Washington, March 29 Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam said on Sunday that the ongoing shutdown crisis is hurting Americans and blamed House Republicans for blocking a bipartisan Senate deal that could have eased airport disruptions.
Subramanyam said the Senate proposal had support across party lines and could have passed in the House if brought to a vote.
"It was a deal that the Senate Republicans passed unanimously, with House Democrats willing to support it," he said, adding, "House Republicans are the only thing standing in the way of ending this airport chaos right now."
The Virginia Democrat rejected claims that the Senate bill failed to fund key agencies.
He said it covered major elements of border operations and visa-related functions.
"That's not how I read it. It funded everything about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), basically, and part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)," Subramanyam added.
The shutdown has led to long queues at airports, with Transportation Security Administration workers unpaid and ICE personnel deployed to assist operations.
Subramanyam said the crisis could have been avoided.
"We didn't get to vote on the Senate proposal at all," he said, adding: "If we had actually voted on it in the House, it would have passed."
He said the decision reflected internal divisions within the Republican Party rather than a lack of bipartisan support.
"That's what leadership decided to do in the Republican Party," he added.
Subramanyam also pointed to growing public frustration over the shutdown and its impact on travel.
"For the average American traveller... they're looking at all this going, am I going to be able to make it to spring break?" he said.
He added that protests across the country reflected wider concerns about government policies.
"I went to six," Subramanyam said, referring to "No Kings" rallies.
"There's so much excitement. There's so much energy."
On foreign policy, he called for Congressional oversight on any decision to deploy US troops abroad.
"This President (Donald Trump) should be coming to Congress now," he said, warning that Americans "deserve to have a say through their Congress".
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