My Vote on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 601 – Hurricane Supplemental, Debt Limit, Continuing Appropriations, and Flood Insurance Package

Earlier this week, the House voted on additional investments for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration in the wake of devastating hurricanes hitting states like Texas. I was hopeful we could move quickly on this because FEMA was about to run out of money and they help pay for things like shelter, food, clothing, and medicine.

Yesterday, the Senate took up the bill we passed, approved it, and also added on short-term measures to raise the debt ceiling and fund our government through December 15. Today, I joined the House in voting to pass this legislation and get it to the President for a signature. The good news is that we can get emergency money to victims of natural disasters, we won’t default on our debt, and we won’t have a government shutdown. America should pay its bills while at the same time getting a handle on our long-term fiscal challenges. We also know how damaging a government shutdown was to our region last time.

That being said, I’m disappointed we will be dealing with the debt ceiling and a potential government shutdown yet again in December. I spent 10 years working in economic development. No business I ever worked with would run its operations this way. In the coming months I’m going to push for a longer-term budget that focuses on growth and can pave the way to help us address our fiscal challenges. It’s past time to bring a little certainty and predictability to this Congress.