BREAKING VIDEO: Heck, Heller Refuse To Take Govt Shutdown Off the Table

Las Vegas, NV — In a very revealing segment on Reno’s KRNV-TV last evening, Congressmen Dean Heller and Joe Heck admitted that forcing a government shutdown is not off the table even though this extreme action could devastate Nevada’s seniors, veterans, taxpayers and the state’s fragile economy.

 

How bad could it be for Nevadans if Heck and Heller forced a shutdown?

 

•         Nearly 400,000 Nevada seniors could be denied their Social Security checks;

•         Almost 250,000 Nevada veterans couldn’t receive their pension or health benefits;

•         Close to 300,000 Nevada seniors could see their Medicare cut off;

•         Nearly one million Nevada taxpayers could be denied their tax refunds.

 

Yet, despite how damaging it could be for Nevada, Heck and Heller refuse to say they will not force a government shutdown and endanger Nevada’s seniors, veterans and taxpayers.

 

 

In the TV segment, Rep. Heck’s office indicated a willingness on the freshman congressman’s part to force a shutdown if his demands aren’t met, saying he “has not made a decision and won’t until he sees a bill”.  

 

Rep. Heller’s spokesman then refused to take a shutdown off the table, even trying to dismiss the idea saying, “the only people discussing a government shutdown are Democrats…”

 

But as a quick Google search shows – Heck and Heller’s refusal to disavow a government shutdown puts them right in line with the leaders of their party:

 

GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Refused to Take Government Shutdown Off The Table. Host: “Are you willing to say right now we’re not going to let the country go into default, and we won’t allow a government shutdown?”

Cantor:  “Chris, look at this now.  The chief executive, the president, is as responsible as any in terms of running this government. The president has a responsibility, as much or more so than Congress, to make sure that we are continuing to function in a way that the people want.”  [Fox News Sunday, 11/7/10]

 

GOP Senator Mike Lee.  “Even if it leads to government default and shutdown?  ‘It’s an inconvenience, it would be frustrating to many, many people and it’s not a great thing, and yet at the same time, it’s not something that we can rule out,’ he says. ‘It may be absolutely necessary.’” [NPR, 10/28/10]

 

GOP House Finance Committee Chair Spencer Bauchus. “I would think when we send the spending bills to the president he will veto them, and then the hard vote will be when he sends them back and we will be faced with another situation where he will probably try to force us to shut government down and we are going to have to be brave this time.”  [The Hill, 1/1/10]

 

Headline: McConnell Won’t Take Shutdown Off The Table.  [Politico, 1/30/11]

 

Republican “Strategist” Dick Morris.  “there is going to be a government shut down just like in 95 and 96 but we’re gonna win it this time.”  [Dick Morris Speech, 8/27/10] 

 

Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. “Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Tuesday that a government shutdown could occur should Republicans attempt to strip funding for the new healthcare law next Congress.  …Should President Barack Obama continue to veto such measures, Gingrich said that the government could close like it did nearly 15 years ago over a budget dispute between the Republican Congress and President Bill Clinton.”A simple majority can refuse to fund. So, if you have Boehner as speaker and Mitch McConnell as majority leader, all you have to do is not write into the appropriations bill the money,” Gingrich said at a breakfast sponsored by The American Spectator and Americans for Tax Reform. “If the president vetoes the appropriations bills, you repass them.” [The Hill 4/13/09]

 

“It is inexcusable for Reps. Heck and Heller to hold a government shut down over the heads of Nevada’s seniors, veterans and taxpayers,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chairman Sam Lieberman.  “By threatening a shutdown, Heck and Heller are threatening to deny Nevada seniors their Social Security checks and Medicare, cut off Nevada veterans from their pensions and block tax relief to Nevada’s taxpayers.”