SPOKANE, Wash. -- Eastern Washington's Congressional representative is calling on Democrats to approve a spending plan and reopen the government.

The federal government shutdown began Wednesday after lawmakers could not reach a deal by the midnight deadline.

Eastern Washington Representative Michael Baumgartner issued a statement saying, in part, Americans deserve a government that spends wisely.

The full statement can be seen below:

Democrat leadership should take a step back from this reckless course. Their tactics will be unsuccessful and important federal employees, our service members, and the American taxpayer will suffer as a result of this chaos. I applaud Democrat Senators John Fetterman, Angus King, and Catherine Cortez Masto for doing the right thing to join Republicans by v

See Full Page