Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) released a statement on the ongoing government shutdown, now in its eighteenth day, focusing blame on Senate Democrats and their leadership. According to Meuser, the current budget impasse is due to Senate Democrats voting against a continuing resolution that he says would have kept the government open.
“Let me be very clear: Republicans did not bring on this government shutdown. Every single Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives — except one — voted to keep the government open through a seven-week continuing resolution. Every single Democrat in the House—except one—voted to close it. It is Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, who have voted eleven times to shut down the government, who are responsible for the delay in services and payments from the federal government,” Meuser said.
Meuser outlined the impact of the shutdown, stating that it has resulted in furloughs for 750,000 federal employees and delays in veterans’ benefits, IRS services, and SNAP payments. He attributed these disruptions to what he described as political maneuvering by Democrats.
He also referenced actions by the Trump administration during the shutdown. “If not for the decisive leadership of the Trump administration, the consequences would be far worse. Ronald Ward, the Acting Administrator of the SNAP Program, sent a letter to all states stating that due to the government shutdown there are insufficient funds to pay full SNAP benefits in November. Ward has also said that the USDA is working on a contingency plan to fund SNAP,” Meuser stated.
Meuser further credited President Trump for taking steps such as using tariff revenues for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and redirecting Pentagon research funds to ensure military pay continues.
He drew comparisons with previous shutdowns: “In the 2018 shutdown, USDA was able to continue funding SNAP but had to use various funds to pay out benefits and issued an advance SNAP payment. If the 2018 shutdown continued any later, SNAP would not have been able to distribute benefits.”
According to Meuser, if more Senate Democrats had supported what he called a “clean, Republican-passed continuing resolution,” there would be no disruption of government programs or benefits.
Meuser also criticized Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his administration for their response: “It is outrageous and shameless that the Shapiro administration would knowingly repeat false claims to mislead Pennsylvanians. This is pure political theater. Governor Shapiro and his administration are showing their left-wing extremism and a complete disregard for the truth. Anyone who makes comments like this, including the Shapiro Administration, is no different than Chuck Schumer politicizing and lying about this terrible situation.”
He added: “I also found the WNEP article, along with the Shapiro Administration, completely mischaracterized the letter and the situation. USDA has no funding to support critical program because Senate Democrats have blocked the CR that funds the program now 11 times.”
Meuser concluded by urging Pennsylvanians not to be misled by what he described as partisan rhetoric: “I trust the people of Pennsylvania to see through this. If Shapiro actually wanted the government to operate for those in need he’d be calling on Democrats to vote yes rather than cast phony, ridiculous, blame on Republicans who voted to keep the government open and these funds flowing.
“If Governor Shapiro wants to continue to align himself with Schumer’s reckless shutdown strategy, that is his choice — but it will prove to be deeply foolish and entirely obvious to every Pennsylvanian paying attention.”
