KDSN RADIO News
Hinson applauds Trump for refusing to meet with Democrats over gov’t shutdown
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says President Trump made the right move in refusing to negotiate with Democratic congressional leaders over a looming federal government shutdown.
“They’re asking for $1.5 trillion in new spending,” Hinson said this morning during a conference call with Iowa reporters, “and so I applaud the president for saying, ‘I’m not going to take this seriously. This is not a serious offer.'”
Last Friday, Hinson joined 216 other Republicans in the House to pass a spending bill to fund federal agencies for seven weeks once the new federal fiscal year starts on October 1. Senate Democrats are making “wild partisan spending demands,” according to Hinson. “That’s a non-starter and that’s not a serious proposal,” Hinson says. “so they need to come to the table with a serious proposal and, again, they’ve all been on the record saying if the government shuts down, it will be the average Americans who suffer the most and I’m proud to have voted to keep the government open.”
Democrats have been seeking an extension of the federal subsidies for insurance policies purchased on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Between 80,000 and 130,000 Iowans could be affected. Hinson said that’s not a real proposal for a stop-gap spending bill, and those subsidies should be considered inside regular budget bills. “First and foremost, I want to make sure that Iowans have access to the health care they need, and it’s really unfortunate that rather than working with us on a solution, my Democrat colleagues from Washington are using people as political pawns,” Hinson says. “I don’t see this as a game.”
Hinson, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, says Congress needs to get back to passing the 12 budget bills that outline all federal spending for a 12-month fiscal year. That’s happened just four times since 1977.
