He’s a good man:
Under relentless attacks from Republicans for blocking a vote on a bill that would have kept the federal government open, Sen. Sherrod Brown said he would donate his paycheck during the shutdown to an Ohio diaper bank which helps low-income families.
Brown, D-Ohio, announced the move in a statement Saturday on the first full day of a partial shutdown of the federal government. Senate Democrats have insisted that any spending measure provide legal protections for the children of undocumented immigrants, a program known as the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA.
Senate Republicans Friday night could not muster 60 votes to force a floor on a bill that would have kept the government open for the next four years and extend a children’s health program which provides coverage to nearly 220,000 low-income Ohio children.
Even though Brown is a supporter of the program – the Children’s Health Insurance Program known as CHIP – he sided with 43 other Senate Democrats to block passage of the temporary spending bill.
Senate Republican candidates Jim Renacci and Mike Gibbons assailed Brown’s move. Blaine Kelly, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party quipped “that’s the least he can do after flip flopping on CHIP and putting the health insurance of a quarter million Ohio children at risk.”
Of course Brown ain’t having it:
“It is time for Republican leaders to stop holding CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) children and families hostage to their failed budget process. These are not bargaining chips – they are kids – more than 209,000 in Ohio and nine million nationwide. And they are depending on us to do our jobs,” Brown said in a press release. “Senators should not be paid if they can’t do their jobs. While I continue to work with Republicans and Democrats to reopen our government, I will donate my take-home pay to an Ohio charity that works every day to help struggling families.”
Let’s make Republicans pay for shutting down the government. Click here to donate and get involved with Brown’s re-election campaign.