On the recordJanuary 17, 2019
I thank the ranking member, Ms. Granger, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am sad to again rise in opposition to this bill. It is now 27 days into this shutdown and almost 1 million people are out of work, and we are still bringing bills to the floor that have no chance at all of passing. It is well past time for a compromise to be found, but, Mr. Speaker, that requires a reasonable negotiation. Many Members in this Chamber, myself included, have expressed frustration over this political process and the lack of negotiation taking place here in the people's House when President Trump has made it completely clear--in fact, he has offered negotiated positions and compromise, with no response from my good friends across the aisle. The leader, I think, made some great points about our adversaries, our peer adversaries like China and Russia, and why this shutdown is a bad thing, which is why I ask them to come to the table and negotiate. {time} 1115 Everything he said, almost everything he said, I would agree with. Those are the reasons we need to come together and reasonably negotiate. And I think at the basis of all that, we should remember what this legislative body is all about, which is security for and service to our hardworking, taxpaying citizens. We are 435 different voices from different walks of life, and we know the perfect agreement is rarely possible. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
