Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker and Members of this body, it was yesterday that I took part in a bipartisan press conference that dealt with a group called the Federal Employee Emergency Assistance. It was there that we discussed the fact that the people who are receiving the assistance by and large are people who are receiving income in the range of $20,000 to $27,000 a year, who are single heads of household; most of them are women. Can my colleagues imagine these people who are not receiving a paycheck who have to pay rent or a mortgage or utility bills? Well, I and my colleagues who were there have pledged support to this fund, but this fund should not be so overloaded, as it is now, with the calls that are coming in, the emergency calls, if we did not have this shutdown. This is day 20. I have spoken often about it. My colleagues have spoken often about it. Every day the circumstances become more dire in terms of the consequences. We have problems now with the Centers for Disease Control not being able to perform its functions and NIH not being able to perform their functions. Blood banks are running out of the supply of blood. Meals on Wheels is facing the consequences of a shutdown.”