By Congressman Mike Simpson
Dear Friend,
First and foremost, thank you to the thousands of Idahoans who joined my telephone town hall earlier this week! I really enjoyed answering your questions and hearing what is on YOUR mind. I’m looking forward to hosting another one in the near future!
As many of you know, the government is still shut down. It has been exactly one month since the House passed a clean funding extension to keep the government funded and operational through November 21st. Let me be clear: I proudly voted to keep the government OPEN.
The House did its job—on September 19th—giving extreme liberals nearly two weeks to support the clean CR that is virtually the exact same as the last 13 CRs provided by the Biden administration.
Government Shutdown Update
I have always said that government shutdowns are bad politics and policy. To Idaho, a government shutdown means thousands of furloughs for government workers and contractors, no new vouchers to homeless veterans through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a halt to U.S. Small Business Administration loans, and the partial or total closure of our national parks.
Senator Chuck Schumer claimed that “Every day gets better for us.” It does NOT get better for the 14,000 federal workers in Idaho, 134,000 Idaho enrollees in SNAP, and 1,900 Idaho seniors who receive their Social Security benefits by check**.
This government funding extension is nonpartisan. Appropriators held bipartisan talks on a nonpartisan, clean funding extension to keep the government open. As an appropriator, I can honestly say this is the cleanest CR I have ever seen. It has no policy riders and is intended to keep the government open while negotiations continue, allowing us to pass our single-subject spending bills through our bipartisan appropriations process.
Need Help? My Offices Remain Open
My offices are still open during a shutdown to assist you however we can.
For assistance with constituent services (e.g., passports, IRS, immigration, and VA casework), please contact my Boise district office. During a federal government shutdown, many federal departments and agencies furlough workers, so their help desks may have little or no staffing.
You can contact my office to open a case for you, and we can work with an agency on your behalf to provide you with updates if they are open or when they reopen at the conclusion of a shutdown. During a shutdown, my office will continue to submit inquiries to federal agencies, including requests for updates on behalf of constituents, submit paperwork, and open new cases.
About Mike Simpson
An Idaho native, Mike Simpson was born in Burley and raised in Blackfoot. His political career began in 1980, when he was elected to the Blackfoot City Council. In 1984, he was elected to the Idaho Legislature where he served until 1998, the last six years serving as Speaker. Mike is currently serving his fourteenth term in the House of Representatives for Idaho’s second congressional district. Visit https://simpson.house.gov/ to learn more or find contact info.
