Op-Eds from Mike

Saturday night was proof that when good people — regardless of party — are willing to compromise, and determined to put results ahead of rhetoric, we can still govern this country and get things done for the American people.

I was proud to play a central role in hammering out last night’s agreement, which passed both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate with broad bipartisan support, and included critical disaster relief funding which is all the more important given the severe flooding plaguing the Hudson Valley over the past couple of months.

As many of you know, I have never wavered in my commitment to do everything in my power to prevent a shutdown.  Any claims made by my potential opponents, or the far-left groups currently spending millions to pollute your television, smartphone, laptop and mailbox with attacks and lies to the contrary, have now been proven 100% false.

The reality is that nobody wins in a government shutdown. In fact, a good number of people would have been hurt, especially those who depend on things like medical care at the VA, Social Security, SNAP benefits, Medicare and other safety net programs and services for the most vulnerable in our society.

Am I completely satisfied with the final result?  Of course not.  We should not make a habit of funding the government through so-called continuing resolutions — CRs — but rather through a comprehensive annual budget and single-subject appropriations bills. So you are fully informed, here’s a brief recap of how we arrived where we did:  For several months, Congress has been working through the appropriations process, with Republicans crafting 12 appropriations bills, the goal of which are to rein in the size and scope of government and reverse the reckless spending — trillions in outlays — under President Joe Biden.

Unfortunately, neither the Republican-controlled House nor Democrat-led Senate was able to pass all 12 of these bills before the Sept. 30 deadline when government funding would have run out. As a result, we passed last night’s CR to fund the government temporarily while continuing to negotiate a more detailed and comprehensive appropriations bill.

Now, some of my colleagues, like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, took issue with this approach and did everything they could to derail it. Let me be clear: Gaetz and a small handful of my Republican colleagues live in an alternate reality — one where Republicans control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. I have news for them: We don’t.

That means nobody gets everything they want, and compromise is required. You would think that wouldn’t be a problem for 435 adults, but too many politicians on both sides of the aisle in D.C. consistently put their party before the people they represent. It’s wrong and it needs to stop...

You can CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed.