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Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Madam President, today I want to discuss legislation I am introducing, the End Shutdown Act.

When Congress is unable to come to an agreement about government funding, Federal employees, government contractors, and Americans who depend on critical government services all suffer the consequences of using government shutdowns as a negotiating tactic. This bill prevents government shutdowns by initiating an automatic continuing resolution on October 1 if no appropriations bill is passed by that date and stops Congress from considering any nonemergency legislation until it reaches a long-term spending deal.

For Federal employees who are forced to go without a paycheck through no fault of their own during a government shutdown, furlough can mean falling behind on mortgage, rent, or student loan payments and uncertainty about how to put food on the table for their families. I am glad my colleagues and I were able to guarantee backpay for all Federal employees in 2019, but the potential for prolonged shutdowns continues to threaten families' budgets and local economies. Virginia is home to more than 170,000 Federal employees and tens of thousands of Federal contractors. They are not a bargaining chip to be played in these negotiations.

Government shutdowns disproportionately harm Virginia's economy, but over 80 percent of Federal workers live and work outside of the DC area. Shutdowns inflict pain on communities across the Nation, as they disrupt Federal contracts and loans to small businesses, complicate supply chains, and stall the release of data business owners need to make decisions.

Further, government shutdowns halt the essential services that furloughed employees are unable to provide, from food inspection services to passport renewals and Social Security card replacement. Over the past two decades, government shutdowns have put some of our most essential programs like Medicare, SNAP, TANF, and WIC in jeopardy. Using government shutdowns as a negotiating tactic has the potential to inflict senseless pain on millions of Americans who rely on these and other Federal programs.

By ending the threat of government shutdowns, Congress can ensure no one can ever again hold public servants and critical programs hostage by using a shutdown as a negotiating tactic. I encourage my colleagues to support this common-sense proposal that is needed for both the American people and the Federal employees across the country on whom we rely. ______

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