Republicans in Congress once again demonstrated their skewed priorities, that they would rather shut down the government than provide protections for DREAMers -- young immigrants who came to this country as children and who contribute greatly to their communities and our country. Congressional Republicans’ unwillingness to pass a continuing resolution that would allow DREAMers to live without fear is abhorrent. Shutting down the government will cause needless confusion, pain and suffering to families all across the country.
 
Pitting funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) against protections for DREAMers is cynical and callous. Some 9 million children depend on CHIP and Congress should never have allowed funding for it to lapse. The only responsible thing for the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to do is to pass a clean DREAM Act, fully fund CHIP, and pass a full-year budget so we can avoid this type of partisan shenanigans in the future.
 
Congress should immediately pass a budget that increases the spending caps to fund pivotal programs for the American people with parity between defense and non-defense funds. Continuing Resolutions are no way to fund a government and in the end it is vulnerable families and children who end up paying the price. Our elected leaders also must prioritize funding for CHIP and protections for DREAMers before all other business -- our children and young people have waited long enough for the grandstanding to subside so they can have health, stability, and safety in their lives. The moms of America are paying attention. We are disappointed in this recent action by Republican leaders and we will continue to speak out until they do right by our families.

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