It is overdue, but the federal government is open and the debt ceiling has been raised. This is a welcome development for our country, but the damage caused is irreversible and was unnecessary.
Without repealing, delaying or defunding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, reasonable elected officials were able to avert a crisis that would have plunged the United States into another economic abyss, possibly worse than the Great Recession.
We have ended the nightmare that took an enormous toll on millions of Americans, and I hope those who led us there will never do so again.
Furloughed federal employees can get back to work, and mothers, children, veterans and seniors will once again receive vital services that should have never been taken away.
I hope the resolution to this shutdown is representative of the progress Democrats and Republicans will be able to make during the upcoming budget negotiations. We can solve the great problems facing our country, but we must resist the political extremists who will undoubtedly attempt to hijack the process again.
Politics is the art of compromise, and rather than waging futile battles, both parties need to come together for the good of our country.
The deal we passed should have been approved by Sept. 30, but now that the shutdown is over and default has been avoided, we must get back to conducting the business of the American people and solving the many important problems Americans need us to fix.
I am glad we can finally move forward and put this sad and unnecessary chapter behind us.
Grace Meng
U.S. Representative
(D-Flushing)
