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Congressman Paul Tonko released the following statement in response to the GOP House majority attaching a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act to a clean Senate short-term spending bill that aimed to keep the government funded past October 1^st and continue negotiations for an annual budget. The amendment, which passed along heavily partisan lines, previously passed the Republican-led House of Representatives in July.

“What we have seen today is nothing less than toying with the American economy for the sake of scoring political points. It is regrettable that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle cannot put aside their obsession with repealing the Affordable Care Act for one day to simply keep the government open,” said Tonko. “The federal government has a duty to keep its lights on, its doors open, and its critical services available to the American people. Make no mistake, the Senate bill keeps the government open. Unfortunately, House leadership is more interested in maintaining the same level of brinksmanship and petty politics they have dominated this chamber with for almost three years.”

According to The Fiscal Times, a government shutdown would cost taxpayers $150 million per day. The 21-day shutdown spanning 1995 and 1996 cost $1.25 billion, or $1.9 billion in 2013 dollars.

“Albert Einstein once defined insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results’. That is exactly what we have seen out of House Leadership again today,” added Tonko.

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