Jared Huffman: “I associate myself with Mr. McGovern's remarks condemning the unconscionable silence we hear across the aisle in the…”

“I associate myself with Mr. McGovern's remarks condemning the unconscionable silence we hear across the aisle in the wake of these pardons of violent criminals, seditionist thugs who should never be pardoned or celebrated. Yet, that is exactly what is happening even here in the building that they desecrated. Turning to the bill at hand, one thing I hope we can agree on, which is clearly missing from this bill, is a permanent pay raise for Federal wildland firefighters. These brave men and women put everything on the line. They deserve to be paid fair wages for the long hours, dedication, and sacrifice they are putting out. The good news is that under that Democratic leadership, Congress approved a pay raise in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bad news is the authority to continue paying Federal wildland firefighters the wages they deserve is about to run out because of partisan politics. Thanks to Republicans, the entire Federal Government is operating under a continuing resolution, a short-term patch that will expire March 23. Good luck hiring a Federal firefighter right now, being underpaid to start with and having a looming pay cut because of partisan politics just weeks away. Fixing this should be an unequivocal bipartisan priority, and we have an opportunity to do it right now. That is why two of my Democratic colleagues filed amendments to address these issues.…”