On 1st Significant Vote, Sen. Jones sides with GOP

Senator Jones was one of a handful of Democratic U.S. Senators to support a Republican measure to continue funding the Federal Government. It was opposed by most Democrats because the resolution did not support the immigration measure called DACA. The resolution failed, and some government operations were halted at Midnight as a result.

Alabama political watchers were interested in Jones’ vote, to see if he  would stick with his party. Here’s the statement he released, which never used the word “republican” or “democrat”:

“Today, I voted to keep the federal government open past midnight tonight and to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program – finally – for six more years. Let me be clear: millions of our most vulnerable young Americans have been used as political pawns in this process, as the Children’s Health Insurance Program sat in limbo for four months leading up to this debate. At the end of the day, we all know this is not how government is supposed to run but I made a commitment to more than 150,000 children and their families who depend on Alabama’s CHIP program, ALL Kids. Because of CHIP and the many families in Alabama and around our country that would be put in jeopardy by a government shutdown, I felt compelled to vote yes.

“We need a long-term budget in place that reflects our values and we know that this bill falls short. Among other things, this short-term bill failed to provide a lifeline for health care access in rural communities, did not fully address the opioid epidemic or the looming crisis with pensions, did not protect DREAMers, and did not fully fund our military. We have a responsibility to put the interests of the people before partisan in-fighting and I remain hopeful that we can find common ground and end this shutdown immediately.”