Disapproving the President's Proposal to Take An Action Relating to the Application of Certain Sanctions with Respect to the Russian

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I join my colleagues this morning to share the stories of the people in New Hampshire who are currently enduring hardships because of this Trump shutdown--a shutdown that has been termed by a number of my colleagues as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

I have here a picture of Andre and his wife Maria and their three beautiful children, from Derry, NH. Andre is an air traffic controller who works at the Boston Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Merrimack, NH. It is sounds like it would be in Boston, but it is not. It is in New Hampshire, where we have hundreds of air traffic controllers and FAA personnel.

Andre works at the center to keep the airways safe for passengers who are flying over the Granite State. He also represents and talks to a number of other air traffic controllers in the New England region to hear what they have to say.

With what he is hearing right now regarding the shutdown, Andre writes:

Air traffic controllers have remained on the job, dedicated to the safety of every flight, but we don't know when we will receive our next paycheck. My colleagues and I have suffered the sudden loss of our income due to the government shutdown. It's going to be hard for me to meet all of my financial obligations.

What I am most impressed by with regard to the Federal workers with whom I have met is their dedication to their jobs. All of those air traffic controllers understand that the safety of the skies in the United States depends on them, and they are there. They are not getting paid. They are experiencing hardships like Andre is talking about, but they are there and are doing everything they can to make sure that the American public can fly safely.

In addition to Andre's story, I have heard from nearly 100 other air traffic controllers in New Hampshire who are all calling for an end to the shutdown--air traffic controllers who are protecting our safety and who are working without pay.

I want to read an excerpt from a letter that I received from Jamie in Auburn, NH, because I think it so exemplifies where we are and how the American people are feeling about this government shutdown.

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. I know every Member of the Senate has heard from constituents who are facing significant hardships as a result of the shutdown. I know every Member wants this shutdown to end. Unfortunately, President Trump doesn't seem to want this shutdown to end.

The House has already passed appropriations bills that would reopen the government. This appropriations legislation is not partisan. In fact, they are bills that have already had bipartisan support in the Senate. So I urge President Trump, Majority Leader McConnell, and our Republican colleagues to take up these bills to reopen the government. I believe we should reopen the government. Let's do our jobs so the rest of America can do theirs.

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