Local Lawmakers Take On Tough Questions About Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KDKA) -- A deal is in the works to temporarily end the government shutdown and to avoid a default on the debt.
Senate Democrats and Republicans have cut the deal and House Republican Speaker John Boehner will no longer block consideration of the measure when it gets to the House floor.
But this deal does not repeal or alter Obamacare very much, the key principle for which House Republicans were willing to shut down the government.
So it leaves many Americans wondering, what was this all about in the first place?
KDKA's Jon Delano went to Washington D.C. to ask local members of Congress about the nonsense of this government shutdown and potential default on the debt.
All four local representatives, Democrat Mike Doyle and Republicans Tim Murphy, Mike Kelly and Keith Rothfus say they understand the public's frustration.
"What I would say to the folks back in Pittsburgh, is that I am every bit as angry and frustrated as many of them are. People want to see us work together," U.S. Rep. Doyle says.
"I have been in the private sector most of my life and I'm used to negotiating. And to come here and see one side not show up for negotiating, that's very frustrating," U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus says.
The blame game continues from all sides.
"I don't know if it's a matter of being crazy. I know it's a matter of being thoughtful and being able to take a look at this. After today, we're going to see something that's going to pivot very quickly away from Congress not being able to get along. A President who refuses to talk with Congress, he's kind of made us irrelevant," U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly says.
Some say the influence of outside groups has poisoned the atmosphere.
"You also have a lot of outside influences making a lot of threats to members of Congress. These groups work to raise their money by coming up with catastrophic threats," U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy says.
These threats seem to take priority over the public back home and will only get worse.
This crisis will not really be over since the deal only funds the government until early next year. We may find ourselves in the same situation come January or February.
The first vote on the bill is expected in the U.S. Senate sometime early this evening. Then the House will take up the bill.
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