IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 79 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Government 
shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2019 
Ms. WEXTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
Government shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation 
and should not occur. 
Whereas a portion of the United States Government was shut 
down from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019; 
Whereas the shutdown resulted from the President of the 
United States attempting to use a lapse in appropriations 
in order to achieve a legislative end that he had not 
achieved in the regular order of the appropriations proc-
ess; 
Whereas the Senate, on December 19, 2018, unanimously 
passed legislation to fund Government operations and 
avert a Government shutdown; 
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Whereas the President of the United States on December 20, 
2018, announced that he would refuse to sign that legis-
lation due to the President’s insistence that appropria-
tions for particular items be provided at his preferred lev-
els; 
Whereas as a result of the President’s refusal to sign legisla-
tion continuing funding for certain other operations of 
Government, appropriations lapsed on December 22, 
2018; 
Whereas the Government shutdown lasted for 35 days, the 
longest Government shutdown in the history of our coun-
try; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations deprived Americans of 
important services and caused 800,000 Federal workers 
to go without pay for more than a month, imposing sig-
nificant financial hardships on those workers and their 
families; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations detrimentally affected 
the Federal Government’s ability to recruit and retain ca-
reer public servants; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put at risk thousands of 
small businesses with Federal contracts and created se-
vere financial hardship for tens of thousands of employ-
ees of Federal contractors; 
Whereas the top economic advisor to the President of the 
United States predicted that the Government shutdown 
would reduce economic growth by 0.1 percent for each 
week it lasted; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations forced Transportation 
Security Administration screeners and air traffic control-
lers to work without pay, causing many to be unable to 
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afford to work and thereby putting at risk the safety and 
well-being of the traveling public, leading to flight delays, 
and harming airport security operations; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put the health of all 
Americans at risk by curtailing and delaying food safety 
inspections; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations made our Nation less 
safe by impeding Federal Bureau of Investigation efforts 
to crack down on child trafficking, violent crime, and ter-
rorism; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in the shut-
tering of and, in some cases, damage to, countless na-
tional parks, monuments and other public lands; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations furloughed numerous 
Federal employees at the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD), limiting the Federal Government’s 
ability to help communities rebuild after natural disas-
ters; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in a majority of 
Environmental Protection Agency employees being fur-
loughed, with negative consequences for public health and 
the environment, such as halted clean-up work at hun-
dreds of toxic Superfund sites across the country, a ces-
sation in inspection and enforcement activities, and a 
stop to new chemical and pesticide safety evaluations and 
approvals; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed payment of De-
partment of Agriculture loans, operating loan decisions, 
planting and marketing decisions and much-needed as-
sistance for farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs im-
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posed on American agricultural exports, prevented the 
implementation of a new farm bill with critical support 
for struggling dairy farmers and other operations, and 
cast damaging uncertainty on the nutrition assistance re-
lied on by millions of vulnerable Americans; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed the issuance of 
tax refunds to America’s hard-working taxpayers; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations penalized small business 
owners by halting the approval of Small Business Admin-
istration loans; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations impeded the operations 
of United States embassies abroad, undermining the abil-
ity of United States personnel to combat terror, enforce 
sanctions, and strengthen alliances; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations undermined the ability 
of the Department of Homeland Security to respond to 
increased cybersecurity threats, natural disasters, and 
terror threats; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed approval of 
FHA-backed mortgages, putting Americans at risk of los-
ing the house they were attempting to buy or sell; 
Whereas the lapse in appropriations hobbled the ability of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development to ad-
minister the Section 8 low-income housing program that 
allows for HUD to provide affordable rental housing to 
low-income tenants, including the elderly and disabled; 
Whereas Senator Mitch McConnell has called shutdowns ‘‘a 
failed policy’’; 
Whereas Representative Kevin McCarthy said on December 
13, 2018, that ‘‘going into a shutdown is stupid’’ and 
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said on January 13, 2019, that ‘‘it is unacceptable that 
800,000 U.S. employees are not being paid;’’ 
Whereas Representative Mike Simpson said on January 23, 
2019, that ‘‘this shutdown is stupid’’; 
Whereas Senator Susan Collins said on January 23, 2019, 
‘‘shutdowns represent the ultimate failure to govern and 
should never be used as a weapon to achieve an out-
come’’; and 
Whereas Senator Lamar Alexander said on January 24, 
2019, ‘‘it is always wrong for either side to use shutting 
down the Government as a bargaining chip in budget ne-
gotiations—it should be as off-limits as chemical weapons 
are to warfare’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the shutdown of the Government of the 
United States, or any portion thereof, causes sub-
stantial damage to Federal employees, to every 
American who benefits directly or indirectly from 
Federal services, to our Nation’s economy, and to 
the reputation of the United States around the 
world; 
(2) shutting down the Government of the 
United States, or any portion thereof, is not an ac-
ceptable tactic or strategy for resolving differences 
regarding policy, funding levels, or governing philos-
ophy; and 
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(3) in the future the Congress must ensure the 
continued, uninterrupted operations of the Govern-
ment of the United States and its services as well 
as its duty to protect and promote the security of 
the American people. 
Æ 
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