Sheila Jackson Lee: “What my good friends have not heard is the outrage and cry of the desperate Federal workers, some sending their children…”

“What my good friends have not heard is the outrage and cry of the desperate Federal workers, some sending their children to relatives because they cannot support them, museums shut down costing $4 million, TSA officers not able to come to work, and air traffic controllers suffering. Today, Democrats did again what they have done over and over again. The message is: Mr. President, open the government, pay the workers now, and let us sit down at the table of reconciliation and iron out the question of border security. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I have voted time after time as a Democrat for border security--barriers, drones, technology, jeeps, and laptops. I know what it is. I am from a border State. I have been to the borders in the daylight and in the dark. Today, we voted to open up Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, financial services, environment, Transportation, Housing, and all of the law enforcement we voted for. Our simple cry is: Mr. President, understand the pain of America. Open the government, pay the workers, and let's get down to the business of negotiating on behalf of the American people. ____________________”