Jan 08, 2019
WASHINGTON — The federal government has been in a partial shutdown for nearing three weeks because Congress and the administration cannot reach an agreement over how much to spend on border protection.
“Our government’s first responsibility is to secure the nation and protect her citizens,” said B.J. Lawrence, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. “The military is unaffected by the current shutdown because their fiscal year 2019 spending bill was approved already, but America’s fifth service — the U.S. Coast Guard — and the rest of the Department of Homeland Security are very much impacted by the shutdown,” he said.
“Our country needs this Congress and this White House to push through the rhetoric and take care of those who are on the front lines protecting our country,” said Lawrence. “What the Coast Guard and DHS do daily allows the rest of us to sleep easier at night. No one should ever take that for granted.”