Washington, DC — Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) issued the following statement after voting in favor of bipartisan legislation that would keep most of the federal government funded through September 2015.
“I believe it's extremely important to avoid another disastrous government shutdown. For the last year, I've heard from constituents of all political stripes about the need for Congress to make government work. If we’re going to restore functionality to our government, then Congress needs to compromise, and that's what this bipartisan agreement does. It is by no means perfect. There are a lot of good things in this bill - it boosts funding for key financial regulators, preserves funding for Pell Grants and strengthens our ability to curb the spread of Ebola, to name a few. But there are also things in this agreement that I find objectionable, including its provisions that weaken our campaign finance regulations and roll back Clean Water Act protections. At the end of the day, I believe the good in this bill outweighs the aspects I disagree with, and it meets Congress' responsibility to ensure our government stays open to meet the needs of the American people.”