Gentlemen:
It is becoming clear to us that our colleagues across the aisle are interested in one thing more than any other as we come to the end of the year: they are desperate for another government shutdown. This became painfully clear yesterday when the Minority Whip indicated he would rather shut the government down than vote for funding levels that he himself voted for last year. Indeed, he indicated that he would rather shut the government down than vote for the exact same funding levels on which he was insisting only six weeks ago.
With their own popularity cratering along with that of Obamacare, one can understand why the Democrats would want the diversion of another government shutdown. We are not interested in giving the Democrats that opportunity. And toward that end, we encourage you to allow a vote as soon as practicable on a full-year “clean CR” funding bill at the levels established in law by the Budget Control Act.
We recognize that a clean CR would preserve the cuts called for in the sequester. We are very much aware that these cuts are inefficiently applied, and that they impact the military disproportionately. For that reason we have supported numerous efforts to either replace the sequester or to allow flexibility in its implementation. It is not lost on us, however, that the Democrats have opposed all of those efforts.
What has become clear is that Democrats are not interested in solving the problems created by the sequester: they are only interested in using the threat of the cuts as leverage to increase spending across the board, to increase our national debt, and to raise taxes and fees. Or worse, they are interested in using feigned concern over national defense in order to distract attention from the disaster that is Obamacare.
The Budget Control Act is the law of the land. Our Democrat colleagues are now threatening to shut the government down in order to change that. We should not permit that to happen.
Again, we encourage you to bring a clean CR to the floor.
Sincerely,
Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C.
Steve Scalise, R-La.
Jim Jordon, R-Ohio
Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind.
Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.
Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.
Justin Amash, R-Mich.
Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Rob Woodall, R-Ga.
David Schweikert, R-Ariz.
Tom Rice, R-S.C.
Raul Labrador, R-Idaho
Phil Roe, R-Tenn.
Louie Gohmert, R-Texas
Robert Pittinger, R-N.C.
Steve King, R-Iowa
Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.
Scott Garrett, R-N.J.
Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio
Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C.
Jeb Henserling, R-Texas
Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
Joe L. Barton, R-Texas
Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.
Ted Yoho, R-Fla
Matt Salmon, R-Ariz.
Mark Sanford, R-S.C.
Todd Rokita, R-Ind.
Mike Pompeo, R-Kan.
Tom McClintock, R-Calif.
Reid Ribble, R-Wis.
Doug Collins, R-Ga.
