Valley congressmen react as House passes bill to end record shutdown

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- "What's frustrating is we're right back to where we were the day that the House passed the continuing resolution back on September 19," Congressman Tom McClintock said.

On Day 43 of the shutdown, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a government funding package with a 222 to 209 vote on Wednesday night on Capitol Hill.

The final tally resulted in two republicans voting against the bill and six democrats, including Representative Adam Gray (CA-13), who broke from party lines voting in favor of the funding bill to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

RELATED: Valley representative Adam Gray breaks from Democrats on government shutdown vote

Ahead of Wednesday's "yes" vote, Action News spoke to a handful of Valley leaders to hear their concerns and reactions.

"The sustainable solutions in government are always bi-partisan," Gray said.

"My hope is that this will never ever happen again," Congressman Vince Fong said.

RELATED: Central Valley congressmen weigh-in on House vote to end government shutdown

Following the vote, Fong released a statement saying in part, "Today, I voted again just as I did nearly two months ago, to open the government and get essential services back up and running in our community and across the nation."

Democratic Congressman Jim Costa voted against the bill. His district represents parts of Fresno and Tulare counties.

In a statement to Action News, Costa said, "This bill puts too many hardworking people in my district at risk, forcing them to choose between putting food on the table or paying for healthcare. In November, this impacted nearly 30% of households in my district."

"The crisis has been met and passed and when the sun rises tomorrow, the federal government will be open again," McClintock said.

Wednesday's legislation will fund the government through Jan. 30 and provide funding for some government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Valley leaders add that the process to reopen the government will take time.

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