On October 22, 2013 I received the following email communication from Senator Mary Landrieu regarding the government shutdown situation.
What follows is a unedited copy of that email:
Dear Friend,
I am thankful that I can finally send you this message to let you know that Congress was able to come to an agreement to re-open our government and pay our bills. The agreement requires both sides to come together and negotiate a long-term budget without a looming, manmade threat of an economic crisis.
This entire episode was unnecessary, wrong and reckless.
The antics by a few in the House-including three in our own Louisiana delegation- halted important work and cost our economy an estimated $24 billion.
Our economy, people and country cannot afford any more of these manmade disasters that wreak havoc on our economy and shake the public’s faith in our democracy.
I look forward to working with my colleagues-Republicans and Democrats-to work out a balanced approach that will put our country on a path toward the fiscal stability that we need to grow the economy and expand the middle class in Louisiana and across the country.
I’m proud to have been part of the effort to come to this solution.
Now more than ever, we need leaders who are looking for common ground and to accomplish the important work we have to do: forging a path forward to make flood insurance affordable, building Morganza to the Gulf and working to provide quality and affordable health care that is there when we need it.
All the best,
Mary
Senator Landrieu serves as a member of the powerful U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.