12/25/2018
FOX’S Chad Pergram discusses the first Christmas time government shutdown in over 20 years.
I’m Chad Pergram with the Speaker’s Lobby.
There hasn’t been a government shutdown of any sort during the holidays..since Christmas 1995.
In the fall of 1995 and stretching into early 1996..President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich went toe to toe in a trifecta of government shutdowns which stretched throughout the fall, through the winter and into early January 1996. The sides finally forged an agreement on government funding.
As is customary, there was immediate discussion about a bill to provide furloughed federal workers backpay. Gingrich initially balked..suggesting that Congress shouldn’t approve the measure since the federal workers would be paid..for not working.
We’ve previously seen where “events” expeditiously spark resolution to shutdowns.
Such was the case during the January shutdown. Democrats folded after the public blamed them for the closure.
A wild car chase and shootout at the Capitol in October, 2013 brought to a hasty end a two-and-a-half week shutdown. One U-S Capitol Police officer was injured in the mayhem. Lawmakers argued that police officers were putting their lives on the line to defend the Capitol…even though they weren’t getting paid.
With the Speaker’s Lobby, Chad Pergram. Fox News
Follow Chad on Twitter: @ChadPergram
