[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H440-H441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SIGN THE BILL AND OPEN UP THE GOVERNMENT

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, to the White House: Sign the bill and 
open up the government.
  Today, the President is in my home State, impossible for him to see 
the entire border on the southern border and to realize that work has 
been done for almost two decades on barriers, and that is why only 12 
known or alleged terrorists have crossed that border as compared to the 
unfenced northern border, which was where the 2000 terrorists coming 
across the border as the century turned occurred.
  Tomorrow, there will be faithful Federal employees who will not get 
their money, many in Texas: 9,000 Treasury employees are stationed in 
Texas, 5,700 Homeland Security; the airports in my district, with 
51,000 screeners, may miss their first paychecks; and Johnson Space 
Center--hardworking Americans.
  This is no time for one's ego or one's preference of what type of 
barrier. It is a time for those of us who care about border security, 
Democrats who give billions of dollars, including $1.3 billion that we 
gave in this budget and $1.6 billion.
  Open the government and pay these people their checks.
  I look forward to meeting with Federal employees. Call my office. We 
want to give you as much help as we can.
  Open the government. That is what should be done.
  Mr. Speaker, because this President insists on an immoral and 
ineffective border wall, he has shut down the government and said he 
would be proud to do it.
  This is a presidential temper tantrum.
  The President clearly does not realize what he asking, and the impact 
this has on Americans throughout the nation.
  In my homestate, I know that the consequences are real--mortgages and 
rent are not paid, car payments are not being made, spring tuition 
checks are not being paid, supplemental nutrition assistance.
  Texas has 35,694 employees in agencies without appropriations.
  With its vast size, Texas accounts for at least a few thousand 
workers in nearly every major federal agency.
  Nearly 9,000 Treasury Department employees are stationed there, along 
with about 5,700 Homeland Security employees and 4,300 in the 
Department of Transportation.
  Smaller agencies with particularly high concentrations of Texas-based 
employees include NASA and the Small Business Administration.
  The impact to the city of Houston is not insignificant.
  Houston is the nation's fourth largest city, and the shutdown is 
affecting us acutely.
  To get to and from my district, I am proud to fly through George Bush 
international airport, in Houston.
  I am proud to say that this airport is in my district, and these 
brave Americans who are on the front lines of protecting America, are 
working without pay.
  TSA agents are considered essential employees and must report to work 
even though they aren't getting paid during the shutdown.
  Screening areas at Bush and Hobby have not been impacted, but it's a 
different story in Dallas and New York.
  At DFW, there has reportedly been a 200% to 300% increase in TSA 
agents calling out sick since the shutdown began.
  Travelers waited in nearly hour-long security lines at New York's 
LaGuardia Airport on Monday.

[[Page H441]]

  The TSA worries lines may get even longer if more screeners call out 
sick.
  Tomorrow could be a tipping point when 51,000 screeners may miss 
their first paychecks.
  TSA agents are considered essential employees and must report to work 
even though they aren't getting paid during the shutdown.
  Houston is also home to one of the greatest aeronautical institutions 
all the world--the Johnson Space Center.
  There are more than 16,000 NASA employees still out of work as the 
federal government shutdown.
  The partial government shutdown impacts 800,000 of the 2.1 million 
federal workers nationwide, including 16,700 NASA employees, which 
accounts for 96 percent of the workforce.
  Although most of NASA's employees will be furloughed, those 
responsible for keeping people and property safe are exempted from the 
shutdown.
  For example, International Space Station operations will continue: 
about 200 of the 3,055 federal employees at Johnson Space Center in 
Houston will continue working primarily to keep the three astronauts 
aboard the space station alive.
  But that is only the beginning of the problem.
  Houston citizens are unable to seek temporary private sector work 
because such jobs require permission, and the people who process those 
requests have been furloughed.
  Federally funded housing programs are in jeopardy as the shutdown 
stretches on.
  For example, rural home loans financed by the USDA are not an option.
  Texans who were affected by Hurricane Harvey are still waiting for 
federal aid, and the shutdown won't make it any easier to get that aid.
  Harris County is putting a hold on Harvey recovery projects that 
relied in part on federal money.
  The Treasury Department's loss of funding means some Texas wineries 
and breweries can't get federal approval of labels allowing their 
products to be sold across state lines.
  Federal employees are required to work throughout the shutdown 
without pay, like corrections officers and Border Patrol agents.
  Agencies such as the national parks, NASA and some IRS employees have 
been sent home or furloughed in Houston, Texas.
  There are any number of cascading effects--Local restaurants are 
feeling the impact as well; federal employees who frequent nearby 
eateries for meals are no longer eating out.
  Federal courts are grinding to a halt and national parks are 
shuttered.

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