Rep. Clyburn, Sen. Graham speak about potential government shutdown

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A potential government shutdown is just around the corner.

But what does that mean and why are lawmakers not coming to an agreement?

“We are hurtling toward a shutdown which I am very hopeful will not occur,” Clyburn said.

However if the House and Senate cannot come to an agreement on a short term funding bill, the potential shutdown will become a reality on Sunday.

“There seem to be about a dozen or less Republicans who just want to shut the government down,” Clyburn said. “These people are bullies and are not here to make headway on behalf of the American people. They’re seeking headlines for their own political benefit.”

A few Republican House members have said they will refuse to pass a short term funding bill that received bipartisan support in the Senate.

Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republicans hope to cut spending in some areas but increase funding for border security.”

“We got a chance to fix this problem and we’re going to take advantage of it. There will be an effort to keep the government open until November,” Graham said. “In November, we’ll have a chance to do things more thoroughly. I promise you this, we will not have a solution to keep the government open and fully-funded until there’s a solution to our border crisis.”

Congressman Clyburn says government shutdown would pause paychecks for federal employees as well as military members and their families. He adds that it would also result in a delay in many FEMA disaster recovery projects.

“Every community is subjected to something of that nature,” the congressman said. “We’ve recently had storms in South Carolina.”

Clyburn hopes fellow House members will be able to come to a compromise and warns that many people will be impacted if the government shutdown occurs. 

“Nobody has to tell me what this will do to South Carolina, our farmers, military families, our children and our senior citizens,” Clyburn said.