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 ‘‘Government shutdown’’), lasted 35 days before ending on January 25, 2019, becoming the longest shutdown in the history 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; 


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•SRES 66 IS 

(3) the Department of Homeland Security; 

(4) the Department of Housing and Urban Development; 

(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 Administration; 

(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 approximately 800,000 Federal workers who were forced to 

go without paychecks during the duration of the Government shutdown and for the families of those Federal 

workers; 

Whereas the Federal workers working without pay or furloughed as a result of the Government shutdown experienced preventable hardship due to no fault of their own, 

and Federal contractor employees affected by the Government shutdown may never recover the entirety of their 

lost wages; 


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•SRES 66 IS 

Whereas private businesses working with Federal agencies affected 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 contracts, 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 employers 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. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement to miss 2 paychecks and suffer severe financial hardship; 

Whereas the Government shutdown threatened public health 

by hampering the operations of the Food and Drug Administration, limiting— 

(1) the ability to address critical medical drug shortages; and 

(2) Federal oversight of the food supply and medical 

products in the United States; 

Whereas, according to the FBI Agents Association, the Government shutdown inhibited the Federal Bureau of InvesVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR66.IS SR66

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tigation from carrying out the full operations of the Bureau; 

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 licenses; 

Whereas thousands of low-income senior or disabled households 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 furloughed; 

Whereas, in the wake of one of the deadliest and most destructive 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 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (referred to in this 

preamble as ‘‘NOAA’’) to fulfill critical regulatory and 

resource management responsibilities; 


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(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 shutdowns since 1976, ranging in duration from 1 day to 35 

days: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) affirms that, no matter how long a Govern3 ment shutdown lasts, a Government shutdown 

4 causes unnecessary pain— 

5 (A) to Federal workers; and 

6 (B) to the people of the United States; 

7 (2) rejects the future use of a Government 

8 shutdown as a negotiating tactic; and 

9 (3) believes that the Government should never 

10 resort to a shut down again. 

Æ 


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