California Representative Scott Peters (D) and Representative Kevin Kiley (R) are urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to reconvene Congress after a two-month government shutdown, which has halted most legislative activities.
“We really need to have a conversation,” Peters expressed on NewsNation’s “The Hill” with host Chris Stirewald. “I’ve been through three long shutdowns, but this is the first time Congress has completely shut down.”
He noted that in previous shutdowns, lawmakers were required to remain in Washington, D.C., and could not return home. “They called for votes to keep us present,” Peters explained. “We couldn’t leave on government tickets; it was out of our own pockets.” He added, “That created an environment where we talked daily about how to resolve the situation. But instead, Chairman Johnson sent us all home.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed last month to keeping the House of Commons closed until the government session resumes, maintaining that stance despite opposition from legislators across the political spectrum.
This week, the Senate failed for the thirteenth time to gather the 60 votes necessary to pass a temporary funding bill. On Friday, the chair decided to suspend voting for another week, marking a sixth “district work period.”
Kiley also expressed frustration during another appearance on “The Hill” regarding this decision. “I don’t think canceling the Congress date was justified at all,” he stated to Stirewald. “Next week, the House was supposed to convene for the sixth consecutive week, but it was just revealed that it won’t be meeting.”
The California Republican emphasized that this extended furlough hinders lawmakers’ capacity “to do whatever is necessary to help the country move past this crisis or to advance legislation.”
Kiley took particular issue with the absence of oversight hearings and legislative initiatives during the shutdown, arguing it was not about “maximizing leverage.” Instead, he remarked, “It’s more about failing to seize the chance to legislate on behalf of the people.”
Concerns over the lack of action in the House were openly discussed during a recent Republican conference call, where members wondered how they would compensate for lost time. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has criticized Johnson’s handling of the shutdown, mirrored Kiley’s sentiments. “I don’t think anyone is benefiting from this; it’s a failure, and personally, I dislike it,” she told CNN during the second week of the shutdown.
