Grassley Calls on Congress to Pass Prevent Government Shutdowns Act

Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Senate President Pro Tempore “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act” Monday, August 3, 2026 VIDEO I’m here to show my support for the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act . Before I do that, I want to express my support for the proposed continuing resolution and thank Senator Collins for her leadership to make sure government doesn’t shut down, if that continuing resolution gets to the president. Now, I do prefer passing 12 appropriations bills. And, while I do that, I can say at the same time, it’s my opportunity to tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us and get the job done to avoid a government shutdown. Funding the federal government is a core responsibility of Congress. The fiscal year begins October 1st each year. If appropriations bills are not signed into law by September 30th, lawmakers and the president must agree on a temporary spending resolution. That’s known as a continuing resolution. That resolution keeps the government open for business. If that fails, the unfunded parts of government shut down. Now, with increasing frequency, the minority party has used the threat or reality of a government shutdown to try and advance partisan political priorities. Over the past 10 years, we have seen five government shutdowns. Three of them, one full shutdown and two partial shutdowns, have occurred in just the past nine months. Unfortunately, it looks like we could be headed for a fourth before the end of the year. History has repeatedly shown that shutting down the government is not only bad policy, it’s bad politics. It has also shown not to be a great bargaining tool. By a bargaining tool, I mean there’s some group of senators, or sometimes an individual senator, who will say, “We’re going to shut the government down until I get some policy that that individual wants or that group of people want.” And you know what? Eventually government opens up, and the bargaining instrument has not served the purpose of the members that shut down the government. It’s a simple fact. It costs taxpayers money to shut down the government and even more to reopen it. And in a time of fiscal crisis, like we have now, you shouldn’t be wasting that kind of money. [When] the government shuts down, it reduces essential services for the American people, erodes trust of the American people in their government and limits the ability of Congress to conduct oversight over federal government operations. I believe Congress needs to stop governing from crisis to crisis , respect the appropriations process and fulfill its constitutional responsibility to fund the government. For that reason, and the reason I’m here today, is to talk about the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act . That act is introduced by Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan. This bill would make government shutdowns a thing of the past by providing an automatic continuing resolution should Congress fail to complete its job of passing appropriations bills on time. Moreover, it would implement rules designed to enforce the commonsense principle that “if Congress doesn’t do its job, Congress doesn’t go home.” Congress needs to work through regular order to fund all the government agencies to avoid our “Groundhog Day” approach to spending each year. Americans deserve better. They should not be asked to pay a price for congressional dysfunction. It is past time that we put an end to the recurring political sideshow of government shutdowns. So, that’s why I say, “Let’s enact the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act by Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan.” -30-