Dent, left, and Gerlach
WASHINGTON DC – The federal government won’t shut down anytime soon, following a last-minute budget agreement late Friday night (April 8, 2011) by the White House and House and Senate leaders. It reportedly cuts $38.5 billion in spending, and won applause from observers including Republican congressmen Charlie Dent, for Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, and Jim Gerlach, who represents Limerick and Pottstown.
Days of tough negotiating resulted the deal to pay for government operations through the end of September, as well as a days-long stopgap measure to keep the government running while details of the new spending plan were written into legislation, The Associated Press said. Without it, the Obama administration was ready to stop federal services and lay off hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
“Even a brief government shutdown would have represented a complete failure of our most basic responsibilities as elected officials,” Dent (PA 15th Dist.) said. The agreement prevented “an extraordinarily disruptive government shutdown. The American people rightfully demand members of Congress work together … to overcome differences and achieve essential goals, such as funding government operations.”
The cuts “represent a responsible first step toward ending the borrowing and spending binge of the last two years,” Gerlach (PA 6th Dist.) added. “Our work is not finished. I look forward to enacting real solutions for … creating an environment where job creators here in the 6th District can hire workers and thrive.”
Shortly after midnight, White House budget director Jacob Lew issued a memo instructing the government’s departments and agencies to continue their normal operations. Congressional votes to finalize approval of the deal are expected later next week.
Photos from the offices of Dent and Gerlach
