Ayotte, Burr, Hoeven applaud Senate passage of continuing resolution to fund government operations

The Senate approved a continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday to fund government operations through Dec. 9 and dedicate $1.1 billion to fight Zika virus.

The CR would also allocate an additional $37 million to help combat the nation’s opioid drug epidemic and $74.4 billion to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the VA hospital system.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said that she was pleased that the Senate came together to pass a bill to continue funding government operations and avoid “a pointless, political showdown.”

“New Hampshire families, small business owners, service members and veterans deserve better than a government that lurches from crisis to crisis, and while I am disappointed that the Senate was prevented from acting on full year appropriations bills, today’s short-term legislation will ensure funding continues for our military and other important programs,” Ayotte said. “In particular, this bill provides funding to kick-start programs recently enacted in (the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act) to address the opioid epidemic, and while there is more we need to do, this is an important step forward for New Hampshire.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) said that he was encouraged that agreement was reached on government funding, and on funding to combat Zika and opioid addiction in particular.

“Supporting the members of the military and their families is critically important to me and I’m pleased that today’s legislation would address sorely needed projects in North Carolina as well as fund programs for our veterans,” Burr said. “The agreement also includes a national security bill I sponsored that stops the President from giving the Guantanamo Bay Naval base to the Castro regime. I’m excited to get back to North Carolina and listen to families across the state about the issues that matter most.”

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) added that the $1.1 billion in Zika funding would be used for vaccine development, mosquito control and health care services to address the ongoing outbreak.

“Also included in the CR are resources to help combat the growing heroin and opioid abuse epidemic in North Dakota and across the country,” Hoeven said. “As part of the bipartisan compromise, assistance for Flint, Michigan’s water supply issue will be addressed in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which I support. The Senate passed the WRDA bill earlier this month and the House is expected to pass it presently.”

President Barack Obama signed the continuing resolution on Thursday, two days before funding for the government would have run out.