KEENE, NH – Members of New Hampshire’s federal delegation are all in agreement when it comes to the stop-gap bill passed on Saturday that averts a government shutdown and keeps operations open for another 45 days.

Senator’s Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), also a democrat, released statements following the deal, and all expressed their relief, but said that things never should have progressed so close to the point of a shut down.

“On behalf of Granite Staters and all Americans, I’m relieved this bill was passed to keep the government open and prevent significant harm to families and small businesses in New Hampshire but make no mistake: it should never have come to this kind of brinkmanship,” Shaheen said.

Shaheen is also slamming her republican colleagues for the lack of new funding to support Ukraine.

“While this temporary fix will ensure federal workers and service members get their paychecks and families can continue to access critical services, I’m deeply disappointed this stop-gap bill does not include any new aid to support Ukraine’s war efforts,” She continued. “Republican refusal to do so only emboldens Putin and his efforts to reshape the world order, which could continue to have severe impacts right here at home, such as higher fuel and food prices, creating hardship for American families.”

Hassan agrees, calling the refusal to include the funding outrageous.

“Republicans finally stopped playing politics to join us in passing legislation to continue government funding and provide critical disaster relief, but it is outrageous that they refused to include funding for Ukraine — endangering our own national security as well as the Ukrainian people,” Hassan said. “Ukrainians are fighting for what we have – freedom and autonomy. If Putin or other autocrats are emboldened by a successful invasion of Ukraine, we could see future aggression across the globe, including targeted at NATO countries and other places that the United States is committed to supporting with our military directly — potentially putting American lives on the line.”

Meanwhile, Kuster says she has consistently called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to work with democrats to fund the government and will continue to do so.

“Unfortunately, he ignored these calls and continued catering to the most extreme wings of his party, refusing to work in a bipartisan way until the 11th hour. While I’m relieved, we prevented this crisis in the short term for thousands of families across New Hampshire, we should have never gotten that close,” Kuster said. “In the weeks and months ahead, Congress will continue to negotiate long-term government funding. In those conversations, I will keep urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to fund the government, lower the deficit and shrink our national debt, enhance border security, and more to deliver for New Hampshire.”

The next funding deadline looms on November 17th.