LANSING — Gov. Snyder issued the following statement today about the agreement that ended the federal government shutdown and raised the nation’s debt ceiling:
“The immediate crisis is over, but the underlying issues haven’t been resolved. This agreement only provides a temporary respite. In a few months, our nation and its people could be facing the same crisis again.
“This is a fundamental failure of our political culture. If the shutdown had continued and the nation gone into default, the people in need are the ones who would have paid the highest price. Fighting has replaced serving the people as the top priority in Washington.
“This is unacceptable. Our nation’s toughest problems persist year after year because any efforts to solve them quickly vanish in a quagmire of political infighting. Our nation and its people deserve better.
“Our leaders in Washington should look to Michigan to see how it’s possible to improve the political culture. We’re using an approach that I call ‘relentless positive action.’ That means no blame, no credit, just focus on solving a problem and then move on to the next one.
“Of course, Republicans and Democrats have differing ideas and points of view. That’s to be expected. And sometimes, we have passionate disagreements. But, we find the areas where we agree and build upon them to fix our problems. And, at all times, we keep moving forward.
“Our leaders need to recognize that the system in Washington is broken and needs to be fixed. It’s time for mutual respect and statesmanship to push aside fighting and finger-pointing and create a new political culture devoted to serving the people. Our nation needs its leaders to end their obsession with placing blame and focus on working together to implement solutions.”
