Young Oak Kim: “I rise today as Federal servants, civil servants, will check their mail or check their bank accounts and not see the…”

“I rise today as Federal servants, civil servants, will check their mail or check their bank accounts and not see the money that they have earned, the money that they have earned for doing the work of the American people because hundreds of thousands of civil servants--including roughly three quarters of a million furloughed government workers--will sit down at the kitchen table tonight and ask some hard questions: Which bills do we pay? What do we do to cut back? How long can we go without a paycheck? These are tough questions, but they are only being asked because President Trump and Speaker Johnson and others have decided that they would rather plunge our government into a shutdown rather than address the healthcare costs crisis for millions of Americans that are facing, right now, these incredibly challenging debates. Now, there are a lot of stories of our public servants struggling in this moment, and I understand that some of my colleagues haven't had a chance to hear them. So I wanted to come to the floor today to share my own story. I started my career as a public servant, as a State Department officer. I worked for the Federal Government. It was the honor of my lifetime. I emphasize that I was career, not a political, appointee. I swore an oath to the Constitution, and I remember how proud I was to be able to raise my hand and recite that oath.”