Government Shutdown

Floor Speech

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Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, we have 10 days until House Republicans force a catastrophic government shutdown; 10 days until the food assistance that nearly 50 million Americans rely on, including 6 million women and children, is put in jeopardy; 10 days until seniors struggling with the Social Security or Medicare issue can't get someone on the phone to get their benefit or to keep their coverage; 10 days until the loans small businesses depend on to pay their workers and keep their doors open are delayed for who knows how long.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen this train wreck before.

Republicans shut down the government for over a month in 2018 while they demanded billions in taxpayer funds for Donald Trump's border wall, the same one that Mexico was supposed to pay for.

That shutdown lasted 35 days, hurting families and reducing our economic output by $11 billion, much of which was never recovered. It only ended after planes were grounded at major airports due to the strain on air traffic controllers, who were working around the clock with no pay to avert a major disaster.

Here we are again. It is Republican shutdown deja vu. Extreme MAGA Republicans are once again holding the American people hostage in exchange for dangerous policies and a politically motivated impeachment.

You don't have to take my word for it. Just listen to the demands from my colleagues across the aisle. One of our colleagues, a Congresswoman from Georgia, tweeted that she would not vote to fund the government if Congress doesn't pursue an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Others are trying to roll back abortion protections for women serving in our military regardless of where they are stationed.

To pretty much no one's surprise, Speaker McCarthy has folded like a cheap suit on every single one of their demands. That still hasn't been enough to get Republicans on board with this new plan, a breakthrough that would slash funding for the home heating assistance that thousands of families in my home State of Massachusetts depend on each winter; eliminate access to Head Start and childcare programs for nearly 200,000 children nationwide; and cut off access to housing vouchers for 20,000 veterans and 90,000 seniors, pushing them closer to homelessness.

This deal hashed out by Republicans for Republicans was a disaster from the start, and the fact that it fell apart even quicker than it came together is embarrassing for the majority of this Chamber.

It is amateur hour, but the stakes are too high, and the American people deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, there are 212 Democrats standing by whenever your party is ready to get serious and do what needs to be done. There are 212 votes standing by to keep our government open, to keep veterans housed, to keep our children fed.

I encourage Speaker McCarthy and my colleagues across the aisle to avert this disaster before it is too late. Put a clean funding package on the floor, and let's pass it together.

That is our job. It is your job, and the American people expect you to do it.

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