Republican freshmen urge House to avoid government shutdown

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eleven first-term Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday appealed to party colleagues to back away from a threatened government closure on Oct. 1, citing concerns about the political and economic costs of such an action. "We are writing today to express our strong support for a funding resolution that will avoid another unnecessary and harmful government shutdown," said Ryan Costello, Elise Stefanik, Mimi Walters and eight other signers of