President Obama: “Another manufactured crisis”

From President Barack Obama, Sept. 22, 2015:

There’s a lot going on right now, but we can’t lose track of this: As of today, Congress has just nine days left to avoid another government shutdown.

It’s deja vu—just like they did in 2013, extreme voices in Congress are taking pet political issues that have nothing to do with funding our government and using them to manufacture a crisis.

It’s simply beyond irresponsible—if they refuse to do their jobs, it’ll affect millions of Americans.

And let’s be clear: It’s Congress’ job to pass a budget. Putting together a budget isn’t the time to play political games to try and take health care away from millions, restrict women’s health care options, or block efforts to cut back on carbon pollution.

They’ve done it before, and it cost us $24 billion—an unnecessary and very real expense, and one that doesn’t even begin to describe the damage done to people’s lives by deferred paychecks and the loss of services that businesses and working families depend on.

There’s still time for Congress to come together to pass a smart budget. But if Congressional leaders choose politics over people, we’ll be headed toward a shutdown soon. It’s going to be up to OFA supporters to fight back, just like in 2013. Like President Obama said:

“We’ve fought back because of you. We shouldn’t slip back because of Congress. I urge them to send me a budget that invests in our future.”

Stay tuned—we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest.