Government Shutdown & Resources

Dear Neighbor,

I am sorry to report to you, as you have likely heard on the news by now, that government funding ran out last night at midnight. Congress has not passed the legislation it needs to pass to keep the government funded—neither the annual funding bills nor a short-term extension of current funding while the annual funding bill is negotiated.

Hours before government funding lapsed, the Senate considered government funding proposals from both Republicans and Democrats—the Democratic proposal both funded the government and renewed ACA health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year—but neither bill met the 60-vote threshold required to pass the Senate. I returned to Washington so the House could work to keep the government open, but the Speaker did not convene the House and the House has not considered any new legislation since the week before last.

What does this mean? We don’t know all the answers yet. When I was sworn in to Congress for the first time, back in January 2019, we were in the middle of a partial government shutdown. Since that time, we have come close to failing to fund the government more times than I can count, and we have prepared each time. We know a few things we can expect, and our team has compiled answers to specific and anticipated Frequently Asked Questions on our website that we will continue to update.

But we also know that things are different this time. In the past, in the days ahead of a potential shutdown, each federal agency developed its own shutdown contingency plan and guidance for the public, which was accessible on the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) website. This time, the guidance has not been made available and will not be centralized on OMB’s website.

What know that this consequences of any shutdown can be devastating. More than 230,000 Texans who work for the government—including members of the military, air traffic controllers, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers—will be expected to work but will not get paid for their work until the government reopens. We also know that many people will be furloughed, meaning everything from longer waits at airport security checkpoints and flight delays to delayed time to get responses to inquiries from federal government agencies. Homeowners will not be able to renew flood insurance, and people buying homes may not be able to close on them if they can’t get insurance policies. And now, the Trump administration threatened to fire federal employees during the shutdown, illegally.

We also know that a government shutdown is avoidable. We have seen potential shutdowns averted time and again in recent years. What that requires is a commitment to governing responsibly and leadership from the people in charge to introduce legislation that can pass the House and the Senate.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, and White House. They have not only the ability but the responsibility to prevent—and now to end—a government shutdown by putting a bill on the floor of the House and the Senate that has the votes to pass. It’s that simple.

Congressional Democrats have made clear that we want to keep government open. I am sorry to report that Congressional Republicans have refused to meet with Democrats, who have repeatedly offered to meet to work out a plan that will have bipartisan votes. I returned to Washington this week, along with my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus, for this purpose. And I am committed to doing so.

As I have said repeatedly this year, these are not normal times. And Congress is not acting normally, let alone responsibly. This 119th Congress has given its power to direct government funding to the White House. And the White House has refused to negotiate and, instead, has demanded that Congress just allow it to continue to proceed with its disastrous policies—including raising costs through tariffs, cutting funding for healthcare, and more—with no accountability or oversight. I can’t vote for that.

This is no way to govern. What we have seen in this Congress and from this administration betrays the bedrock principles of our country to have a government with three branches of government that provide checks and balances on the other and to have a government that reflects the will of the people, not the will of one person. I will continue to fight for this in principle and practice, and to cast my votes in the House consistent with these principles.

Where does all this leave us? We don’t know what will happen next, or when. The Senate is continuing to vote on the same resolutions to fund the government that have failed to pass before. The House is not in session, and is not expected to reconvene until next Tuesday. But our district team is still working for our district, and we will be here for you, as always. (Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts on this or any other issue.) I’ll be doing all I can to get us to the other side of this government shutdown and the many other challenges we face at home and across the country. And I’ll report back as we know more.

Best wishes,