WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement after voting to avert a government shutdown by passing a stopgap government funding bill that will fund federal agencies covered by the Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water Development and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills through January 19 and all remaining departments through February 2:

“Today, we voted to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. We have long warned that a shutdown would cause catastrophic damage to Virginia’s economy, hurt our military readiness, and jeopardize Virginians’ ability to access crucial services, like help resolving issues with Social Security or Medicare benefits. While today’s bipartisan action is a relief, we share Virginians’ frustration with short-term fixes. We will continue to urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass a full-year budget as quickly as possible, and will keep working to ensure that budget includes Virginia’s priorities.”

Warner and Kaine have been vocal in emphasizing the harmful impacts of government shutdowns, including on America’s military readiness and the Commonwealth’s economy, air travel, and food security. Additionally, the senators worked to secure key wins for Virginia in the draft Fiscal Year 2024 budget bills, which will provide long-term government funding and are making their way through the legislative process.

Today’s vote comes after a series of bipartisan agreements to fund the government. Earlier this year, congressional leadership and a majority of House Republicans came to an agreement with the White House regarding government funding levels for Fiscal Year 2024. As a means of protesting that bipartisan agreement, a vocal minority of House Republicans pushed Congress to the brink of a government shutdown at the end of September, when the Fiscal Year 2023 budget was set to expire. A bipartisan coalition of Senate and House lawmakers, including Kaine and Warner, came together on September 30 to overcome that effort and passed a stopgap funding bill to fund the government through November 17.

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