Merry Christmas Northwest Indiana! I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday, and I send special wishes to all of our troops around the world, who are selflessly defending our freedoms and away from their families today.

This impending government shutdown has been caused by the failure of the President and a Congress controlled by his party to complete its basic work for the fiscal year that started 82 days ago. Further, any Continuing Resolution (CR) through February 8, 2019, is just a protraction of uncertainty for vast portions of our government to operate for one-third of its year, and it is designed to be particularly disruptive as it is set to expire the week the budget for the next fiscal year is due to be presented to the next Congress. I am absolutely opposed to this lack of governance. I hope in the coming hours and days that we can begin to have more sensible discussions that prioritize solving problems to benefit our economy and the workers and families of our nation.