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




           SHUTDOWN IS HARMING THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA

  (Ms. SPANBERGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise the alarm and 
sound the alarm about the shutdown and how it is harming the people of 
central Virginia.
  Across the country, hundreds of thousands of Federal employees are 
working without pay or are furloughed, including critical law 
enforcement personnel. The best way to illustrate the destructive 
effects of this shutdown is to share a story from one of my 
constituents in Virginia's Seventh District. She said to us:

       My husband is a Federal employee and the sole provider for 
     our family, and right now, we don't know when he'll get paid. 
     Because I got sick last year, we now have less money in the 
     bank, and we're not sure how we can hold on.
       While he could make more money in the private sector, my 
     husband believes that working in a Federal job is his way of 
     making a difference through public service--and every day, he 
     is proud to go into the office at 5 a.m. to do what he can to 
     serve his country.
       One of the hardest days of his life was when he came home 
     and said that earlier that day, he had told those under him 
     that they were furloughed--just days before Christmas.
       We are begging you to reopen the government.

  This story demonstrates the importance of fixing this mess and 
reopening the government.
  I encourage my colleagues and leadership to act now in a bipartisan 
way to protect the livelihoods of these hardworking families.

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