Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) called out Congress Monday on the possibility of a government shutdown if the current continuing resolution is not renewed by Sept. 30. "The gridlock and partisanship in Washington right now is disgusting. With economic instability in the United States and around the world, it's unacceptable for Congress to add more uncertainty to the marketplace by threatening another government shutdown," he said in a statement.
The government will run out of money at the end of the month if Congress does not agree on another continuing resolution. Republicans and Democrats disagree over whether to offset $1.6 billion in FEMA funding with spending cuts.
Republicans want to offset the $1.6 billion in aid to recent victims of floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes with spending cuts, while Democrats do not think that emergency funding to FEMA should be subject to offsets. The agency has only $175 million left and will run out of money this week.
Brown's home state of Massachusetts has been wracked by tornadoes and Hurricane Irene. He also faces a tough re-election fight against Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, who is surging in the polls.
"We have people in Massachusetts and across the country who need disaster assistance right now, but this latest episode of partisan politics threatens to hold back relief from those who need it most. It's time for people on both sides to stop bickering and work together on policies that will get our economy going. We are Americans first," he concluded.