Bentz Joins Speaker Johnson in Voting for a Resolution that Keeps the Government Operating

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, January 18th, Congressman Cliff Bentz (OR-02) joined Speaker Johnson in voting for a resolution (H.R. 2872) that keeps the government operating until March 1st and March 8th. Without the resolution, the government would have partially shut down on January 20th.

"I am absolutely supportive of securing the Border and reducing spending," said Congressman Bentz. "But shutting down the government will not secure the Border, will not force the Democrats to accept our Republican Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), and would be fiscally irresponsible. A shutdown would mean many bad things, including the fact that our military would not be paid (for example, significant parts of the Kingsley field mission would be affected), our border patrol would not be paid, munitions would not be manufactured, and the President's and Democrat's power would be dramatically increased, making it extremely difficult for Speaker Johnson to negotiate real Border solutions from a position of strength."

Bentz emphasized that our best chance of actually moving toward a more secure Border is by helping Speaker Johnson use the leverage he has available, not by holding our own military, the border patrol, and our economy hostage, which would be the case if we shut down the government. "Also, we must not initiate a shut down unless we have an agreed upon Republican plan on when and how we Republicans would all vote to reopen the government," said Congressman Bentz. "And I can guarantee you that we are nowhere close to having such an agreement or such a plan."

The resolution (H.R. 2872) keeps the government open until March 1st and March 8th. According to the Republican chairs of the appropriation committees, this is enough time to finalize and pass the remaining appropriation bills, which, if enacted, would moot the need for further funding resolutions.