“Democrats take very seriously our obligation to govern For The People, and that means keeping government open and serving the people.  Last week, we held true to that commitment by passing a continuing resolution in the House to keep the government funded into December.  Senate Republicans rejected that resolution and voted to shut down the government because they opposed the provision we had included to suspend the debt limit and prevent a catastrophic default.  That was unfortunate, because such a default would bring economic hardship to American workers and their families, and it would hamstring businesses trying to recover from the pandemic.  The House has now passed a standalone bill to prevent such a default, which I urge the Senate to approve without delay.      “Earlier today, the Senate passed a clean bill to keep the government open through December 3, and the House has now done the same, over the objections of many House Republicans who voted to shut down the government and reject emergency assistance for our Afghan allies and for Americans impacted by Hurricane Ida and wildfires.  While the immediate threat of a shutdown has ended, the appropriations process must continue toward its successful conclusion over the next nine weeks.  I thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Members of the Appropriations Committee for their hard work in that direction, and I hope that the House and Senate can agree on full-year appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 before the December 3 deadline.”