Lankford Moves Bill to End Government Shutdowns

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today took an important step to move his bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdowns Act forward in the legislative process. The bill would set up an automatic continuing resolution (CR) at the current spending level if an agreement on funding has not been enacted at the end of any fiscal year. It will also mandate that if the appropriations work is not done on time, all members of Congress must stay in Washington DC and work seven days a week, until the nation’s budget work is done. This will prevent a government-wide shutdown, continue critical services and operations for Americans, and hold federal workers harmless while Congress finishes its job. Lankford moved to place his bill directly on the legislative calendar for consideration by the full Senate.

“In the swamp, good bills sometimes get stuck in the mud, and today I’ve taken action to move my bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdowns Act forward. This bill will force Congress to do its job of funding the government in a timely manner and hold Members of Congress, not federal families, responsible,” said Lankford. “After the longest shutdown in history last year, Oklahomans are ready for Congress to quit punting the tough decisions about how to properly spend their tax dollars. We need to fix Washington’s dysfunctional government funding process, and we should keep the negotiators in Washington until the work is done, rather than holding American federal workers hostage. I look forward to swift consideration of our bill on the floor before we face another unnecessary and unproductive shutdown fiasco.”

Lankford and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act in December 2019 to protect federal employees and force Congress to stay in DC to fund the government. Amid the bill’s original introduction, Lankford and Hassan penned an op-ed in The Hill to show their colleagues why this is an issue that must be addressed.

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