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Bonamici slams federal shutdown

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Democratic congresswoman for Oregon’s 1st District, released a statement Tuesday, Oct. 1, condemning House Republicans over the federal government shutdown that began Monday night.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate failed to reach agreement on a measure to continue funding “nonessential” government operations, with House Republicans demanding cuts to funding for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” and Democrats refusing to negotiate without a budget resolution in place.

In the statement, Bonamici accused her Republican colleagues of having an “obsession with defunding the ACA” and forcing a “reckless” government shutdown.

“It is fundamentally undemocratic for a handful of obstructionists to harm the country’s social and economic well-being because a vote didn’t go their way,” Bonamici’s statement continued. “The American people deserve better.”

Bonamici voted against several resolutions passed by the House Monday to keep the government open and strip funding for implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Major components of the law took effect as scheduled Tuesday despite the shutdown, including health insurance exchanges that opened in Oregon.

More than 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed due to the shutdown.