The Legislative Branch failed to pass a spending bill to fund Donald Trump’s medieval wall between the U.S.’s southern border with Mexico. The cost was over $5 billion, but would not have begin to fund a physical barricade from sea to shining sea.
Warner’s Stop Stupidity legislation would automatically fund all aspects of government other than the legislative branch and the president’s office. The funding would be the same as it was the previous year
‘Stop the STUPIDITY. End the shutdown. Pay federal workers and contractors.’
The partial government shutdown has lasted over one month with no end in sight. Over 800,000 direct government employees are working for free or have been furloughed.
Countless contractors were laid off, and the economic cascade sharply downward has been horrific.
The Guardian political correspondent Lauren Gambino tweeted:
‘VA Senator
@MarkWarner who represents a lot of furloughed workers is introducing the STOP STUPIDITY act, which would keep the government running in the case of a lapse in funding by automatically renewing government funding at the same levels as the previous fiscal year.’
The Democrats sent out a press release about the Stop Stupidity act. The legislation would keep the government up and running if the Senate and House could not fund a bill over policy differences.
Warner said his Stop Stupidity legislation would make the President and Congress:
‘protect federal government workers from being used as pawns in policy negotiations…do the jobs the jobs they were elected to do (without) hurting the American public.’
Warner added:
‘It is disturbing that the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of workers are at the mercy of dysfunction in Washington. Workers, business owners and tax payers are currently paying the price of D.C. gridlock and my legislation will put an end to that.’
A group of Senate Republicans led by Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced like legislation, but their name was not nearly as catchy or appropriate: End Government Shutdowns Act or EG(G)S.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
