Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak about the same topic that my colleague from Maryland and my colleague from Minnesota just spoke of. I will start by highlighting the legislation that Senator Smith from Minnesota has been leading. I am grateful for her work and am grateful to be a cosponsor and a supporter of the legislation. The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act is the bill that we are talking about. I think it is critically important that we pass this legislation. The country has endured the shutdown of 35 days. Now we are in this interim period, waiting for the results of negotiations that are underway with appropriators. We wish them well, and we hope they can come to an agreement that can be signed into law so that we will not have the threat of yet another shutdown. In this case, President Trump decided to shut the government down for 35 days. That decision, I guess, was prompted by his not receiving funding or winning the debate, at that time, for the funding of his proposed border wall. As we know, Federal employees, as opposed to Federal contractors, have received backpay. That was pursuant to legislation that was led by Senator Cardin. I know his colleague from Maryland, Senator Van Hollen, who just spoke, also worked very hard to pass that legislation. That is good news that Federal employees have backpay.…”