ICYMI: AFL-CIO, Honest Arizona, MoveOn Demand Ciscomani, Schweikert Stop Unpopular Cuts, Keep Gov't Open

PHOENIX — Members of the AFL-CIO, MoveOn and Honest Arizona protested outside of Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert's offices earlier this week to demand that they keep government open and end their long records of voting to cut access to health care, clean water, and rebates designed to lower energy costs.

Schweikert voted to shut the government down on Tuesday. The last time the government shutdown came up for a vote in September, Congressman Ciscomani voted for across the board cuts that would have impacted everything from health care access for rural Arizonans, support for seniors on fixed incomes, and job training for workers. In May, Ciscomani and Schweikert both voted for the “Default on America” Act that would have increased costs for working people, including child care costs, utility costs, housing costs, and health care costs; reduced veterans’ access to health care; delayed the wait time for Social Security assistance for Arizonans. 

According to KGUN9 in Tucson: 

“‘We're here to remind our congressman [Ciscomani] that we cannot use our veterans as a pawn in this game," Ryan Kelly, an organizing specialist for the Arizona AFL-CIO, told KGUN 9.

‘A lot of people don't realize that, you know, federal workers, of course, span the country and over a third of those workers are veterans themselves. And so when we have a government shutdown, we're hurting veterans directly,’ said Kelly.”

“Congressman Ciscomani and Schweikert keep kicking the can on funding the government in the hope that they can enact their unpopular and harmful cuts that will only make life more expensive for hardworking Arizonans,” said Andrea Moreno, Executive Director of Honest Arizona. “It's time for them to put their partisan wishlist aside, fund the government to support their constituents, and vote against funding bills that raise costs on the rest of us.”

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