Dear Friend,  Due to House Republicans’ inability to pass legislation to fund the government, we are counting down the days to a government shutdown. Ironically, the countdown to the shutdown has occupied more time in Congress than actually doing something to avert it.  I’ve been in Congress long enough for this drill to be eerily familiar. What is different this time is that it is entirely avoidable. In the spring, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy struck a deal to raise the debt ceiling and agreed on spending levels. 149 House Republicans and more than 80 percent of House Democrats voted for this legislation. But Kevin McCarthy is reneging this agreement just months after passing it to give into extreme demands from the most right-wing of his party.  Rather than governing responsibly, Republicans are putting forward proposals that have no real chance of being enacted. This hinders the serious work that needs to be done to fund the government and could ultimately lead to a shutdown.It is the American people who will pay the price. A shutdown will have serious impacts across the country. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed. No new social security or veterans’ benefits can be awarded. The Small Business Administration is not able to issue any new loans. The Food and Drug Administration may pause routine inspections. The consequences could be even greater as the shutdown drags on.  This is no way to govern and it shouldn’t be this hard. We roughly know what the final budget is going to be, there’s an agreement that people have voted for, and it is a predictable, reasonable path forward. The sooner Speaker McCarthy can recognize this, the better off Oregonians and the country will be.