As Trump Shutdown Drags On, Sen. Murray Urges Senate Republicans To Act In Best Interests of Families and Pass Bipartisan Legislation to Reopen All Federal Agencies
Sen. Murray: “With
each passing day, it’s clear just how much the Trump Shutdown is
hurting families in every community in every state in this country. And
no prime-time address or fear-mongering trip to the border is going to
change that reality”
Sen.
Murray cites stories from air traffic controllers in WA, who remain on
the job but feel the stress of not knowing when they’ll receive their
next paycheck
**Watch Sen. Murray’s Speech Here**
(Washington, D.C.) –U.S.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) today spoke on the Senate floor to urge her
Republican colleagues to work with Democrats to pass legislation that
would end the Trump Shutdown and fully reopen the federal government.
Right now, paychecks for hundreds of thousands of U.S. federal workers
are frozen, while millions more Americans are increasingly affected by
the federal agencies that can no longer carry out basic government
functions. Senate Republican leaders have yet to bring up House-passed
legislation for a vote, which, if passed, would send a bill to President
Trump’s desk to reopen the government and end the unnecessary shutdown.
In her speech, Sen. Murray said, “…I urge
my Republican colleagues, make it your priority to work to with us to
fund our government and end this completely unnecessary crisis. This
started out as a Trump Shutdown, but with every day that passes that the
Republican Senate won’t act, Republican leaders take more and more
ownership, along with every Republican Senator who supports them.”
Full remarks as prepared for delivery:
“I come to the floor today on what is now
Day 19 of the Trump Shutdown – an epic presidential temper tantrum that
forces the rest of us to once again, plead with the president to stop
hurting the American families he promised to represent. This time, it’s
because President Trump marched our country right into a government
shutdown, paralyzing federal agencies and preventing them from carrying
out the most basic government functions.
“And what does this president have to show
for it? Eight hundred thousand hard-working Americans, some off the job
and some still asked to come in, their bills mounting, and no money
coming in. That includes air traffic controllers in my home state of
Washington, who wrote me letters. They don’t question whether they will
keep showing up to do the job they love, a job that keeps the public
safe. But they have no idea when they’ll get their next paycheck. And
that means stress—stress about providing for their families, stress
about being able to pay their mortgages, pay for preschool, pay down
post-Christmas bills. They are forced to bear the brunt of the Trump
Shutdown.
“And it’s not just federal workers.
Thousands of senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, facing
possible eviction as HUD scrambles to figure out how to make housing
payments. Our national parks, the crown jewels of our country, no longer
adequately maintained for public use, while the small businesses right
outside the parks that rely on visitors, like those outside Mount
Rainier National Park, are feeling the pain and cutting back on
staffing. Millions of low-income families are unsure if they’ll receive
the help they need to put food on the table for their children. I could
go on and on but I don’t need to.
“With each passing day, it’s clear just
how much the Trump Shutdown is hurting families in every community in
every state in this country. And no prime-time address or fear-mongering
trip to the border is going to change that reality. So, to President
Trump, enough with the tweets, enough with the fact-twisting. It’s time
to stop playing politics and finally agree to end the shutdown you
began. Stop trying to bully your way out of your mess.
“And to my Senate colleagues, in case it’s
not crystal clear, ending this nightmare is not complicated. Three
weeks ago, in this very spot, we passed a bill that kept the federal
government open, without funding for Trump’s wasteful wall, the one he
promised Mexico would pay for. That bill was very simple—it was all
about keeping our government open and avoiding a completely unnecessary
crisis. Democrats supported this bill, Republicans supported it—in fact,
it was unanimous. Because we know that the people we represent have no
interest in elected officials playing games with their lives and
livelihoods. And now the Democratic House has followed suit and passed a
bill that would do the same.
“Yet that simple solution –keeping our
government funded, on schedule, without interruption-- has been stopped
in its tracks by President Trump, who apparently sees no problem with
keeping the government shut down for months, even years, he said, to
fulfill his shallow campaign promise that everyone knows will do nothing
to truly address our broken immigration system and keep our country
safe. So what we have here is a crisis of the president’s own making,
from top to bottom.
“And I for one find it simply outrageous
that instead of searching for real solutions, or working with Congress
in good faith, the president is dug in, demanding American taxpayers
bail him out to save face. Members of this Congress were elected to
make decisions that help the American people. We were not sent here to
provide cover to the president.
“So I urge my Republican colleagues,
make it your priority to work to with us to fund our government and end
this completely unnecessary crisis. This started out as a Trump
Shutdown, but with every day that passes that the Republican Senate
won’t act, Republican leaders take more and more ownership, along with
every Republican Senator who supports them.
“Some Republicans here in the Senate
are already standing up and saying they want to work with us to stand
up to President Trump and end this shutdown, and they would like the
opportunity to vote to do so. But not enough yet—and the clock is
ticking.
“So I say this to Republican
leaders: Work with us to restore certainty to the American people – from
the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are being forced to
forgo their paycheck, to the small business owners, farmers, seniors and
low-income families, to the air traffic controllers—all those people
whose lives have been unnecessarily thrown into chaos and who deserve a
fully functioning government. The President of the United States may be
throwing a tantrum and playing political games—but the people we
represent, and our country as a whole, deserve a whole lot better.
“Thank you. I yield the floor.”
