WASHINGTON — As the federal government barrels towards a shutdown, we're speaking with the people who represent Ohioans in D.C. about what needs to be done to reach a funding deal.
I talked with both Sen. Jon Husted and Rep. Greg Landsman Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the shutdown deadline, and asked them the same questions. Here are their full answers.
Tanya O'Rourke: We are now hours from a shutdown. Do you see any chance this can be avoided?
Senator Jon Husted: Well, I'm always an optimist. I'll keep working, and I'm certainly going to vote to keep the government open, keep services flowing to the public that they've paid for. And, I hope that we'll get there, but right now, Chuck Schumer seems dug in.
He doesn't want the Democrats and his fellow colleagues to vote to keep the government open. Understand, Chuck Schumer said 13 times when Joe Biden was the president that we shouldn't shut the government down, that we need to keep it open, and now that Donald Trump's the president, he's decided he wants to shut it down.
That's not necessary, and we need to keep the government open and continue to put a budget together that will serve the people of this country, and Congress has an obligation to fund services and be responsible, and right now, Chuck Schumer's not being responsible.
And so, we'll keep working, but as long as he seems to not want to have a conversation, or come to grips with reality. We're probably headed towards shutdown.
Watch the full conversation with Husted below:
Rep. Greg Landsman: I wish, you know, it just takes the president convening the key leaders in the House and the Senate. The President has given the impression, over the last 8 or 9 months that he's all-powerful and he can do anything, including negotiating these complicated deals.
This deal is not complicated at all. It's a matter of keeping the government open, opening, and protecting people's health care. And I think if you tried, if he tried, he could get that deal done in a day or two.
(TO: They did meet, right?)
Yeah, but it was, like, an hour, an hour and a half. He mostly listened. It's not entirely clear how much of this he's paying attention.
Watch the full conversation with Landsman here:
TO: What would you say to the other party to get them to move?
Husted: It's a matter of keeping the government funded. There are no other issues other than that. They want to confuse it and make it seem like there's something else at stake. There's nothing else at stake.
This funds government in the same manner that it has been funded in the past. It's just a continuing resolution so that government doesn't shut down, and we can continue to negotiate all of the issues that they want to talk about over the course of the next 7 weeks, and get this done in a normal process, on a bipartisan process.
But we shouldn't shut the government down and sort of hold the American people hostage on behalf of our particular positions. Keep the government open, keep serving America, and stop trying to use these aggressive, unreasonable tactics to get your own way.
Landsman: I think this is much easier than anyone thinks, and if you're just willing to work with Democrats, there is a deal to keep the government open and protect health care. The most important part of the health care fight is extending these Affordable Care Act premiums. That's about 30,000 people in my district.
So, throughout the state of Ohio, you're talking about a ton of people, hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio who would see their premiums go up if we don't extend these premiums, and so we should be able to get that done, and I think there's enough members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, who want to get that done.
TO: What would you say to your party to get them to move?
Husted: Well, I want to say to our side of the aisle that we just need to vote to keep the government open. I want to say to the other side of the aisle, let's just vote to keep the government open.
Any other things that we disagree about, we can continue to negotiate that tomorrow, the next day, for the next 7 weeks, if we need to. But we don't need to shut the government down to do that.
People every day are gonna ... travel through airports, they're gonna wanna make sure that law enforcement is getting paid, and our military is getting paid, and the inspectors are on work sites trying to get the job done. Like, we need those fundamental services to continue on uninterrupted.
So just vote to continue funding government as it is right now, and we'll continue to negotiate tomorrow, the next day, and the next day after that. They want to pretend like there's an artificial deadline on all of these other issues. There's only one deadline at stake here. That's whether you keep the government open or not.
Landsman: Just be all in on the negotiations — be willing to work with the other side. If the other side starts to work with us, be willing to get a deal done.
TO: There was a time when compromise was important to Congress. More and more, that just does not seem to be possible, nor wanted. Do you wish that your party were more willing to compromise for the benefit of the American people?
Husted: I think we should always be open to listening to people from the other side, and if we can accommodate their needs without violating our principles and values, we should always seek to do that.
In this particular case, we're literally asking them to do the same thing they've done 13 other times when Joe Biden was president, but now refuse to do it that Donald Trump is president.
This is not hard. Simply keep the government open, and let's keep looking for those bipartisan outcomes without holding the American public hostage for the services they've paid for.
Landsman: Yeah, I'm a big believer in getting things done, and that does require compromise. The challenge has been, in this case, and in this Congress, is just being shut out completely. Like, there's been no meetings, no discussion. I don't think there's been any bipartisan legislation.
And we're 9 months in. And that's nothing anyone should be proud of. That is an indictment. And I think once Democrats are included in a discussion, we'll get to a deal and a compromise, but they gotta sit down at a table and let these folks in. Otherwise, you know, we're not gonna make any progress, and I think that's what the American people hate.
TO: The Pentagon announced that some 2 million troops, including National Guard members who were deployed to U.S. cities, will be forced to work without pay should this shutdown occur. How is that helpful to them and to others who will endure the same types of situations?
Husted: Look, the Democrats are eventually going to vote to keep the government open. It's just a matter of how long they want to shut it down and harm and create uncertainty in the lives of all of the people who are out there serving us every day. This is not a hard one. This is an easy vote to keep the government open and keep negotiating things, but there are consequences to throwing political tantrums, which is what they're doing right now.
The consequences are law enforcement doesn't get paid ... military doesn't get paid, air traffic controllers don't get paid, all of these things that we rely on, we say, hey, keep going and providing those services for us, but they want to play political games and disrupt the lives of the people who perform those services. It's uncalled for, and they know it, and eventually they will cave.
Landsman: It's not helpful at all. I mean, there's gonna be so many people who have to work without pay, it's terrible.
And this is why I don't think Trump should shut down the government. I think Trump should get people in a room and avoid a shutdown, you know, and I think he has the ability to do that. He just needs to be willing to sit down with Republicans and Democrats and get a deal done.
I also think that instead of sending troops to cities, as a former member of city council, and I know how these budgets work, they should be sending money to hire more cops. I mean, that's what cities need more than anything else, is more resources to hire police officers and have the money to do the kind of retention and recruitment bonuses that police forces and law enforcement officials have said they need. That's what matters most, that they need that money.
