WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this afternoon from her office in Washington:

"I came to Washington to shutdown Obamacare, not the federal government. That's why here in the House, we immediately passed a bill before the shutdown that would provide payment to our troops AND civilian defense employees. This was signed into law by President Obama and has been in effect since Monday, yet the president is refusing to enforce it. Therefore, these Fort Bragg furloughs should not be occurring."

"Fort Bragg employees across my district are suffering because the president wants to inflict pain and play political games with people's lives. This is unconscionable and needs to end now."

Click here to read House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon's letter to Defense Secretary Hagel from yesterday.

Click here to read the article on this in today's edition of the Fayetteville Observer.