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Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) joined 78 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, urging Speaker Boehner to keep the House in session every day until a deal is reached to prevent another government shutdown.

With only five legislative days scheduled before the government closes its doors at 12:01 am on October 1st, the letter calls on the Speaker to use his power to keep Congress working every day, including over the next two weekends, until there's an agreement.

“The Capital Region was dealt a serious body blow with the announcement that GE would move hundreds of jobs overseas due to House Republican Leadership’s inability to renew the Export-Import Bank, which has supported $2.4 billion in exports from my congressional district since 2007. Now, the same small group of extremists who killed the Export-Import Bank are threatening to shut down the government once again if they don’t get their way in their reckless fight to destroy women’s health care and defund Planned Parenthood. I am proud to join my Democratic colleagues in saying that we are committed to work around the clock until a responsible but ambitious budget that encourages innovation and grows jobs is crafted. Working families in the Capital Region and across the country deserve nothing less from their elected representatives,”said Tonko.

As of right now, Congress has more recess days scheduled than working days before a potential shutdown at the end of the fiscal year on October 1^st. 

Below is the text of the letter:

Dear Speaker Boehner,

We write you today to express our deep concern regarding the looming government shutdown which will occur on October 1st should Congress fail to reach a bipartisan consensus to fund the government.

As of right now, there are just six legislative days scheduled before the end of the month. The American people deserve to know that their elected representatives are working around the clock to avoid another self-inflicted Washington wound on our national and local economies.

As the Speaker of the House, you have the power to change the legislative calendar. We strongly urge you to keep the House of Representatives in session every day from now until we reach a deal.

We already know the impact that a shutdown will have on our economy because it happened just two years ago. According to Standard & Poors, the 16 day government shutdown of 2013 cost the U.S. economy $24 billion and reduced 4th quarter GDP growth by 0.6%. We simply cannot allow this failure to happen again.

As Representatives, each of us has an obligation to the American people—the working families, seniors, veterans and others we have the privilege of serving. Now is the time to reject partisan gridlock and work together toward a common sense solution for the American people.

With the clock ticking, we can't afford to waste a moment. As Speaker, you have the power to keep Congress in session. We urge you to exercise that authority before it's too late.

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