Senators Lankford, Hassan Discuss Bipartisan Bill to End Government Shutdowns with “Fix the Debt” Members

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) discussed their bipartisan legislation to end government shutdowns on a conference call with members of Fix the Debt, an organization that brings together Americans on both sides of the aisle to promote fiscal responsibility.

Senators Lankford and Hassan discussed their bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would prevent future shutdowns by providing automatic funding to keep the government open and keep Members of Congress and leaders in the Administration in Washington until they reach a funding agreement. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on which both Senators Lankford and Hassan serve, has approved the bill.

“I am grateful to work with Senator Hassan on our bipartisan proposal to stop the shutdown drama and actually focus on the task at hand, which is to responsibly fund the federal government in a timely fashion,” Senator Lankford said. “I look forward to the Senate taking up this bill so that if lawmakers cannot come to an agreement on federal spending, we cannot leave town until we do.”

“Each time that a shutdown occurs, it’s the American people who face the consequences of Washington’s dysfunction,” Senator Hassan said on yesterday’s call. “Senator Lankford and I have come together on this commonsense, bipartisan bill because we recognize that it is time to end the senseless practice of government shutdowns.”

“We commend Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan for working on a bipartisan basis to put forward legislation to prevent government shutdowns,” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget chief of staff Mike Murphy said. “Government shutdowns damage the economy and waste money. Their bill would eliminate the prospect of shutdowns through an automatic continuing resolution and put strong incentives in place for lawmakers to pass appropriations. This approach is a common-sense framework that lawmakers in both parties should support.”

Senators Lankford and Hassan fielded questions about how they worked together to come up with a bipartisan solution to government shutdowns. They also discussed their bipartisan efforts on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to improve government efficiency and save taxpayer dollars.

Also this week, The Hill published an opinion piece from Senators Lankford and Hassan about the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. You can read their piece here.  

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