Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Rep. Blake Moore holds out hope lawmakers can resolve remaining budget appropriations questions by Jan. 30, avoiding a second government shutdown.
- A bill inked into law Wednesday by President Donald Trump resolved some of the appropriations issues, ending a 43-day shutdown.
- Moore said the focus now should be on normalizing airport operations, impacted by the shutdown.
OGDEN — Having just ended a 43-day government shutdown earlier this week, another budget deadline looms — Jan. 30.
But U.S. Rep. Blake Moore holds out hope lawmakers can reach an accord on the outstanding budget appropriation bills, avoiding another shutdown. He suspects most lawmakers don't have an appetite for another shutdown.
"Already getting three of the 12 done, getting to the finish line on the remaining nine, I hope, is a very accomplishable thing," the Republican lawmaker from Salt Lake City said Friday in Ogden. The legislation inked into law on Wednesday by President Donald Trump includes appropriations for three federal budget elements, but funding for nine others lapses on Jan. 30, keeping the pressure on lawmakers.
Moore, who believes Democrats used the shutdown as a means of bolstering their prospects in midterm elections next year, doesn't sense any political benefit in allowing a second shutdown. In withholding support for the appropriation measure to end the shutdown, Democrats had pressed for an extension of subsidies for health insurance offered on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
"I don't think there's a messaging opportunity here. I think this would just really pointless for another one," said Moore, while taking part in a ceremony to inaugurate the upgraded terminal at Ogden-Hinckley Airport. "Let's get the (appropriations) bills done and go from there."
A focus now, he said, should be on normalizing operations at the nation's airports before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest air travel times of the year. The shutdown had led to a reduction in flights at airports across the country, including Salt Lake City International Airport, to alleviate the pressure on air traffic controllers, working without pay during the shutdown.
"We've got to get things ramped up to Thanksgiving travel," Moore said. He feared a lingering shutdown would have hampered travel, preventing families from getting together.
The measure inked on Wednesday by Trump includes funding for the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction and legislative operations, according to Politico. Other agencies had already been funded through Jan. 30, the new deadline lawmakers now face.
