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Torres: Leaders must prevent another shutdown
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Posted on Jan 29 2019
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said his administration is hopeful that leaders in Washington, D.C. would reach a consensus in the next few days to continue funding the operations of the federal government and avoid another shutdown, the second under President Donald Trump and the longest in U.S. history.
“We are very pleased that the government shutdown has ended. We are very thankful to our federal workers, particularly a number of our [Federal Emergency Management Agency] partners who demonstrated devotion to our recovery efforts in the midst of uncertainty,” said Torres in a statement.
“It is our hope that our federal partners in the White House and Congress can reach a funding agreement within these next three weeks to prevent another shutdown.”
The federal government shutdown lasted 35 days, beginning on Dec. 22, 2018 and ended on Jan. 25, 2019 after Congress—House and Senate—reached an agreement to reopen the government after passing a spending bill by voice vote. Trump signed the bill on Jan. 25 to end the month-long standoff.
The shutdown caused 800,000 federal workers to be furloughed or forced to work without pay for 35 days in agencies like the U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and Federal Aviation Agency.
The shutdown had little effect on the relief and recovery operations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the CNMI, which was struck by Typhoon Mangkhut (Rota) in September and Super Typhoon Yutu (Saipan and Tinian) last October.
FEMA Region IX administrator Robert J. Fenton Jr. said disaster assistance programs in the CNMI are not affected since disaster relief funds are a different appropriation. Majority of FEMA personnel in the Commonwealth are also getting paid.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services public affairs officer Claire K. Nicholson said the shutdown also had little effect on their operations when it comes to processing CNMI-related immigration documents except only for the temporary suspension of the e-Verify program.
The refusal of the Democrats for a $5.7-billion funding for Trump’s much-promised southern border wall sparked the debate and back-and-forth negotiations between Congress and the White House, which eventually resulted to the shutdown.
