Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax on Tuesday that government shutdowns should be eliminated altogether, warning they cost taxpayers more money and damage America’s standing abroad.
Lankford is renewing his push to remove the threat of government shutdowns, arguing they not only fail to save money but also cost taxpayers more in the long run.
Appearing on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” Lankford said he has introduced legislation “for years” aimed at preventing shutdowns from being used as a political tool.
“I want to take government shutdowns off the table entirely,” Lankford said. “Government shutdowns actually spend more taxpayer dollars. They don’t save money. They lose money.”
He explained that during a shutdown, federal employees are furloughed but ultimately receive back pay.
“Federal employees get the time off, but they always get paid anyway [for] it,” he said. “So it creates a problem. Plus, it makes us look terrible on the world stage, and we can’t figure out what we’re going to do on this.”
Instead of shutdowns, Lankford said his bill would force lawmakers to remain in session until appropriations work is complete.
“The bill that I have actually says, if we don’t have the funding done by the time we get to the end of the fiscal year, we just stay in continuous session, seven days a week,” he said. “You can’t move to anything other than appropriations until you get that work done.”
Lankford said the measure is designed to protect Americans from the consequences of shutdowns while still allowing tough budget debates. “It’s an easy way to say keep the fight going, but keep the American people held harmless,” he said. “Let’s have the members of Congress suffer through it.”
The Oklahoma senator noted the bill has the backing of the entire Republican conference and occasional support from Democrats, but not yet the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.
“We’ve got to get enough to be able to get 60 votes in the Senate, to actually get it passed,” he said. “Let’s have the budget fights, but let’s not have the American people have to suffer through all this.”
“There’s a group of us [who have] been meeting with some Democrats, senators, saying, ‘OK, I get your opposition to President Trump. [You] don’t agree with President Trump. The American people do, but you do not. I get that. So I understand your protest on this, but we’ve still got to be able to solve this problem long term for the Senate.'”
At present, Congress faces the challenge of passing 12 appropriations bills within weeks to avoid a shutdown.
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