This afternoon, Ohio Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown voted in favor of a bill to fund the U.S. government until February 8, ending a three-day shutdown.
Members of both parties were quick to blame each other for the political gridlock. In his remarks on the Senate floor, Brown stated that many Senators worked over the weekend to discuss how they might work together. He suggested this could present a path forward for more bipartisan efforts.
“I think we’re reaching a place where we can get serious about negotiations on a whole lot of issues," Brown said.
Brown demanded a bipartisan effort to protect the Affordable Care Act, and pointed to the recent announcement of two Ohio hospital closures, one in Dayton and the other in Massillon.
“The closure of those hospitals I hope isn't just a harbinger of what's to come because of the volatility created in the health care market by this administration and this Congress' attack on the health care market," he said.
Brown added that pensions for union workers across the country could face big cuts due to "Wall Street greed and malfeasance," and that it would take a bipartisan effort to protect those funds.
