Norma Torres: “Since the 116th Congress took office this January, I have voted five times to open up the Federal Government. And today…”

“Since the 116th Congress took office this January, I have voted five times to open up the Federal Government. And today I rise in support of the conference report. I want to congratulate the conferees, and specifically, Chairman Lowey, Ranking Member Granger, and the other conferees for their hard work, for coming together, and spending so much time to ensure that we have a bill moving forward that opens up our government. This is a bipartisan statement about who we are as a country. This was a fight to reclaim the country that welcomed me as a little girl from Guatemala, to make sure that this country welcomes other children who come here fleeing violence and poverty. This bill will prevent another stupid, costly government shutdown, and it is time that we give our Federal workers some certainty, move past this crisis, and get down to the business of governing. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.”