Political Quotes

“Today, I rise to share another story of how this reckless shutdown is hurting real people in real communities, including in central Virginia. Chesterfield, Virginia, resident Donna Ingram has worked for the U.S. Department of the Treasury for 15 years. She is a mother of two, and because of the shutdown, she is worried about her ability to make ends meet. Earlier this month, Donna's pay stub showed the word ``furloughed,'' and her paycheck showed the number zero. Donna is currently in the middle of medical treatment, but because of the shutdown's financial harm, she has been forced to discontinue her treatment. Donna said her livelihood is at stake and that she could lose everything she has worked so hard for over the past 15 years. Donna said that Federal employees like her want to work; they want to serve our government and our communities; and they want to continue their service. Yet this is how we treat our public servants here in the United States? Are they bargaining chips? I will continue to push for an immediate end to the shutdown, because I do not think they should ever be used as bargaining chips. There are hundreds of thousands of hardworking Federal employees like Donna who are depending on us, their elected officials, to do our jobs, to open this government, and to restore the function of our government. ____________________”