Political Quotes

“when I conclude my comments, I am going to ask consent that I can allow Senator Van Hollen to speak, and then I will speak after him for the purposes of a unanimous consent request. There is no such thing as a good shutdown. I certainly was encouraged to hear the progress we made about half an hour ago, when the majority leader and the Democratic leader talked about discussions that are taking place. We hope that later this evening we will have an agreement that can pass the Senate and the House and be signed by the President. I want to make this clear. Any government shutdown is unacceptable. It costs the taxpayers money. It inconveniences the public, and it is certainly not fair to our Federal workforce. This particular shutdown would affect 800,000 of our employees, our Federal workforce. About half would be asked to work but would not get a paycheck, and about half would be furloughed without compensation. I am very proud and Senator Van Hollen is very proud of the Federal workforce that live in the State of Maryland, but my colleagues should recognize that 85 percent of the Federal employees live and work outside of the Washington, DC, area. This affects each one of our States and people who are working in each one of our States. I also wish to point out that over 30 percent of the Federal workforce are veterans who have already served our country in uniform and are now serving their country as public servants in the Federal workforce.…”