Carper Statement on End of Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), released the following statement on his vote to approve a short-term spending bill that will end the government shutdown while securing a vote for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

 “This is not the deal I would’ve cut, but as I’ve said, there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ shutdown. Over the past few days, I’ve made clear that I’m unwilling to vote for a three or four-week continuing resolution unless I’m convinced that it would bring us closer to a comprehensive agreement on a number of bipartisan priorities, including our budget for the year, funding for children’s health insurance, community health centers, disaster assistance, veterans’ health care, our federal response to the deadly opioid epidemic and legislation to protect our country’s nearly 800,000 Dreamers.

 “Today’s vote was a first step toward getting those things done. My hope is the bipartisan talks over the weekend helped more members buy into the need to get legislation to protect the Dreamers over the finish line. We have a moral and economic imperative to get that done, and it’s my hope that the House and the president finally show some leadership on this issue.”

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