Political Quotes

“Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced legislation to reopen government immediately, funding vital programs and resuming pay for Federal workers who, for the last 40 days, have had to live with the stress of missed paychecks and not knowing when they would be paid. Under our legislation, all Federal employees, including members of our military and Coast Guard, the Capitol Police officers, Border Patrol agents, TSA screeners, air traffic controllers--all will receive their back wages. It is significant that this measure also includes three full-year fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, including the annual Agriculture-FDA bill, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs legislation--very timely, given that Veterans Day will soon be upon us--and the Legislative Branch funding. This three-bill package, which originally passed the Senate on August 1 with overwhelming bipartisan support--87 votes in 2 cases, 81 in another--will support our veterans, our troops, our farmers, and rural communities. Of note, this package will provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC. One of the most unfortunate and shameful consequences of the shutdown has been that these vital nutrition programs were in jeopardy for our most vulnerable families, including 170,000 Mainers who rely on the SNAP program.”