Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzalez said last weekend that the country is heading for a government shutdown, The Hill reported.
While appearing on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning, Gonzalez said while he doesn’t want the government to shut down, he had “no doubt” that a shutdown is coming and Americans should be prepared.
The Texas Republican opposes a continuing resolution to temporarily keep federal spending at current levels to allow for more time to pass long-term appropriations bills. And while he doesn’t want a shutdown, Gonzalez said he doesn’t believe passing a stopgap measure will solve the problem of lawmakers waiting until the last minute to pass appropriations.
He explained that when Congress gives itself more time, it’s “just going to take that time,” adding that more time does not equal a solution to Congress’s failure to fund the government.
He said Congress must face a “hard cliff” that forces lawmakers to “come together” and pass long-term appropriations bills. However, continuing resolutions do the “exact opposite” by allowing lawmakers to “kick the can down the road,” Gonzalez added.
Gonzalez also blasted the Biden administration for the current crisis at the border, saying he has been working with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to find solutions to immediately address the border crisis. He said he planned to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week.
When asked about attaching border security to a stopgap spending measure, Gonzalez dismissed the tactic as “fake” and “fantasy,” saying it is no more than a “messaging bill that says all the right things” while accomplishing nothing.
Gonzalez added that a continuing resolution with “fake things” in it won’t get Congress any closer to passing long-term appropriations. He said it would be better for Congress to let the government shut down to force them to pass the appropriations bills so the president can sign them.
