Jon Tester just voted to both end CHIP and shut down the government, denying funding to vital government services, including critical national defense programs.
Tester’s decision to shut down the government for purely political reasons is completely reckless. This shutdown is the result of Tester and his Democrat colleagues’ loyalty to liberal Democratic Party leadership, and comes at the expense of troops, taxpayers and hardworking Americans.
Just last month Tester said CHIP was “a no-brainer & folks in Washington need to be held accountable for playing political games with our children’s lives.” But when he had the chance, Tester voted against a six-year extension to the program, jeopardizing health insurance for 44,688 Montana children.
“Jon Tester had to choose between doing what’s best for Montana and playing partisan games, and he chose the latter,” said NRSC Communications Director Katie Martin. “By voting against extending CHIP, critical funding for our troops and programs families rely on, Tester is once again proving that his loyalty lies with his liberal colleagues in Washington, not with Montana.”