Tim Walz: “Thank you, Madam Speaker. To stand here in this hallowed place as a Representative, as all of my colleagues, all 435 of…”

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. To stand here in this hallowed place as a Representative, as all of my colleagues, all 435 of us, the incredible privilege and honor to represent the hardworking Americans across this country. In southern Minnesota, the chance to see genuine folks out working hard, doing the things that they built this country and made us the greatest nation on Earth, and one of those things is a very basic premise, the American work ethic. The idea that you should work hard and do your best and be compensated at the end of the day and feel good and a sense of accomplishment in what you did. We have an opportunity. The American people did send us here, as you heard on both sides of the aisle, to do a very simple thing--to get the work done and move this country forward. The debate is that there are differences in how to do that. That's the strength of this land. It's democracy. But there is one very strong principle that we can reinforce, that work ethic, that if you do not get your job done, you certainly should not be paid. No middle of the night, no if it passes and goes this way. Very simply, the easiest of things to do: If this Congress after being here 4 months--and I don't care where you put the blame--can't get this done by next week and the government shuts down, there will be no chance of a single paycheck going and no retroactive pay. That's the least we owe those hardworking folks. That's the least that we can do here. I want to be very clear.…”