Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today because the funding for the Federal Government is going to run out at midnight tomorrow night. And what is happening right now in the House is a manufactured crisis that has been created by Donald Trump, President- elect, and his billionaire friend Elon Musk, and their Republicans in the House of Representatives.

President-elect Trump hasn't even been sworn into office yet, and already he has thrown the government into chaos.

That is really unfortunate because the people who are going to be hurt the most are the ones that we serve as Representatives, as Senators, right here in Congress, and that is the American people. Shutting down the government just days before Christmas means that thousands of Federal workers will be forced to work without pay.

In New Hampshire, our farmers could lose out on disaster aid they need to recover from devastating crop losses last year. The health clinics vital to Granite Staters will shutter. The Coast Guard wouldn't get the funds it needs for repairs at Portsmouth Station. That is particularly important because what those Coast Guard ships do is to escort in nuclear submarines to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

And everyone in Congress should know that one of our most fundamental responsibilities as elected officials is to keep the Federal Government open and operating. Instead, we are here today facing our fifth lapse in funding in 11 years, all because there are a few extremists who are being egged on by an unelected billionaire and are refusing to do their duty. And Speaker Johnson is allowing them to push us to the brink.

We have seen repeatedly now that these shutdowns hurt the country. They hurt our States. They hurt our constituents.

The 2019 shutdown cost the American economy more than $10 billion, and this shutdown, if it occurs, is likely to cost more than $2 billion a week.

So, again, let me repeat that because for an incoming administration that claims to be focused on fiscal responsibility, that claims to be looking for efficiencies in government, what Elon Musk--the head of this Commission that is supposed to look for efficiencies--what he is doing is going to cost our country $2 billion each week. That doesn't sound like fiscal responsibility to me.

And in New Hampshire, the effect of these shutdowns is felt across the State. If the government shuts down, small businesses across New Hampshire may be unable to sign new contracts, start new projects.

Just last year, 845 companies in New Hampshire received contracts from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. And during a government shutdown, these small businesses and their employees will be adversely affected. They won't be able to plan for the future. That will cause real uncertainty on the business owners and on their employees. The supplemental emergency disaster funding would have addressed a number of critical needs that we have in New Hampshire.

Like many other States, New Hampshire has been hit by a number of disasters over the last few years. We have been more fortunate than some of the States that our colleagues represent because we haven't been hit in the same way that Florida, the Carolinas, and Virginia were by the hurricanes. But we still have very serious recovery needs. The disaster funding that has been paired with the continuing resolution would address some of New Hampshire's recovery needs.

As I mentioned earlier, this unnecessary crisis would block disaster relief from getting to the farmers in New Hampshire and across the country who urgently need it.

For example, in New Hampshire, our farmers experienced extreme losses in 2023 due to natural disasters from frost and flooding. I have heard from many apple growers, from our stone crops--apples, peaches--that some of those farmers lost from 80 to 100 percent of their crops in 2023. And while it doesn't seem like a lot of money and not huge farms like we have in some parts of the country, for those farmers who are affected, it is their livelihood. Unlike large single-crop farms in many other States, our small fruit and vegetable growers in New Hampshire typically don't have access to other Federal agricultural support programs. More than 90 percent of our farmers in New Hampshire don't have crop insurance because crop insurance doesn't work for our farms. That is why emergency disaster relief is just so critical.

Another example for us in New Hampshire is our Coast Guard Station in New Castle. It was severely damaged during January storms. The seawall was breached in a number of places and the boathouse was wrenched from its mooring. As a result, the station is in need of significant repairs.

The bill that has been negotiated and agreed to by Republicans and Democrats--the bill that the House now is saying they are not going to support--it would provide over $210 million to repair Coast Guard facilities around the country, including the New Castle station in New Hampshire. Unless these supplemental funds are appropriated, the station in New Hampshire will be more susceptible to future storm damage and will need more extensive and expensive repairs in the future.

Again, that doesn't sound like government efficiency to me. It sounds like somebody is not paying attention.

And like almost every other State in the country, New Hampshire has been hit by a number of storms that have led to Presidential disaster declarations. Communities in our State are still rebuilding. So the $29 billion that is in the Disaster Relief Fund are important for New Hampshire to ensure that this fund is solvent when cities, counties, and towns submit reimbursements.

The package that is on hold in the House also includes funding to address an emergency outbreak of spruce budworm that threatens forests in Maine and New Hampshire. And just to be clear, New Hampshire is the second most heavily forested State in the country after Maine. We know that this outbreak is coming from Canada. It is affecting our States, and it could have a major impact on our timber industry if we don't do something about it now. The funding in the bill would allow us to address this before it wipes out significant portions of our timber stand.

Last year, I met with a group of housing stakeholders, homebuilders, realtors, housing developers, tenant advocates to hear how a shutdown would worsen New Hampshire's existing housing crisis. We currently have a vacancy rate, a rental vacancy rate, of 0.6 percent. We know that a healthy housing market usually has about a 5-percent vacancy rate. So at 0.6 percent, we desperately need more housing. A shutdown will slow progress on new construction. It will risk hundreds of housing units that are under construction now at a time when we really urgently need them.

And for those low-income households who depend on mortgages that are backed by the Federal Housing Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture, they may miss out on buying their first homes because they won't be able to get a loan.

