On the recordDecember 21, 2018
I want to thank my colleague from Maryland, Senator Cardin, for his leadership on this issue, among many others, and start by agreeing with him that, first and foremost, we should avoid a government shutdown. That is exactly what this Senate did on a bipartisan basis just a few days ago. We passed an agreement. None of us loved it, but we all recognized that it was a better alternative than shutting down the government. That, of course, went over to the House, and we know what happened to it there. I hope we will continue to work together to avoid a government shutdown. The proposal that Senator Cardin and I are putting forward is very simple. Federal employees should not be punished by the shutdown. They have nothing to do with the dysfunction that would cause a government shutdown, and they should not be the ones who have to bear the burden and the penalty of something totally beyond their control--a government shutdown. That is what this is about. As Senator Cardin indicated, often after shutdowns are over, the Congress and the White House do the right thing, and we provide retroactive compensation to Federal employees, but it is not guaranteed. It always could be changed. It might not happen.…
