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Portman Proposal to Prevent Future Shutdowns Gaining Support

Republican Senator Rob Portman of Cincinnati is proposing a bill that would end the possibility of a government shutdown in the future.
Republican Senator Rob Portman of Cincinnati is proposing a bill that would end the possibility of a government shutdown in the future.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman is trying to pass a bill that would prevent another government shutdown in the future.

If lawmakers haven’t approved a new budget in time, Portman’s bill would keep the government open with the same level of spending--but for a limited period of time.

Portman explains the incentive for Congress to resolve a spending impasse.

“There is an incentive to get the committees of congress- the apportion committees back to work by saying after 4 months of continuing the funding from the previous year there would be a 1% reduction in funding across the board. That would affect defense, it would affect social services, everything. I think it’s something that both Republicans and Democrats would not like to see therefore, it would help to get people back to work.”

The legislation now has 25 Republican co-sponsors. The senator says even Republicans and Democrats that aren’t on his bill admit something different needs to be done. He is hopeful that a productive resolution can be reached in the next two and a half weeks before another shutdown could occur February 15th.

Copyright 2019 WKSU

Erin Keller is a senior broadcast journalism major and fashion media minor at Kent State. She is involved in TV2 as a host of The Blurb and co-hosts the Black Squirrel Radio Show, Womb-Mates, with her identical twin sister, Holly. In addition to interning at WKSU, Erin also has a public relations internship at a local school district.