Ben Cardin: “I certainly appreciate the words from Senator Portman. The two of us have been working together since we were in the…”

“I certainly appreciate the words from Senator Portman. The two of us have been working together since we were in the House of Representatives, and we are proud that we have a record of concrete accomplishments, working together across party lines. Sometimes we had to take on the leadership of both of our parties, but we got things done. So I am encouraged by his comments, and I really do believe we can work together to resolve this issue. With that, I would like to yield to my colleague from West Virginia, Senator Manchin, who has been a real leader on the practical impact that this shutdown has. The story about what is happening in the prisons located in West Virginia I think really frighten all of us.”