ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - House lawmakers convened in Washington on Wednesday for a vote that could end the longest government shutdown in American history.

All 14 of Georgia’s House lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill. The chamber hasn’t been in session for over six weeks – the entire 43-day duration of the shutdown – while they waited for their counterparts in the Senate to pass a version of the budget. That happened earlier this week, sending the bill, and the responsibility, back to the House side.

“It’s time to get back to work, and excited to get back at it,” said Congressman Mike Collins, a Republican from Georgia’s 10th Congressional District. “There was no reason for it to ever be shut down to begin with.”

At the center of the drawn-out shutdown were Affordable

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