22Apr
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Senate voted to advance a deal to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown in American history. However, several Democratic lawmakers surrendered without securing meaningful protections for veterans, working families, and everyday Americans who are already facing impending cuts to vital programs like SNAP and VA healthcare. Most notably, the agreement fails to guarantee extensions for health insurance subsidies that so many depend on.
Common Defense Executive Director Jose Vasquez issued the following statement in response to last night’s Senate vote.
“Common Defense views the eight Democratic senators who voted to end this shutdown with deep concern—their capitulation to Republican obstruction sets a dangerous precedent that emboldens further hostage-taking of government funding and veterans’ benefits.
“For 40 days, Republican leadership manufactured a crisis that left federal workers watching their paychecks hang in the balance, military families standing in line at food drives and the Veterans Affairs system operating on emergency protocols. The demand was clear: stand firm for the Americans whose health care was at stake. Yet eight Democrats—Senators Cortez Masto, Durbin, Fetterman, Kaine, Hassan, Rosen, Shaheen, and King—chose to concede.
“We applaud the Democratic lawmakers who were willing to hold the line during this shutdown and send a message that the lives and livelihoods of American families are not bargaining chips. And we reject the Democratic leadership that failed to meet this moment with the courage it demanded. Those eight votes from Senate Democrats send a starkly different message to Republicans that shutdown threats work. That if you hold government funding hostage long enough, Minority Leader Schumer will be incapable of maintaining rank. Veterans, military families and working families nationwide will pay the price for this weakness. Future shutdowns will come faster, last longer, and inflict greater harm because Republicans now know that their devotion to brinksmanship will be rewarded with Democratic retreat.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.