News release from Senator Chris Murphy and Congressman Jim Himes:
Today, just days before congressional Republicans could potentially shut down the U.S. government, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Jim Himes (CT-4) visited Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc. (ABCD) via Head Start–a federally-funded program that provides free meals, medical services, and early learning opportunities to low-income Bridgeport children. During their visit, Murphy and Himes warned that if Republicans move forward with a government shutdown this week, funding for fourteen ABCD programs across the city will be delayed, threatening services for 1,200 children. ABCD is scheduled to receive renewed federal funding on Oct. 1, 2015.
Murphy, a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, said, “Right now, Republicans in the House and the Senate are playing politics with the lives of 1,200 kids here in Bridgeport whose Head Start program will be suspended if the government shuts down. This is about little kids–3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds–who won’t get an education. It’s about their parents who may have to stay home from work and possibly lose their jobs in order to take care of their children. It’s about the 300 workers who will be furloughed for days–if not longer–without a paycheck. There are real world consequences affecting real people when it comes to a government shutdown, and there is absolutely no justification for it. ABCD via Head Start is an amazing program that we’ve got to make sure stays open and operating.”“We’ve been jumping from crisis to crisis for years now, so no one can be surprised that Tea Party extremists have once again taken us to the edge,” said Himes. “Some members of Congress get so caught up in the politics that they don’t see the real harm that is caused by the constant flirtation with shutdown, default and disaster. Senator Murphy and I came to Head Start today to highlight this vital program, which is damaged by this continued uncertainty and is at risk of shutting its doors. These children really and truly rely on this program, and it would be a terrible tragedy if Washington’s dysfunction closed ABCD.”
Bridgeport needs perhaps 30,000 – 40,000, private-sector living-wage jobs. Neither one of these politicians has done anything toward real assistance in accomplishing that goal, which is what they would be doing if they really cared about the people of Bridgeport. Their dog-and-pony show at ABCD was just an opportunity for them to try to insulate themselves from the political fallout of endorsing Bill Finch for mayor.
Now that their “ward heeler” won’t be going back to City Hall after November, they’re looking for a way to secure the essential Bridgeport votes they need for reelection.
They should just go away. The people of Bridgeport aren’t buying their disingenuous BS anymore.
Memo to Murphy: Gimme a break! You’re one of the least-qualified people in America to be a Senator.
Notice to Murphy and Himes; we’re closing in at being 19 TRILLION dollars in debt and somewhere between 150 and 200 TRILLION dollars in unfunded liability debt.
This is all BS. The government never shuts down. 85% of the government is deemed “essential” and will never be shut down. Our debts will still be paid. The last time we had the so-called “shutdown,” all the president shut down was veterans’ memorials and National Parks.
If Murphy and Himes really cared about “the children,” they would change their spend, borrow, tax policies that have put “our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren” in debt.
Here you have two real losers, now they are concerned about low-income children in Bridgeport, well where have their voices been before this on this subject and what about the low income in Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and other Connecticut cities? No, this is about their endorsement of Bill Finch and his loss in the Democratic primary, this is them trying to save face. Two real losers and they need to be voted out of office.
OIB, I beg all of you to wake up to the lies these “elitist” politicians from BOTH parties are spewing. The Tea Party is not what these elitists and their propaganda mainstream media portray. The Tea Party are average Americans like all of us; who believe in freedom, who believe in America, who believe in small government, low taxes and the power of governance by the people. The reason these elitists spread propaganda about us “the people” because they are afraid of us. They are afraid of losing their power and their millions of dollars they make off the back of the working class. Can’t you see, as Jeff says, these gold coast politicians come to Bridgeport once or twice a year (sometimes not even that much) and spread their POS BS and go back to their suburban homes where there isn’t a minority within 50 miles. We should take a lesson from the Tea Party (i.e. Boehner) and stand up against these elitist politicians. Boehner is the first but if we all stand together he won’t be the last.
This is just childish behavior. GOP conservatives using scare tactics to get their way. The Republican Party under Newt Gingrich shut down the government because they couldn’t get their way back in the 1990s. Now the Tea Party is going to shut down the government because they want to defund Planned Parenthood. Threatening to starve children because the Tea Party only sees one issue: “Give us what we want or we’ll make the people suffer.”
Even John Boehner gave up in disgust.
I don’t get it. The Republicans are funding the government 99.99999999% except for planned parenthood!!! the president doesn’t like the government funded at 99.99999999% and will veto the budget and it is the Republicans’ fault–HOW?!?!