AFGE: Every Member of Congress Responsible for Funding the Government and Supporting Federal Employees

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to Congress failing to pass a spending bill to keep the government open for the second time this year, American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. issued the following statement:

"Every American should be outraged. A second government shutdown in as many weeks is not the folly of one member of Congress, one political party, or one caucus; it is the result of a succession of failures to uphold their duty to all Americans.

"While we ended up with the framework for longer term funding of the government, Americans and federal employees are still being held hostage by short term funding. Only funding the government until March 22 means the federal workforce and the critical services they provide are still in a holding pattern.

"This inability to come to a funding solution takes hold in detrimental ways: compromising public trust in our Constitutional institutions and instilling the impression that our government is an acceptable afterthought ? they're not. Federal workers keep our country running. They keep our skies safe and regulate and inspect our food, air, and water. It's time every citizen of this country holds their members of Congress accountable.

"The federal government and its workers are not a second or third priority. They're the lifeblood of our country. Every time a member of Congress declines to fund the government it's a violation of our country's contract with the American people. Americans do their part by paying taxes, and federal workers do their part by doing their jobs."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees