Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, issued the following statement in anticipation of this evening’s vote to reopen the federal government and fund federal agencies through January 15, 2014, as well as prevent a default on the nation’s debt obligations by temporarily extending the debt limit until February 7, 2014. The bipartisan agreement will give both sides time to work out a long-term solution to address the national debt and deficits. Upton said he plans to vote in favor of the agreement, which is expected to be approved this evening by both the House of Representatives and Senate.

“Now it is time to put Humpty Dumpty back together again and turn away from the government dysfunction that has crippled our country. I stand committed to working in a bipartisan manner to seek common-sense reforms that can help our still struggling economy. No question that we had to avoid default and pay our bills, but we are long overdue to cut reckless spending and reduce the deficit. There are plenty of issues like the Farm Bill, immigration, energy independence, and the new health care law that need constructive attention rather than inaction.”