EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Congress reached an agreement on a stop-gap spending bill early Saturday morning, Dec. 21 to avoid a government shutdown. Here is what members of Congress representing the El Paso and Las Cruces region have to say:
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas
“I’m proud to have cast a vote to continue funding the government and ensure our 20,000 federal employees in El Paso and the 90,000 soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss are paid for the next three months and ahead of the holidays.
“Republicans have set a dangerous precedent by allowing an unelected billionaire to spread misinformation and hijack weeks of negotiations to fund our government.
“Although the latest version of the funding bill does not include many of the critically needed funding provisions that were in the original bill, a bipartisan agreement was reached.”
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico
“Today, I voted to avoid a government shutdown and stop the Republican chaos in favor of hard-working New Mexicans who would have been impacted by yet another manufactured crisis, By voting in favor of the bill, I’m supporting farmers, communities devastated by natural disasters, service men and women and their families and many more. I’ll continue to be a champion for New Mexicans and support New Mexican values.”
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, was one of 34 House Republicans who voted against the spending bill.
We have reached out to Gonzales for comment. Part of his district includes East El Paso.
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