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Floor Speech

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Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, we are getting encouraging signs that we may be having some votes tonight. I hope that proves to be true and the Senate does its part to get out of the shutdown.

I was thinking, though, I have been telling a lot of staff around here and everybody else: I apologize for us not getting our work done.

I think a lot of people don't realize how many people around here haven't been paid for 41 days. Do you know who they are? Everybody you can see in this room and every one of your staff members and everybody else who has been doing the hard work, showing up.

I was thinking yesterday, with all the cars in the driveway, those young people that are coming in to pick up their Members and take them back to their apartments, condos, wherever they live here--those kids are doing that on a weekend and not getting paid either.

I also think that getting out of the shutdown and getting the tens of millions of people that are hanging in the lurch across the country--it is just a good thing.

It is a shame we got here, but I want to thank the Members on both sides of the aisle that have finally decided that we need to do our work here, pass a continuing resolution, pass actual regular order bills, and prove this place can work.

The work is not done. We have about 90 days now to fix the other part that we couldn't get agreement on. Let's make sure we start doing the work now so that every Capitol Police officer, every Sergeant at Arms, every Senate staff, and all the people down on the dais who are working extra long hours actually get paid for the hard work they do.

On behalf of the other Members, I thank you.

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