Do Your Jobs, Not President's Bidding

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today because what our country is going through is a disgrace: 800,000 Federal workers are going without a paycheck. They are suffering, and their families are suffering, all because the President wants a wall that is nothing more than a monument to hate. The American people are tired of this President's games.

Last night, I called some constituents who had contacted my office because they are furloughed due to the Trump shutdown.

I talked to a Forest Service worker from my district who has missed a paycheck and doesn't want to be used as a bargaining chip by the President.

I talked to another constituent who works at the National Archives and is experiencing the consequences of this shutdown. She knows that the longer this drags on, the more people who will get hurt.

Last night, I received a heart-wrenching message from a constituent who is experiencing hardship and needs to apply for assistance programs, but she can't because she can't even access the information she needs from the Office of Personnel Management.

This has to end. We have voted not once, not twice, but 11 times to reopen the government. Leader McConnell and the Senate Republicans have blocked these bills in the Senate every step of the way. To them, I say: Enough. Do your jobs, not the President's bidding. 800,000 workers and the rest of the American people demand it, and so do we.

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