WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today on the Senate’s progress toward passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open:
“The federal government will shut down on October 1 if the Senate and House cannot agree on funding to keep it running. The consequences of a shutdown are significant — more than one million armed forces members, federal law enforcement officers, and other federal employees will be forced to continue serving without pay, while hundreds of thousands more public workers will be furloughed, shuttering their vital functions, from protecting our environment, to supporting our schools, to processing payments to thousands of vendors. Keeping the government running is Congress’ most basic function, and in the Senate, we have come together to produce a bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown and provide essential funding for Ukraine and disaster relief.
“This evening, we voted 77-19 to move ahead while the House struggles to find a path forward. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure this bill becomes law so that we can continue our work on fully funding our nation's priorities.”
Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.