(The Center Square) – None of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen voted for the latest deal to keep the federal government open.
All six of the state’s Republicans voted against the continuing resolution that will keep the federal government funded through March.
Congressman Mike Gallagher said there is no sense in delaying the hard decisions on spending that must be made.
“The Continuing Resolution the House passed on Nov. 14 was supposed to buy Congress more time to do its job and pass all 12 appropriations bills. Like clockwork, the House wasted this time and spent more than half of these days on vacation,” Gallagher said in a statement. “Kicking the can even further down the road and then recessing for another week does nothing but reward bad behavior.”
Western Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden said he voted for the past two continuing resolutions but couldn’t bring himself to vote for this one.
“I have voted for two Continuing Resolutions in the past four months, and we have seen no progress in passing Fiscal Year 2024 funding or addressing our nation’s top issues,” Van Orden said. “We have a historic crisis and national security threat at our southern border, billions in wasteful government spending, and still no strategic plan for the war in Ukraine. The CR brought to the House floor today did nothing to resolve these problems.”
Congressman Glenn Gorthman, Scott Fiztgerald, Tom Tiffany and Bryan Steil also voted against the funding plan.
Even without their votes, the resolution easily passed on a 314-108 vote.
Wisconsin’s two Democrats on Capitol Hill, Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, voted for the resolution.
“House Republicans are yet again kicking the can down the road and continuing to prove they cannot govern. They wasted seven months trying to pass extreme appropriations bills, not a single one of which has been signed into law or even taken up by the Senate,” Pocan said in a statement. “Funding the government is the most basic function of Congress. It’s past time for Republicans to get serious and work with Democrats to fund the government for a full year instead of just a few weeks at a time.”
Moore too blamed Republicans for having to have a continuing resolution vote in the first place.
“Government shutdowns are very costly to the American people, our hardworking federal employees, and the economy. While MAGA Republicans are leveraging extreme demands that have kept the FY 2024 funding process from moving forward, Democrats have once again helped prevent a damaging shutdown,” she said.
