October 4, 2025

Dear Friends,

This past Wednesday, funding for the federal government expired. My Democratic colleagues and I spent these past days and weeks working to keep critical services up and running for families and fighting to ensure healthcare benefits for millions of Americans are not eliminated.

Unfortunately, Republicans were not interested in joining us in that effort. Most did not even bother to show up in Washington this week to work out a budget that meets the needs of families. Meanwhile, President Trump spent his time pushing patently false claims blaming Democrats and posting unhinged, racist deepfake videos on social media. This is not the behavior of leaders interested in putting a stop to the harm a shutdown will cause.

In fact, Trump seems dead set on making this shutdown as painful as possible for working families — threatening to fire tens of thousands of federal employees and even commenting, “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns.”

Republicans control the Presidency, the Senate, and the House. It’s their job to keep the government running. They have failed miserably, and the American people are paying the price. I’m continuing to push for my GOP colleagues to do right by their constituents — to stop the pain this shutdown is causing, to stand up to the lawlessness of this administration, and to negotiate on a budget that extends Affordable Care Act benefits and doesn’t leave tens of millions to shoulder the burden of massive healthcare premium hikes. As that effort continues, I want to hear from you.

What are your thoughts on this latest shutdown, and how are you and your loved ones being impacted? Complete this brief survey to share your thoughts with me.

[Click above image to open survey in web browser]

For those who have questions about how exactly a shutdown could impact their families and communities, I’ve created a webpage to provide information and resources for you. That webpage can be accessed at Tonko.house.gov/shutdown2025. If you have any questions or need any assistance with a federal agency, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.

I’ll continue working to ensure you and your family have the resources and information you need to navigate this moment. And I will do all I can to push Republicans to do what is right and come to the table with Democrats to put a stop to this shutdown and pass a budget that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of working families.

As always, thank you for reading.

Your friend,

DID YOU KNOW?

My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates, announcements, and recommendations from governments and agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:

• In light of the government shutdown, here are several updates on where some federal funding stands.
• On grants: Grants.gov will still be available. However, service may be delayed with reduced federal support staff presence. For those programs affected by the funding lapse, the Grants.gov system will accept and store applications until such time as the responsible awarding agency has the authority and funding to return to normal business operations.
• On student loans: The Department of Education will continue to distribute student aid, including Federal Direct Student loans and Pell Grants. Student loan borrowers will still be required to make payments on their debt. Further, schools, states and other grantees will continue to be able to access funds from awarded grants. However, new grantmaking activities will stop.