A repeat of 2013’s government shutdown may be just a couple of weeks away if Congress doesn’t act on a temporary spending measure.
Current funding runs out September 30th and Delaware’s junior senator, Chris Coons (D-Delaware), says he is very concerned a shutdown will happen again.
Some conservative Republicans in the House and Senate say they will only vote for a temporary spending bill that defunds Planned Parethood.
Coons says funding Planned Parenthood is an issue that stokes passions on both sides of the aisle and shouldn’t be used as the basis for shutting the government down.
“Doing so will not lead to the President changing his position on supporting Planned Parenthood or me to reverse my position in supporting Planned Parenthood," Coons told Delaware Public Media. "But it will harm our country. It will hurt our reputation globally. It will hurt our economy. It will hurt families and businesses here in Delaware.
Coons adds that he sees the battle over Planned Parenthood and the debate over the Iran nuclear deal raising the level of partisan divisiveness again on Capitol Hill and undermining some positive movement made on budget issues over past year.
“I serve on the [Senate] Appropriations committee. We’ve had a more functional, more constructive approach to the appropriations process this year than in previous years. All of the subcommittees had mark-ups. But if shut the government down all that work goes out the window."
Coons says other key votes are also ahead on raising the debt ceiling and reauthorizing the highway bill that could be made more difficult by a government shutdown.
