Congressman Mark Amodei is responding to comments made by Senator Jacky Rosen on Tuesday regarding several issues tied to the government shutdown.
On Wednesday, he said he's having a hard time understanding why some Democrats are still voting to withhold paychecks from workers. The previous day, Senator Rosen expressed her frustration with the Republican Party regarding health care.
During her press conference yesterday, Rosen said, "This Republican government shutdown, one that should have never happened in the first place, could end today if Washington Republicans decided to do their job and fund the government and take action to stop health care costs from skyrocketing."
While Senator Rosen blames the ongoing shutdown on Republicans for refusing to discuss health care resolutions before opening the government, Congressman Amodei says he doesn't see how people can afford any food or health care if they're not getting paid first.
"With all due respect to Senator Rosen, it's like there's no connection between 'Oh, we got to fix health care,' it's like, really? If you're serious about that, then guess what? People are going to be without benefits and food stuff, and it's like they just don't make any sense," said Amodei.
Amodei says it seems like Democrats are forgetting why the government even shut down in the first place: a disagreement over the budget.
He says voting for a clean continuing resolution makes the most sense because at least benefits and paychecks will be rolling in the economy while Congress continues its discussions.
"It's just keeping things level until you get a new budget as opposed to no money and you're shut down waiting for a new budget."
And while he believes addressing health care costs is important, he says it's not a new issue.
He tells us this has been a problem in our country in the last decade: "Health care is going to go up, and it's been going up. And so, it's like 'Yeah, we're happy to dust off the stuff that we've had in the House and say 'here you go, tell us how you'd change it and do it', but that's legislation, not 'welp, I'm going to see who can hold their breath the longest'."
For anyone struggling with the impacts of the shutdown, whether it's food insecurity or health care, Congressman Amodei says to reach out to his office so they can help you with available resources.
