Political Quotes

“Madam President, government shutdowns are never justified, and I have opposed every one of them. This shutdown--the longest in our Nation's history--has caused real harm to 800,000 Federal employees and their families. Just today, I heard from a Federal employee in Belfast, ME, who has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 32 years. He has two children with type 1 diabetes, and with the soaring costs of insulin, he was beginning to worry about how he would be able to afford insulin for his children. He was concerned that a prolonged shutdown would have an adverse impact on his insurance coverage. The shutdown has also hurt Americans' access to Federal Agencies and threatened housing assistance for low-income families, our seniors, and people with disabilities. It has harmed small businesses that have contracts with Federal Agencies for certain services but that have not been getting paid. Thus, their employees have been at risk of being laid off. That is why I voted twice this week to end the shutdown and reopen the government. Although neither proposal received enough votes to pass, we saw glimmers of hope that have produced results. I note that after the failed votes, a bipartisan group of 16 Senators came to the floor, and each one of us indicated a willingness to compromise. I am pleased that today there is real progress.…”