By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News
(CHICAGO) Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of south suburban Channahon, is criticizing his own party’s handling of the upcoming government shutdown threat. The federal government will shutdown at midnight Friday unless congress approves a stopgap spending measure.
Kinzinger told “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” on WLS that he is frustrated the Republicans who control the House and Senate could not avert the Friday threat, which he says threatens to take attention away from the big Republican victory on tax reform this week.
“This is how we do government, right?”, said Kinzinger. ” I mean, nothing like stepping on our own message right after we get tax signed into law. It’s extremely frustrating. You know part of the problem here is you know there’s groups even within the Republican party that just can’t agree.”
The shutdown threat is real because of a major fight between House and Senate GOP lawmakers over Obamacare payments.
Conservative House Republicans are not happy about an expected push by Senate GOP leaders to add Obamacare subsidy payments to the must-pass year-end bill, and approve a massive disaster aid package without any offsets to other programs.
Kinzinger is confident things will be worked out, but he says this is no way to run a government.
“We always take it right up to the end. Right up to the last second. And by the way, it’s just a continuing resolution for a month we’re not like, solving three years of government financing, so all this drama over a month and so you know ultimately it will end up being something that nobody likes but we take just to keep the government open.”
@ 2017 WLS-AM News