[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IMPACT OF THE SHUTDOWN

  (Ms. HOULAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HOULAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on the impact of the 
shutdown on Pennsylvania's Sixth District.
  My office has heard from small businesses that can't pull permits, 
veterans receiving food assistance who worry, and Federal workers about 
paying their bills.
  Agriculture is a vital part of the economy of my district, and the 
shutdown is having an impact there already as well. The last Congress 
passed a bipartisan farm bill, but the shutdown has prevented its 
implementation. The USDA farm loan program, a program providing 
millions of dollars to the Pennsylvania farmworkers, is no longer in 
effect.
  My district is the mushroom capital of the world, and, yesterday, I 
heard from the mushroom growers that the lack of EPA inspections of 
drainage ditches and other water runoff is impacting the development of 
mushroom houses and the expansion of their businesses.
  We cannot afford 1 day more, 1 week more, or 1 month more of this 
shutdown. We cannot ignore the impact it is having on so many 
Americans, including farmers, ranchers, and growers in Pennsylvania's 
Sixth.
  The House has passed legislation to open our government, and I urge 
the Senate to do the people's work and to pass the bill as well.

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