Government Shutdown

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today to take a moment as we honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on his 90th birthday yesterday, and we continue to honor him throughout this week and next Monday.

During this time, we recognize that we are in a society that is still riddled with injustices. As Representatives, we have a duty to lift up those who are marginalized and work to ensure that we continue a path toward justice for every person. No person should ever feel less than in the United States of America.

May we remember his legacy and his words and recommit to fighting for justice and equality. May we also speak out loudly and unapologetically about the ills of our society and work every single day to stay on the right side of justice.

Madam Speaker, in regard to the government shutdown, I am very passionate about making sure that we put a human face to this crisis, so I rise today, during the 26th day of this reckless government shutdown.

The real crisis here is the negative human impact. In the homes of each of the Federal workers across this Nation, nearly a month without pay. Our Federal workers are having to go to pawn shops to get cash to live. This is not right.

Yes, there is a crisis for the families in my district who have corporate polluters today in their backyards that do not have any EPA inspectors monitoring our air quality.

Yes, there is a crisis for the families who are wondering if their housing assistance will come next month from HUD.

The shutdown will have a long-lasting negative impact on our lives, and it must end immediately.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take some time today to share stories about residents in Michigan who are impacted directly.

Gregory Simpkins, who is president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 778, said four of the union's TSA employees quit last week and three the week before. Right now, TSA employees are deemed essential and still going to work but are not getting paid.

Ms. Wilson, one of our TSA employees, said the morale is so low she has never seen anything like it. With personal budgets stretched, she is afraid they will lose even more workers. One worker said to her that he can't pay for gas money to get to work, and he is worried and scared for the future of his family and for his life.

Federal environmental protection workers right now are not at work protecting us, so when I think of this, I think of Line 5, which is a very dangerous oil pipeline that threatens the drinking water supply for Michiganders and our freshwater in the Great Lakes.

We are in trouble, Madam Speaker, because the computers that run that model for emergency response is shut down during this crisis.

Mark Coryell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3907, represents EPA workers who work in the Motor Vehicle Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He and his colleagues are furloughed, meaning they are not working right now and not getting their pay.

For the public, this means they are not working on regulations that are now lagging because they are not showing up. Their lab certifies fuel efficiency numbers automakers display when selling cars to ensure that they protect our air quality and abide by the emission standards.

So, Madam Speaker, this is reckless and irresponsible. It is reckless that Mitch McConnell's Senate cannot muster up the courage to reopen the government.

Senator McConnell works for the American people. He has been missing in action during this crisis. He doesn't work for the President of the United States; he works for the American people. I ask him to stand up and do what is right for all of us and for our Nation and to open up government.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin).

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter).

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, as you can see, there has been a huge challenge among the American people across the country. In my district alone, I have the third poorest congressional district, with ZIP Codes with the worst air quality in the country.

Many of the workers who are not showing up to work are directly providing critical services to our residents back home. It is important for us to see beyond, obviously, the numbers of 800,000 workers. What were they doing? How were they providing for the American people? How were they serving our Nation?

We to continue to be very focused on the fact that this is a huge crisis that needs to be addressed, and we need the leadership of the Senate to rise and to support the bills, the same ones we sent to them before our January swearing in. They supported it then. I have no idea why they haven't been able to pass again the same exact bills they supported before we became the leaders in the majority in the House.

Madam Speaker, I, again, urge all of the Americans who are directly impacted by the shutdown to please reach out to us. Seek out help.

As the gentlewoman from California said, we are here to serve you. We are here to help you in any way that we can.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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