Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on Thursday that she is pleased the final shutdown-ending bill had bipartisan elements and is looking ahead to the work that still needs to be done.
“It is beyond time to end this impasse, reopen the government, and being addressing our nation’s unsustainable $17 trillion debt,” Collins said. “This is not the end; it is merely the beginning of our work. There is much work ahead, and tough decisions to be made.”
Collins was part of a bipartisan group of senators who met with the president on Monday. She said the group of 14 senators worked on a plan to end government shutdown, prevent the nation from defaulting and hold the Senate and House Budget Committees accountable for developing a long-term fiscal plan.
Collins said elements of the group’s plan were incorporated into the final agreement between Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that ended the federal government shutdown.
“I am pleased that the bipartisan group that I led helped lay the foundation for the compromise reached today,” Collins said. “It is essential that we continue to work together and show the American people that we can govern responsibly.”