Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson joined Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leadership at a press conference in Washington to address the ongoing government shutdown and its effects on national parks. The event, held on October 22, marked the 22nd day of what some House Republicans have labeled the “Schumer Shutdown.”
During his remarks, Simpson stated, “House Republicans did not shut the government down. We voted to keep the government open. It’s the House and Senate Democrats that are voting to keep the government shut down…We gave them [Democrats] exactly what they wanted: a clean CR, no gimmicks, no policy riders, and short-term…That’s exactly what they got, and surprisingly, they voted against it.”
Simpson also discussed how the current administration is handling access to national parks during the shutdown. He contrasted this with previous shutdowns by saying, “The [Trump] Administration is trying to keep our national parks open. Unlike the Obama Administration during the 2013 shutdown, when they actually put tape around the World War II monument so that visitors and veterans could not go in and visit…they [the Obama Administration] tried to make it as painful as possible. The Trump Administration is trying to do just the reverse – they’re trying to keep the parks and our public lands open and make it as painless as possible… I applaud this Administration for their efforts to mitigate the impacts that this shutdown is going to have on our national parks.”
He further emphasized a need for legislative change in Congress’s budget process: “You’ve all heard us as Appropriations, and all Republicans, say we need to get back to regular order…We haven’t done regular order for about 15 years. This Leadership team behind me has moved us in that direction more than any other leadership team I have seen…You can’t [get back to regular order] overnight – it takes time. This Leadership team has moved us in that direction, and we will get back to doing our appropriations process the way it should be done…But we can’t do that when the government is shut down…We need to open the government back up, get rid of the Stupid Schumer Shutdown, and let us do our job.”
Mike Simpson represents Idaho’s 2nd district in Congress—a position he has held since 1999 after succeeding Mike Crapo. Before serving in Congress, he was a member of Idaho’s House of Representatives from 1984 until 1998. Simpson was born in Burley, Idaho in 1950 and now resides in Idaho Falls. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in 1972.
