Valley representatives Gray and Valadao weigh in on government funding fight

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – With just hours to fund the federal government, valley congressmen David Valadao and Adam Gray spoke out Monday.

The two are divided, like their parties, on what needs to be done before the government shuts down this Wednesday.

“These are items that aren’t going to happen, they’re not legitimate requests,” said Congressman Valadao

“I think it’s a reasonable request and I think we ought to get behind a bi-partisan solution here,“ said Congressman Gray.

Valadao and house republicans say they want a no-strings-attached short-term spending bill to keep the government open through mid-November. 

“They are looking for these high-priced items that haven’t been negotiated, haven’t been vetted, is a horrible strategy,” Valadao continued.

Meanwhile, Gray and Democrats want the bill to include extensions to health care tax credits.

“Over 60,000 people in my district on the verge of losing some semblance of their healthcare, tens of thousands of people impacted with premium increases on their health care, we just have to do better,” Gray explained.

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement the Trump Administration has signaled there could be mass firings of employees in federal agencies, with many also being furloughed until a deal is done.

The last time the government shut down was back in 2018, during President Trump’s first term; it was the longest in U.S history, spanning 35 days.