VA lawmakers agree they want to avoid a government shutdown, but disagree on how

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The countdown is on toward a government shutdown. 

If Congress doesn’t approve a resolution before October 1, thousands of federal workers could be furloughed or forced to work without pay. 

With the shutdown looming, Republican Congressman John McGuire (VA-05) is urging the Senate to support a measure previously passed by the House of Representatives to keep the government open. McGuire said the measure would ensure federal workers and America’s military get paid. 

“Our men and women in our military often risk their life or give their life to keep us safe, and the least we could do is pay them,” McGuire told 8News.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Mark Warner's (VA) office told 8News that Warner also wants to keep the government open, and Warner actually voted for a resolution that would have done just that earlier this month.

Warner said at the time that the measure, unlike the resolution passed by the House, would “prevent the expiration of essential health care tax credits and reverse the Trump cuts to Medicaid and hospitals that will raise health care costs for all Americans.”

“Let’s grapple with this affordability crisis, keep the government open, make sure healthcare costs don’t go up dramatically, and then find other ways to bring down grocery costs and others,” Warner said on Tuesday.