Democrats Call on Republican Leaders to Keep Government Open on Eve of White House Funding Deadline Meeting

Washington D.C. – The Congressional Tri-Caucus Chairs – composed of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu (CA-27), and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Cedric Richmond (LA-02) – Democratic Caucus Chief Deputy Whip Peter Welch (VT) and CHC Immigration Task Force Chair Luis V. Gutiérrez (IL-04) sent a letter to Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell on the eve of a White House meeting between Congressional leaders and President Trump. The letter calls on the Republican leaders to work with Democrats to resolve national priorities like reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), passing a comprehensive spending bill that supports our service members and veterans, and finding a legislative fix to protect Dreamers in the remaining legislative days we have in Congress.

The Members opened by writing that, "We have offered our ideas and tried to work in good faith with you and your conference on a range of our nation's most pressing issues. When we have worked on a bipartisan basis, we have successfully passed important legislation to strengthen our military, address the opioid epidemic, and reform the Department of Veterans Affairs."

The Members closed by listing the negative and far-reaching consequences of Republican inaction and added, "If you are serious about resolving these issues and others on behalf of the American people over the next few weeks, you will immediately start working with our offices."

The letter was signed by 62 Democratic Members: Reps. Lujan Grisham, Chu, Richmond, Gutierrez, Welch, Gomez, Aguilar, Barragan, Napolitano, Vargas, Espaillat, Hanabusa, Carbajal, Pocan, Barbara Lee, Gonzalez, Jayapal, Johnson, Lofgren, Payne, Moore, Lujan, Brownley, Connolly, Carson, Yarmuth, Soto, Castro, Lieu, Butterfield, McGovern, Sires, Sanchez, Correa, Rosen, Doggett, Ellison, Torres, Krishnamoorthi, Shea-Porter, Velazquez, Clarke, Serrano, Cardenas, Boyle, Evans, Waters, Cicilline, Raskin, Bonamici, Wilson, Khanna, Clyburn, Schakowsky, Grijalva, Costa, Quigley, Eshoo, Beyer, Takano, Crowley, and Bustos.

Dear Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell:

As Members of Congress in the minority party at a time of deep political division and instability, we believe it is possible for this Congress to be productive and work together in a bi-partisan manner. We have offered our ideas and tried to work in good faith with you and your conference on a range of our nation's most pressing issues. When we have worked on a bipartisan basis, we have successfully passed important legislation to strengthen our military, address the opioid epidemic, and reform the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a critical deadline approaches, we write to strongly urge you to keep government open. Republicans control Congress and the White House. But we believe that the best way to keep government open is to find bipartisan solutions to the most critical issues right now, most notably children's health insurance, disaster relief, and protections for Dreamers. Your success continues to depend on your willingness to engage our party and find common ground. Unfortunately, when you have tried to push legislation through Congress in a partisan manner, we have seen this Congress fail the American people over and over again.

For example, when the President recklessly and abruptly terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program he created a crisis that put the lives of nearly 800,000 young people in danger of detention and deportation. He offered no solution but made it clear that if Congress came together and passed the Dream Act that he would sign it. We immediately started working with Republicans to pass the bi-partisan, bi-cameral Dream Act and explored reasonable compromises to protect these young people. But there continues to be a lack of action, frustrating even rank and file Republicans. As a result, more than ten thousand DACA recipients have lost protection and are being held hostage by the Administration as political bargaining chips to advance partisan priorities like the Republican tax package and a border wall.

Other critical issues hang in the balance. We must reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Centers, reform and fully fund our flood insurance and disaster relief programs, pass a comprehensive spending bill that supports our service members and veterans, and continue funding for Cost Sharing Subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Inaction puts our nation's security at risk, hurts our veterans, and harms families and children.

The onus is on the Republican Majority and the President to work with the minority party to move these national priorities forward. Even though you have had the whole year to work with us to protect Dreamers, pass an FY 2018 spending bill, fully fund disaster relief, and reauthorize CHIP, time is now running out and only seven legislative days remain. We need to resolve these issues before the end of the year. Otherwise, the message you are sending to nine million children who need medical care, to the victims who are recovering from catastrophic natural disasters, and to the 800,000 Dreamers who fear deportation is that they aren't a priority and they can wait. None of these constituents believe they can wait and neither do we.

If you are serious about resolving these issues and others on behalf of the American people over the next few weeks, you will immediately start working with our offices. We look forward to your response.

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