Protesters Order Fitzpatrick to Help End Shutdown

In the hours leading up to a rally outside Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick's Langhorne office, it appeared that a deal was close to tend the 15-day shutdown of the federal government. It would have been good news for the protesters that want to see the thousands of federal employees back to work and earning paychecks, even if it stole their thunder a bit.

"We would have held the protest anyway," said Robin Stelly of Keystone Progress, one of the organizations that rallied people to meet at the offices of Republican lawmakers throughout Pennsylvania and present a cease and desist order that demanded an end to the shutdown. "This is about more than the shutdown. This is about the culture in Washington, D.C. that uses the American families and workers as pawns in their games."

The one thing that the protesters could rely on, though, is the unreliability of Congress as the deal fell through. The house bill, which Fitzpatrick supported, would open the federal government through Feb. 7 while a congressional committee works on a more long-term deal. In exchange, several aspects to the new healthcare laws, including the medical device tax, would be delayed.

"The House compromise would make Congress and the President’s appointees live under Obamacare, it would include income verification for Obamacare subsidies which the President has waived, and, chips away at the job-crushing medical device tax," said Fitzpatrick in a statement. "Both Democrats and Republicans have voted for these. Why would anybody negotiating in good faith oppose these provisions which have wide bipartisan support?"

The House deal never made it to the floor, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are reportedly working on another compromise that they hope will make it to the president's desk on Wednesday.

If successful, a deal will put people like Langhorne resident Richard Gennetti back on the clock as he returns to work as a member of the American Federation of Government Employees.

"There are 1,100 employees in Fitzpatrick's district who are working in essential offices with no pay," said Gennetti at the rally. "There are another 5,000 sitting at home eager to get back to work. These are middle class workers who dedicated themselves to a life in public service."

Gennetti and other members of the protest placed the blame for the shutdown squarely on the Tea Party, saying a small group of reactionary politicians are perpetuating a class war.

"The anti-science party is the same party behind this disastrous shutdown," said William Ritter, a retired superintendent of schools in Maryland who moved to Bucks County. "They have shown a callous disregard to the American people that are being harmed."