Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON. Is the minority leader on the floor?

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Mr. JOHNSON. Yesterday, Chaplain Black opened the Senate by quoting the Gospel according to Luke. He said: ``Those who work deserve their pay.'' I could not agree more.

First of all, I want to thank the finest among us--the members of the Coast Guard, TSA, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, all the men and women whom, because of Federal law, we require to work who are caught up in the shutdown politics, which I don't agree with, and they are not getting paid. It is a basic principle that we should pay these individuals.

Earlier today, my colleague, the Senator from Alaska, with other Republican colleagues, came to the floor asking a simple question-- proposing a bill to pay the men and women of the Coast Guard, and for some reason, the minority leader and Democrats objected to this very fair proposal.

Today, I come to the floor to offer an amendment to the bill I introduced 10 days ago. It has been talked about in the press. We have 24 Republican cosponsors of the Shutdown Fairness Act, which does a pretty simple thing: It simply pays those individuals who are doing the work trying to keep this Nation safe.

Mr. President, I see the minority leader here.

6, H.J. Res. 1.

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Mr. JOHNSON. I do object because we basically just voted on that in the Senate, and it was voted down. The President would not sign that. That would not become law. And the minority leader is holding 400-some thousand individuals who are actually working who should get paid--he is the one holding them hostage.

I would yield to the Senator from Tennessee.

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Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I would like to turn it over to the Senator from Tennessee for 2 minutes.

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