Chellie Pingree: “I thank our future chair for yielding me the time. I appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I consider it a privilege to sit on the…”

“I thank our future chair for yielding me the time. I appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I consider it a privilege to sit on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, where we fund agencies and departments that are important not only nationwide, but especially in my home State of Maine. So it is particularly heartbreaking to be here today urging my colleagues to reopen these agencies as we open a 21st day of an unnecessary government shutdown. Today marks the first day that many Federal Government employees will go without a paycheck. There are over 1,100 Federal workers and their families in Maine alone. These include families at Maine's Acadia National Park and the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the USGS research centers and the air and water program officers at the EPA. This shutdown has made life extremely difficult for these workers and these families, and it has halted the critical duties that they perform. This bill funds vital programs that we use every day to protect our resources, to learn about the environment, and to connect Americans to our national treasures. So far, the administration has used accounting gimmicks to give the appearance that these parks and agencies remain open, but you can't hide the real consequences of this shutdown. For example, at our national parks, there have been reports of habitat destruction, injuries, and even deaths since the beginning of the shutdown. We don't need gimmicks.…”