Mike Pompeo: “Thank you for yielding. I appreciate the time. I imagine, Ms. Jenkins, you're hearing some of the same things as I am as…”

“Thank you for yielding. I appreciate the time. I imagine, Ms. Jenkins, you're hearing some of the same things as I am as you return to Kansas and talk to our constituents. This is serious business. We're standing here tonight with a partial government shutdown, and I don't think anybody thinks that's the best outcome for America. I think we all want America's essential vital services and systems to be functioning and up and running, but what we're dealing with in the Affordable Care Act is also a very serious matter. It's very real. It's not a game. I've heard some across the aisle suggest that by trying our best to fund the pieces of the government that matter and not fund the Affordable Care Act, we're taking hostages. I find that language, in one sense, offensive. But most importantly, I find it inaccurate. It doesn't represent what we're trying to do. We're not taking hostages. What we're trying to do is take account of what our constituents are telling us, and I want to talk about that just a little bit. I tried to get online yesterday myself to enroll in the Affordable Care Act. I was met with a bit of a blank screen and a long pause. I did manage to get through to the 1-800 phone number that was provided on the screen. I was told if I stayed on the line, 20 minutes later I'd get a live voice. Some hour and 40 minutes later, I did manage to get a live voice. There was great music in the interim. And I got a live voice.…”