“Today is a sad day for working Americans and our democracy. Tea Party Republicans continued their extremist ways and shutdown the federal government in an attempt to implement their far, right-wing agenda. Congressional Republicans’ insistence on denying health care coverage to millions of Americans by undermining the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is immoral as well as practically futile. By refusing to fund the government they have ignored the wishes of the American people and have placed millions of jobs and economic recovery in jeopardy.

“House Republicans have done it again. In order to please the far right, they are taking money out of the pockets of working Americans, and costing our nation jobs. Any manufactured crisis that further slows growth and costs jobs is unacceptable. If the right wing in Congress were serious about preventing harm to Americans, they would pass a responsible budget and end sequestration, which is estimated to reduce employment by 900,000 in the next fiscal year. The House should pass a clean, temporary budget and debt limit increase without partisan wrangling, and work with President Obama and the Senate to strengthen our country.

“Along with millions of other workers, the livelihood of many UAW members is now in jeopardy because of this extremism. UAW members perform federally funded research at our nation’s colleges and universities, determine eligibility for social safety net programs, provide legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, build next generation vehicles for our military, and much more. A government shutdown harms all Americans now and in the future. The UAW stands ready to work with all who are serious about strengthening our economy and creating a brighter future.”