WASHINGTON, DC - After the House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution which included provisions to defund Obamacare, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

In another exercise in futility, House leadership has decided to attack the Affordable Care Act yet again and to perpetuate the devastating cuts caused by the sequester.

"By seeking to defund the Affordable Care Act, this Continuing Resolution would prevent millions of Americans from getting affordable healthcare and take away the landmark protections the law provides. This bill also continues the harmful sequester cuts to Head Start, child care, education and other vital services. These cuts will also slow our overall economic growth and have a direct impact on local economies because workers are being laid off or taking home less in the paychecks.

"At this critical point in our nation's economic recovery, we must not shortchange our future by denying millions of Americans health security or eliminating jobs and vital services.

"The House knows full well that the Senate will not pass, and the President not will sign, any Continuing Resolution that defunds the healthcare law. House leadership is wasting valuable time when they should be focusing on issues that matter to working people. This must include passing a budget that invests in vital services to get the economy moving and passing commonsense immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship that will help our economy and bring 11 million aspiring Americans out of the shadows. The time for immigration reform is now."

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