It has now been four weeks since the House passed a bipartisan bill to keep the government funded. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats this week have continued their filibuster blockade against the House’s clean continuing resolution, so the federal government remains shut down.
Yesterday, after Senate Democrats voted for the 10th time to keep the government closed, Senate Republicans tried to bring up a standalone bill to fund the Department of Defense, and the Democrats blocked the Senate from even beginning debate. This is completely unacceptable. The Defense Appropriations bill has broad, bipartisan support. It passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee 26-3 earlier this year. But, Schumer and his allies won’t even let the Senate begin debate as they continue their effort to appease their far-left base.
I’m grateful that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth took extraordinary measures this week to ensure our men and women in uniform received their October 15 paychecks. And, as I mentioned last week, I have cosponsored the Pay Our Troops Act, which would ensure our military personnel would continue to get paid during the government shutdown. But, this would not be necessary if Sen. Schumer would either pass the House continuing resolution or allowed the full-year Defense Appropriations bill to move forward.
Click below for my latest shutdown update video.
Constituent Services
As a reminder, my offices in Washington, Topeka and Pittsburg remain open, despite the shutdown, and available to help with federal agencies including the VA, Social Security, and the IRS.
Regrettably, our ability to help with some of situations may be affected, as many departments and agencies will not be processing casework during the shutdown. However, that work will resume once federal funding is resolved. If you are experiencing an issue with a federal agency, please call my office at (785) 205-5253 or fill out the form on our website, and we will work with you on the paperwork that must be completed so we can file your case as soon as we are able.
As the son and grandson of small business owners, I am proud to serve on the House Small Business Committee. We have made great accomplishments for Main Street businesses already this Congress — most importantly by ensuring they did not face a massive tax increase by extending key small business tax provisions in the reconciliation bill President Trump signed into law this summer.
Permanently extending Opportunity Zones, which incentivize economic growth and job creation in underserved communities.
Increasing and making permanent the estate and gift tax exemption, ensuring that farms and small businesses can be passed on to the next generation without being subject to the “death tax.”
In addition, the House recently passed a bill that would reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) loan programs, which provide early-stage technology funding for small businesses. Unfortunately, the Senate has not yet taken up this simple, bipartisan reauthorization bill in the midst of the the shutdown, and these programs have now lapsed. I hope they will act soon so small businesses do not remain casualties of the shutdown politics.
Finally, I am pleased that the House’s National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA) contains an amendment I championed that will make it easier for small businesses to contract with the Department of Defense. The Senate passed its own version of the NDAA last week, so negotiations are now ongoing to resolve the differences between the House and Senate and produce the final bill. I’m working with my House colleagues to ensure my amendment remains in the final bill.
Several members of the Kansas Legislature were in Washington this week, and I was pleased to be able to give them a tour of the Capitol during their visit. I’m also grateful to Stu and Amy Hite from Pittsburg who visited my D.C. office this week.
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