For Immediate Release
January 9, 2019
Contact:
Karen E. T. Garrett
Chief of Communications & Marketing
(202) 585-4313

ASPA Urges An End to the Shutdown

ASPA President Jane Pisano has released the following statement:

Washington, DC - As we now measure the federal government shutdown in weeks—not hours or days—the impact of the executive-congressional stalemate comes into sharper focus. The public increasingly realizes that the shutdown is more than a matter of sharp differences in public policy. Its ramifications on the delivery of public services that the American people expect and deserve are becoming clear and dire.

For 80 years, the American Society for Public Administration has stood at the forefront of advancing excellence in public service and shining a spotlight on the outstanding work that hundreds of thousands of public servants perform every minute of every day. It is their work, done exceptionally well and without fanfare, that processes our tax returns, manages our national parks system, ensures the safety of our skies and delivers critical services to our most vulnerable populations. Surely there must be other ways to settle policy differences than to deprive Americans of essential public services.

Now is the time for our public leaders to lead and enable our public servants to serve. ASPA urges the Administration and Congress to bring this shutdown to an immediate end, resolve their differences in a manner that reflects our democratic values and honor those whose work is so critical for the current and future well-being of our country and its citizens.

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About the American Society for Public Administration:
ASPA is the leading interdisciplinary public service organization that advances the art, science, teaching and practice of public and nonprofit administration. Learn more at www.aspanet.org