Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR) voted in favor of the “Senate Amendment to H.R. 531, Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2026,” which reopens the federal government by extending funding at current levels through January 30, 2026. The legislation also provides full-year funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, legislative branch operations, military construction, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bentz commented on his vote and the events leading up to it: “On September 19th, over a month and one-half ago, I joined almost all of my House Republican colleagues (and a single Democrat) in voting for a Continuing Resolution (“CR”) which, if passed by the Senate, would have provided funding for the federal government through November 21st, 2025. It takes a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate to pass this CR. Republicans only have 53 votes. Unfortunately for our nation, most of the Senate Democrats refused to vote to fund the government, and the CR that we had passed in the House failed on a 55 to 45 vote. Thus, without funding, the government shut down on October 1st, the beginning of the nation’s fiscal year. It remained shut down until three days ago, when 8 Democrats joined 52 Republicans in the Senate and passed H.R. 531. Yesterday, I voted for, and the House passed this bill, and the President signed it almost immediately thereafter. The Government is now funded and open, but the consequences of the shutdown will continue to be felt for months. Most of my Democrat colleagues in the House voted to keep the government closed.
It should never have come to this. Our system of government provides a forum and method for resolving disagreements. That forum and method is called Congress and elections. When the Democrats resorted to forcing a shutdown to achieve what they did not have the votes to pass, differences over policy instantly moved from just talk to the very real everyday activities of Americans. This “taking America hostage” tactic to achieve a political outcome is undemocratic, ridiculous, and wrong.
Now that the government is reopening, it’s time to focus on the nine-remaining full-year appropriation bills, access to healthcare, correcting shortfalls in our electrical energy system, and reforming the labyrinth of government regulations that are paralyzing our economy. The “Schumer Shutdown” has cost us 44 valuable days, leaving us little time before the end of the year.
Let’s hope, as we approach the next funding deadline of January 30th, 2026, that those Democrats who just voted to keep the government closed (and that, sadly, would be most of the Democrats in both the House and Senate) come to realize how damaging their shutdown was and that there are far more rational not to mention democratic means of achieving whatever their goals may be.”
Cliff Bentz has represented Oregon’s 2nd district in Congress since replacing Greg Walden in 2021; he previously served in both chambers of Oregon’s state legislature between 2008–2020. Bentz was born in Salem in 1952 and lives in Ontario; he graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a BA before earning his JD from Lewis & Clark College.