We have also heard from nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire who have shared that 44 percent of adults that they serve are reporting food insecurity, even at our current funding levels for the Women, Infants, and Children Program. The WIC Program--Women, Infants and Children--helps feed more than 12,000 people in New Hampshire. And if we don't act now, funding to continue to support thousands of women and newborns will be at risk.

Let me say it again. This harm is being inflicted on women, children, and families, and it is avoidable. Our colleagues in the House--the Republican majority--could end this today. They could end it right now if they would pass the deal that they negotiated, that has been months in negotiations that both Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate have agreed to.

Furthermore, in terms of the Federal Government, it employs more than 2 million Americans in civilian activities across the country. Eighty percent of those Federal workers are outside of Washington, DC. In New Hampshire, there are about 5,000 Federal workers and a quarter of them are veterans. They are air traffic controllers. They are Forest Service rangers. They are Customs and Border agents. They are safety inspectors.

We have more than a million uniform military, including 1,100 in New Hampshire, who may be affected. They will be forced to work in defense and protection of our Nation without getting paid.

It is shameful, and it is unacceptable.

During the last shutdown, Federal employees had to visit food banks to help get meals when they missed paychecks. And there is no guarantee that the employees of Federal contractors will be able to get backpay. As we remember the last time, we had to pass specific legislation to ensure that those people who lost their pay were able to get reimbursed.

I have also had the honor of serving as chair of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee for the past year. Small businesses are the lifeblood of New Hampshire's economy. In fact, they account for more than 99 percent of all the businesses in our State. Two-thirds of the jobs that are created--not just in New Hampshire but across this country--come from small businesses. And yet the SBA has been unable to give out disaster loans for more than 2 months now. That leaves more than 10,000 hurricane survivors with approved loans that they are not going to get the funding for unless we pass this disaster funding.

This isn't a partisan issue. Thousands of families and businesses in Virginia, in North Carolina, in Florida, and Georgia are waiting for these funds. They are in limbo. And here we are, not even a week--less than a week--before Christmas, and we are saying to all those people who have been waiting for months: I am sorry. We are not going to fund you because billionaire Elon Musk said don't pass this legislation because it is too expensive.

Well, he needs to look at what the cost is of not passing that legislation. And should the Federal Government close, it is not hyperbole to say that we will be leaving our most vulnerable without proper care this Christmas.

I recently met with community health center leaders from New Hampshire. They talked about what they do in their communities. We know that our community health centers provide daily care for uninsured patients, for those who can't afford expensive health insurance, who live with terrible diseases like diabetes and cancer. Our community health centers are the cornerstone of our healthcare safety net, and they rely on Federal funding to keep their doors open and provide lifesaving care to Americans.

But about 70 percent of community health center funding is going to expire if we don't pass the spending package. Should that funding disappear, health clinics across the country will be forced to close, and the communities they serve will suffer the consequences. The people who President-elect Trump promised to protect are the people who are going to get hurt.

And if a shutdown drags on, inspections and enforcements that prevent air and water pollution will cease. That puts public health at risk, especially in our most vulnerable communities.

And with a lapse in appropriations, the Forest Service has to stop issuing contracts, including for timber sales, which, in New Hampshire, even for a short period of time, can have ripple effects through our local economies because we have towns that depend on that timber economy.

A shutdown also leaves forest ranger stations in New Hampshire closed, right as we are starting winter recreation season.

And a prolonged Government shutdown will lead to delays for food assistance, for Meals on Wheels, where, in New Hampshire, we have more than 20,000 seniors who will be threatened by or are currently experiencing hunger if they don't get their Meals on Wheels. Nationwide, more than 1.5 million meals are provided in States each year.

So a shutdown needlessly risks health and well-being. And we know the other thing that is in the package that the House is objecting to is the extension of telehealth benefits for people who need it. Again, it is an effective, efficient way to provide healthcare, and they are objecting to it.

As chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Departments of Commerce and Justice, as well as our science Agencies, I am also concerned that 84 percent of Department of Commerce employees-- about 44,000--will be furloughed if we can't get a continuing resolution done to keep the Government open. This includes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees, who protect life and property, on the job. Also, we have 84 percent of Department of Justice staff who would be considered essential workers but would be forced to work without pay.

In New Hampshire, we have a Federal prison in northern New Hampshire that is very important. It is a medium-security prison. And what we would be asking those correction officers and those other employees of the prison is to work without pay, to take an IOU until the Government is funded again.

So I think this is actually very simple. Democrats and Republicans negotiated in good faith. We agreed to keep the Government open through a negotiated process. We agreed to provide disaster relief and to support critical needs for working families. We were ready to vote so we could keep the lights on here, so we could turn the Christmas lights on at home for so many working people across this country. And now, because the world's richest man, Elon Musk, doesn't understand what this bill actually does or how Government works, we are facing a shutdown that is going to force Americans to work without pay during the holidays. It is going to leave communities in the lurch without the funding they need to rebuild from the recent natural disasters.

So I urge Speaker Johnson to do the right thing--stick to the agreement he made just this week. Let's bring this deal to the floor. Let's get this done, and let's help the people across the country who need the support that we promised.

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