Zoe Lofgren: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as my friend and colleague Representative Swalwell has pointed out, the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as my friend and colleague Representative Swalwell has pointed out, the government shutdown is causing serious damage to our country. The shutdown is putting Americans out of work and hurting the economy--not only the jobs of Federal employees, but the thousands of small businesses who provide goods and services to the government and to government employees who are not spending money that they no longer are getting in paychecks. This harm is being felt across the country by millions of people. The closures impact thousands of important programs and services. We know parks are closed, stopping travel plans. We know that the Small Business Administration is not lending to the tune of a billion dollars a month. Federal business statistics are not being released, leaving us essentially flying blind when it comes to how the economy is doing. Army Corps of Engineers projects are halted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is not reviewing products to keep us safe. The VA is not able to decide claims from veterans. We saw the horrifying news earlier this week that death benefits for members of our armed services and their families were impacted. Meals for seniors are not being served, and children are being thrown out of Head Start. These are real issues. The economy is being held hostage.…”