U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) led bipartisan members of the Problem Solvers Caucus in supporting House passage of a government spending bill on Wednesday that would fund government operations through Sept. 30 and avoid a government shutdown.
Reed, the co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, led Republican and Democrat members of the caucus who worked to advance the government spending bill, including caucus co-chair U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Reps. Ryan Costello (R-PA) and Fred Upton (R-MI).
“I applaud my colleagues in the caucus from both sides of the aisle, for all their hard work to get this done for the American people,” Reed said. “Their courage to put ‘people over party’ is a great example of what can be accomplished together and what true democracy looks like.”
Reed and Gottheimer were elected to lead the Problem Solvers Caucus in February. The caucus works closely with the advocacy group No Labels to support bipartisanship among Democrats and Republicans in the House.
The Problem Solvers Caucus is comprised of 40 members of Congress, 20 from each political party. In April, the caucus had called for the passage of a continuing budget resolution that was free of the partisan provisions that threatened to lead to a government shutdown.
“Keeping the government open is a fundamental job of lawmakers and critical to constituents who rely on federal services,” Costello said. “This is an example of what we can accomplish when we work together for common sense solutions.”
The Senate approved the $1 trillion government spending bill on Thursday and sent it to the president to sign.
Avoiding a costly government shutdown, Upton added, and funding bipartisan priorities that most Americans agree on, is a “win-win” situation. The budget boosts funding for national defense, border security and other emergency needs and includes funding for biomedical research, biodefense programs, education programs and efforts to fight opioid abuse.
“It’s further proof that when we come together — Republicans and Democrats — we can accomplish big things,” Upton said. “I want to applaud Rep. Tom Reed and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, and the entire Problem Solvers Caucus, for creating an environment where folks can put aside party differences and come together for the American people.”
Now that a government shutdown has been averted, lawmakers said they expect to next tackle tax reform and infrastructure.