Sen. Heller Issues Statement on Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 -- The office of Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, issued the following statement saying the Senate Democrats voted to shut down the government by killing a House-passed continuing resolution that would have maintained government and military operations, provided a six-year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program program and delayed Obamacare's "Cadillac tax":

"Once again, Washington, D.C. has lost its mind. It's shameful what Democrats are doing; an engineered government shutdown at the expense of our troops and their families, our veterans, and our nation's most vulnerable children. This is politics at its worst.

"That is because this legislation includes several priorities that my colleagues across the aisle have previously supported: a six-year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which is the longest extension of the program since its inception and serves as a lifeline for thousands of vulnerable children in Nevada, as well as delays of several of Obamacare's onerous taxes.

"While I am disappointed that Congress resorted to yet another short-term solution, I recognize the importance of funding the government and keeping our country safe, and that's why I voted in support of the continuing resolution today."

Heller has been a champion for CHIP, and at the end of last year, President Trump signed into law Heller's CHIP Stability Act. Heller has also repeatedly fought to delay implementation of Obamacare's "Cadillac tax" and in early 2017 introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Heinrich (D-NM) to do so. Last Congress, Heller and Heinrich successfully steered through the Senate a bipartisan amendment to fully repeal the Cadillac tax by a vote of 90-10. Their efforts directly led to a two-year delay on implementation of the Cadillac tax.

The continuing resolution also included a one-year delay of Obamacare's health insurance tax. In September 2017, Heller joined several of his colleagues in introducing the Healthcare Tax Relief Act, legislation that delays this tax for one year in an effort to prevent higher health insurance premiums for Nevadans and Americans throughout the country.

Heller continued, "Let's not forget how Congress got to this point; Senate Democrats have filibustered every appropriations bill, which is the reason why we are in this position today. That's why I have repeatedly introduced the No Budget No Pay Act, which prohibits members of Congress from getting paid if they fail to do their job. I've also introduced a bill that would guarantee that our service members receive their pay on-time during a government shutdown and I am demanding that Congress pass it. Too many service members and their families are already living paycheck to paycheck, and they should not suffer because Shutdown Schumer chose party over people. I'm going to continue to push my colleagues to work together and expediently pass a resolution."

Heller introduced the Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act in the 115th Congress on April 6, 2017. This bill guarantees that our nation's military men and women receive pay on time in the event of a government shutdown. On Friday, the Pentagon said in a memo that all service members would continue to work in the event of a government shutdown, but that they would not receive their paychecks unless an agreement on government spending is reached.

Background:

Heller reintroduced the No Budget, No Pay Act in the 115th Congress on January 3, 2017. This bill requires Members of Congress to pass a budget and related appropriations bills on time each year in order to receive pay.