Tim Kaine: “today is day 34 of the longest shutdown of government in United States history. We must end this shutdown. We must…”

“today is day 34 of the longest shutdown of government in United States history. We must end this shutdown. We must reopen government right away. Today, I want to talk about legislation that would provide some assistance to the Federal workers who are suffering from this unnecessary shutdown, the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019. Tomorrow, 800,000 Federal workers who work hard and just want to serve their Nation will not receive a paycheck. They have not received a paycheck since December 28th, 2018. However, more than 400,000 hold positions so essential to our Nation that they must go to work regardless of their pay status. Thus shutdown hurts these workers. I have talked about the personal stories of Virginians who serve our Nation in the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Forest Service. This shutdown means families that have jobs cannot pay their mortgages or rent. They cannot buy food to feed their families. They cannot afford to refill prescriptions critical to the health of their children. This shutdown threatens Federal workers with financial ruin. Again, we must reopen the government immediately. We have passed legislation to provide retroactive pay to these workers when the shutdown ends, but we do not know when that will happen. So today, I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues to introduce the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act.…”