A resolution rejecting the use of Government shutdowns.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 66 Rejecting the use of Government shutdowns. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 11, 2019 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. SMITH, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations RESOLUTION Rejecting the use of Government shutdowns. Whereas the Government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018 (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Govern- ment shutdown’’), lasted 35 days before ending on Janu- ary 25, 2019, becoming the longest shutdown in the his- tory of the United States; Whereas the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Government shutdown caused an $11,000,000,000 decline in the gross domestic product of the United States, $3,000,000,000 of which will never be recovered; Whereas the Government shutdown caused significant harm to the United States by disrupting important activities and services carried out by— (1) the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Department of Commerce; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 66 IS (3) the Department of Homeland Security; (4) the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment; (5) the Department of the Interior; (6) the Department of Justice; (7) the Department of State; (8) the Department of Transportation; (9) the Department of the Treasury; (10) the Environmental Protection Agency; (11) the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- tration; (12) the National Science Foundation; and (13) other Federal agencies; Whereas, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Government shutdown caused delays and uncertainty within the judicial branch of the Government, a branch co-equal with the legislative branch and the executive branch; Whereas the Government shutdown created unnecessary chaos and, in many cases, financial hardship for the ap- proximately 800,000 Federal workers who were forced to go without paychecks during the duration of the Govern- ment shutdown and for the families of those Federal workers; Whereas the Federal workers working without pay or fur- loughed as a result of the Government shutdown experi- enced preventable hardship due to no fault of their own, and Federal contractor employees affected by the Govern- ment shutdown may never recover the entirety of their lost wages; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 66 IS Whereas private businesses working with Federal agencies af- fected by the Government shutdown saw a reduction in income and indirect consequences, including— (1) issues with obtaining Federal permits, loans, and grants; and (2) in the case of small businesses with Federal con- tracts, not having enough work for the employees of those small businesses; Whereas airports experienced delays during the Government shutdown, as Transportation Security Administration agents and air traffic controllers, who remained on the job, dedicated to the safety of every flight, were forced to work without pay in an already stressful profession; Whereas the Government shutdown— (1) suspended the use of E-Verify technology by em- ployers to verify the immigration status of their workers; (2) caused a 10-percent increase in the backlog of cases in the immigration court system; and (3) forced members of the Coast Guard, U.S. Cus- toms and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to miss 2 paychecks and suffer se- vere financial hardship; Whereas the Government shutdown threatened public health by hampering the operations of the Food and Drug Ad- ministration, limiting— (1) the ability to address critical medical drug short- ages; and (2) Federal oversight of the food supply and medical products in the United States; Whereas, according to the FBI Agents Association, the Gov- ernment shutdown inhibited the Federal Bureau of Inves- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 66 IS tigation from carrying out the full operations of the Bu- reau; Whereas seniors at the Maritime Academies were unable to take licensing exams due to the Government shutdown, which will significantly delay the job searches of those seniors, and merchant mariners were unable to renew li- censes; Whereas thousands of low-income senior or disabled house- holds were at risk of losing rental assistance during the Government shutdown; Whereas small nonprofit groups across the United States that assist the homeless and victims of domestic violence were unable to access grants when employees were fur- loughed; Whereas, in the wake of one of the deadliest and most de- structive wildfires in the history of the United States, the Forest Service was forced to suspend wildfire prevention efforts due to the Government shutdown; Whereas the Government shutdown harmed the National Parks and tourism that supports the National Parks, and resulted in— (1) iconic Joshua trees being damaged and chopped down; (2) historical artifacts being stolen; (3) animals being harassed; and (4) sensitive habitat being trampled; Whereas the Government shutdown— (1) severely limited the ability of the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘NOAA’’) to fulfill critical regulatory and resource management responsibilities; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SRES 66 IS (2) kept numerous fishermen off the water in New England and other coastal areas because those fishermen were unable to obtain required permits from NOAA; and (3) created a significant backlog of work on many critical initiatives of NOAA; and Whereas the Federal Government has experienced 21 shut- downs since 1976, ranging in duration from 1 day to 35 days: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) affirms that, no matter how long a Govern- 2 ment shutdown lasts, a Government shutdown 3 causes unnecessary pain— 4 (A) to Federal workers; and 5 (B) to the people of the United States; 6 (2) rejects the future use of a Government 7 shutdown as a negotiating tactic; and 8 (3) believes that the Government should never 9 resort to a shut down again. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS