Texas Democrats are taking aim at U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott over the threat of government shutdown.
During a conference call, state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte of San Antonio spoke out against Cruz' efforts to "defund Obamacare," which may lead to a government shutdown.
"If he does that how long will a shutdown last?" Van De Putte said. "I mean, can we take a week? Maybe. But once you get past two weeks you start having major impact into to Texas families."
Van De Putte also singled out Abbott for supporting Cruz’s efforts and not having a better solution other than saying "No" to the Affordable Care Act and then coming up with hurdles for its implementation.
Van De Putte urged them to come up with other solutions and figure out how to make it work for Texas and those that will be most affected by the shutdown.
"The families who live in your community that would particularly hard hit would be those whose direct salary comes from the Department of Defense -- that’s veterans, those are disabled, those are spouse of those killed in action and our national guard," Van De Putte said.
Both Van De Putte and Congressman Mark Veasey of Fort Worth, who also spoke during the Texas Democratic Party’s conference call, are calling on Abbott to oppose a government shutdown.
