The congressman said he "continues working hard to reduce waste and fraud in the Medicare system." (Creative Commons)

Dr. John Phillip "Phil" Gingrey, a Republican member of the House of Representatives and the Tea Party Caucus, is an integral component to the current government shutdown.

Gingrey is the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 11th congressional district and is an official candidate in the 2014 race for U.S. Senate for Georgia. As of this year, he has served for 10 years. 

Having worked as a pro-life obstetrician and gynecologist for 26 years before entering the political field, Gingrey tends to prioritize healthcare. He currently serves as Chairman of the GOP Doctors Caucus.

Congressman Gingrey is opposed to Obamacare. His platform says that he “continues working hard to reduce waste and fraud in the Medicare system.”

Before the government shut down on Oct. 1, Gingrey had tried to defund or delay Obamacare multiple times. On Sep. 28, Gingrey voted to delay Obamacare for one year and to repeal the medical device tax.

He later was quoted in a press release about his position:

“Delaying Obamacare for one year is the first step towards ensuring it’s permanently delayed,” said Gingrey. “A majority of Americans think Obamacare will make health care in our country worse, and they’re right…It’s now up to them to prevent a government shutdown.” 

The congressman has not yet released a statement about the government shutdown, but Gingrey’s Communication Director Jen Talaber posted a blog on his website blaming the Democratic Party for the government shutdown.  

“As Washington has been run by Democrats for the past five years, it’s become a dysfunctional disaster,” said Talaber. “House Republicans continue working day and night to return the federal government to business as usual and urge the Senate to join us. During this time, certain operations and services will continue and others will be interrupted.”

While Gingrey and his team blame the Democrats for the government shutdown, USC student and Georgia native Mitch King said he finds both parties responsible.

“If there were qualms about Obamacare, they should have been quelled long before the day the measures were to go into effect,” said King. “Their sophomoric actions now are only going to hurt our already struggling economy.”

“Being the son of a government worker, I find the shutdown ridiculous,” said King. “It says to me that we put our faith in these elected officials, but they can’t seem to put aside their personal differences and beliefs [in order to] avoid a shutdown.

The government shutdown went into effect at 12:01 ET on Oct. 1, 2013.  

Reach Staff Reporter Vanessa Wilkins here.