includes $16 billion in supplemental funding for disaster relief, health care extenders for community health centers and child and family service welfare programs, a three-month extension for the Federal Aviation Administration and an extension for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Meanwhile, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) released the following statement on House passage of a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown.

“Democrats prevailed in resisting Republicans’ draconian 30 percent budget cuts that just yesterday they approved and instead forced a vote on legislation to temporarily avert a government shutdown. While I am disappointed that support for Ukraine was not included, we have shown that the vast majority of Congress supports continued assistance in their fight against Russian aggression. I am confident that through regular order, we will vote to continue providing strong support for Ukraine. 

“Let me be clear, hurtling from one fiscal cliff to the next is no way to govern. We never should have been in this position to begin with and the American people deserve better.”

On Friday, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement as Congress faces a potential Sunday government shutdown due to a lapse in funding:

“It’s utterly reckless that Speaker McCarthy is steering us towards disaster because he’s afraid of extreme conservatives in his conference. He’d rather let government funding run out and shut down the government, than hold up his end of this spring’s spending agreement with the President.

“A government shutdown will have the worst impact on those least able to weather it. This is what a shutdown means: Reducing food assistance programs, causing delays for Social Security applicants, denying pay to our troops, all while reducing economic output by untold billions. This disaster will put families in Oregon and across the country at risk – a risk they simply shouldn’t have to face.

“Senators from both sides of the aisle have been working together, and the Senate has a bipartisan agreement to temporarily keep the government open. This isn’t a permanent solution, but it’s a bridge to ward off the worst effects of a shutdown and give us more time to hammer out the details of a long-term agreement. Speaker McCarthy needs to take ‘yes’ for an answer and accept this deal."

“Everyone in Congress was sent here to do a job. There’s no more time to squander.”