SALT LAKE CITY — A "stopgap" funding bill was approved in Congress Saturday evening, just hours before the midnight deadline to fund the U.S. government for the next 45 days.
While we temporarily avoided another shutdown, people here in Utah are growing frustrated — including a local union leader who says he can't believe we're here once again.
Ron Johnson represents the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). He also works as a care technician at the Salt Lake Veterans Administration Hospital.
And while he loves his job, Johnson does not like what seems to be a dangerous déjà vu happening again in Washington, D.C.
He has three simple words for congressional leaders in our nation's capital: "Enough is enough!"
Johnson has been doing his job for about a dozen years at the VA hospital. He says he and his fellow employees love their jobs, but they hate the way their lives can hang in the balance every time bickering in Congress leads to a showdown over spending and the possibility of a government shutdown.
"Our fears, and our biggest ones, is the impact it's going to have on our families. Because most everyone I know of works pretty much paycheck to paycheck," he said. "Take that paycheck away and people are going to be hurting."
The last prolonged government shut down lasted roughly 5 weeks. Johnson says that proved to be devastating for some union members who had to quit their federal job and find other employment.
"If my brothers and sisters are not getting a paycheck, why is Congress?" he said. "It just doesn't make any sense to me and it hasn't every time we go through this."
Johnson says the country and his union cannot go on like this, and changes need to be made — starting at the ballot box.
"This can't be the norm. If this is going to be the norm, it's time for the people of Utah and the rest of the United States to wake up and get rid of leaders that we have," he said. "It's time for some new leadership!"
Johnson is extremely passionate about his role as a union rep and his job at the V.A. He just wishes that he and thousands of others wouldn't have to go through this drama seemingly every few years.
