President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.
The signing ceremony came just hours after the House passed the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. The Senate had already passed the measure Monday.
Read more: The shutdown is over, but not everything is back to normal
Indiana’s representatives in the U.S. House voted along party lines.
“For 42 days, Democrats held the American people hostage over a $1.5 trillion liberal wish list, inflicting pain on millions for nothing more than political theater. Federal workers, law enforcement officers, and air traffic controllers went without pay. Families who rely on WIC and SNAP saw reduced or delayed assistance,” Republican Rep. Erin Houchin said.
“I came to Washington to fight for Indiana, not to play politics. I’m proud of my Republican colleagues and I appreciate the handful of Democrats who supported ending this madness. It’s time to reopen the federal government and get America back to work.”
The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.
Read more: Hoosiers feel hunger pains with shutdown, lapse in SNAP
Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time.
Republican Rep. Mark Messmer also blasted Democrats for the shutdown.
“Without any regard for the struggles and dire needs of the American people, Democrats shut down the federal government, and brought to a halt paychecks and important benefits families depend upon,” Messmer said in a statement.
“In their quest to push radical leftist ideals, Democrats punished some of our country’s most vulnerable,” he said. “Hoosiers deserve a reliable government they can depend upon and I am relieved that we are finally back in business so our brave troops can get paid and Food Stamp funding can resume.”
Rep. Jim Baird praised the end of what he called the “Democrat shutdown.”
“Democrats’ political games needlessly hurt millions of working families in Indiana and across the country,” he said.
Indiana’s two Democratic members of the U.S. House, Frank J. Mrvan and André Carson, voted against the resolution, citing the need to protect health care subsidies.
Read more: Braun says partial SNAP payments to reach families soon
“Too many times have I witnessed the difficult choice that families often make between choosing between a meal or health care services,” Mrvan said in a statement.
“While I appreciate that this legislation will ensure that emergency food assistance will be released as quickly as possible to children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities, it is wrong to do so at the expense of affordable health care benefits,” he said.
Mrvan said he would keep “working with my colleagues to find a bipartisan agreement that restores the health care tax credits as soon as possible.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
