Political Quotes

“we are in day 27 of a government shutdown--27 days where the government is shut down--and yet we are here. You are presiding. We have pages on the floor. There are people in the Gallery. There are people coming and going. We have Capitol Hill police that are in the area. And it just kind of feels like business as usual. We are going to have committee hearings this week. We are going to be voting on judges and some CRAs. And it just kind of feels like business as usual, and yet it is so not business as usual. We are pretending that everything is OK. We are pretending that people are not being impacted by this shutdown. I am looking at the people that are here recording this, that will be working to process this Record. None of them are getting paid. The Capitol Hill police that I visit with on a daily basis outside and inside are not getting paid. And they share with me that: Well, I still had to drive in. I have a 40-minute drive to get here, so I have to fill up my car. I have kids at home that are young kids, and they go to childcare. This is a Capitol Hill police officer saying this. And he says: So I still have to pay the childcare provider even though I have to come in and I am not getting paid. So my expenses are not going away. Yet every single one of them says: I am not complaining. I am not complaining. I have signed up for this. This is my mission, and I will be here. They are proud to be here. But what is wrong is that their families are stressed.…”