[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H449-H454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     FINANCIAL CHALLENGES FAMILIES ARE EXPERIENCING BECAUSE OF THE 
                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to describe the enduring 
financial challenges that families are experiencing because of the 
President's government shutdown.
  I know how terrifying it is when your livelihood is suddenly taken 
away. I grew up during the 1980s farm crisis and watched as my 
neighborhood bank closed. Everyone in my town felt a real sense of 
panic and of loss.
  Farmers were being foreclosed on and losing farms that had been in 
their family for generations. There were suicides and the kind of 
social pain and personal pain that comes with economic hardship. While 
the town eventually recovered, the people and the community were 
changed forever.
  I understand how devastating a financial crisis can be, and I 
understand how one missed paycheck can spiral. I know this from my own 
childhood during the farm crisis and from the nearly two decades I have 
spent studying families on the brink of bankruptcy.
  Federal workers are now questioning whether working for the Federal 
Government is a stable paycheck. They are wondering if their family, if 
their kids can count on this administration. Families are wondering how 
long they can afford to wait for the shutdown to end, and they are 
having hard discussions at the dinner table about whether to leave the 
Federal workforce in search for a new job.
  Tomorrow, 800,000 Federal workers and their families will miss 
paychecks, plunging employees into uncertainty. About 42,000 of those 
Federal workers are in my home State of California. More than 5,000 of 
these unpaid workers live in my district, and many of them are hurting.
  With each missed paycheck comes missed payments on bills and missed 
payments on loans. Families will be hit with late fees and interest, 
often in the double or even triple digits.
  Despite having no paycheck, Federal workers still have urgent 
expenses--prescription drugs, gas, childcare, groceries--and those who 
are still required to report for work incur costs to get to and from 
their workplaces.
  This past spring, the Federal Reserve found that 40 percent of 
Americans don't have the cash to pay for an unexpected $400 expense 
without having to sell a belonging or borrowing money. Those families 
also don't have the cash to go without paychecks.
  Families may feel forced to consider taking out a payday loan to get 
quick cash to meet their expenses. In the past 2 years, more than 10 
percent of Americans have gone to a payday lender, even though the 
interest rates are incredibly high and the national average is almost 
400 percent interest. In California, the average rate is 460 percent.

                              {time}  1800

  In Virginia, where even a larger percentage of Federal workers live, 
the average payday loan is over 600 percent.
  For workers living paycheck to paycheck, the shutdown and its missed 
paychecks can easily spiral into bankruptcy. Even if we provide Federal 
workers with backpay, which we should, it will not make those hurt by 
this shutdown whole.
  When the government reopens, it won't be able to help Federal workers 
who incur late fees or hits on credit reports during the shutdown. It 
won't pay interest on new loans taken out by Federal workers.

[[Page H450]]

  One of my constituents in California's 45th Congressional District, 
Aubrey, told me that her family has filed paperwork to borrow against 
their 401(k) retirement. Borrowing against that 401(k) will come with 
large tax penalties, but she is part of a single-income household 
living on a Federal Government wage. She and her wife and their kids 
rely on a steady paycheck, and they are understandably concerned about 
the impact that the shutdown will have on their family.
  Another constituent in my district, Melinda, told me that she has 
been working for a government agency for over 30 years. She is debating 
taking out a loan. She is researching whether she can file for 
unemployment. She loves her job and wants to go to work but is 
prohibited from doing so. She just paid the tuition for one of her kids 
to go to college, and she does not have the means to live without a 
paycheck.
  This shutdown is a disaster for Federal workers who aren't getting 
paid, and it is a disaster for working families who deserve to get the 
tax refunds they are owed.
  Right now, families are denied tax refunds because of the government 
shutdown. Yesterday, my colleagues, Democrats, voted to reopen the 
Treasury Department, the IRS, and the Small Business Administration, 
and we were joined by several Republicans, but this administration 
won't even consider opening up the Treasury.
  Now this administration has said the IRS will service tax refunds 
even with the government shutdown, but before this announcement, the 
IRS was operating with a barebones staff. Only one out of every eight 
employees was in that office, and that has made it so much harder for 
Americans to prepare their tax returns.
  As we start filing for tax returns, American people need certainty 
from their government, not the chaos of a shutdown. And since this is 
the first year that the Republican tax law raised taxes for Orange 
County families, it is even more important that taxpayers get the 
refunds and the tax help that they deserve.
  As a professor of bankruptcy law, I also know that many families who 
struggle with overwhelming debt, often from unexpected medical bills, 
wait until this time of year to file for bankruptcy. That is because 
they have to use their own tax refunds to pay their attorney or filing 
fees.
  If the IRS does not get these families the refunds they are owed, 
they won't be able to get help in bankruptcy from their overwhelming 
debts or catch up on loan payments. And without the money to file for 
bankruptcy, families can lose parts of their paychecks to wage 
garnishment, squeezing families in this country even tighter.
  It is past time that we reopen the government. This is day 20 of the 
shutdown. This administration is recklessly hurting Federal families 
and workers who are counting on basic government services, including 
getting their own hard-earned money back from the IRS, and even backpay 
for these workers will not erase the harm of this shutdown.
  Those families will still have $30 late fees on credit card payments. 
They will still have to pay interest on their mortgages that could run 
into hundreds of dollars. If they are 2 weeks late in paying their 
credit card bills or mortgage payments, they can be hit with negative 
credit reporting, which can drop their credit scores, and those 
negative reports stay on their records for up to 7 years.
  Simply reopening the government won't make these families whole, but 
it is a necessary start. That is why I am sending letters to the 
leading banks and credit card companies asking them to offer relief to 
families. These letters ask the banks and credit card companies to 
waive fees, to pause debt repayment timelines, to freeze eviction and 
foreclosure proceedings until 2 weeks after our Federal workers receive 
their next paycheck. They should also freeze the reporting of negative 
information to credit reporting agencies during this difficult time.
  Many of our country's credit unions have already offered their 
customers such relief. For example, Orange County's Credit Union is 
providing furloughed workers 2 weeks of pay, up to $5,000, at 0 percent 
interest for 60 days, and they are offering these furloughed workers 
90-day waivers on payments for existing loans.
  Another credit union in my district, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, is 
offering unpaid workers $2,000 at 0 percent for 12 months. That 12-
month loan period recognizes how long it will take unpaid workers to 
right themselves from the harm of this missed paycheck.
  These efforts by these credit unions will go a long ways to 
mitigating the real consequences of this shutdown for American 
families, and I hope other financial institutions and lenders join and 
engage in similar efforts.
  President Trump has the power to reopen the government and stop 
hurting families, especially unpaid workers. Orange County, California, 
and this Nation deserve a government at work.
  I yield to my colleague from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against drunk 
driving, a senseless, unacceptable, and preventable act. I uplift my 
dear friends, the Abbas family, who lost their lives tragically due to 
the fault of a drunk driver. They were kind. They were loving.
  According to the CDC, alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 29 
percent of the total vehicle traffic accidents in 2017. I honor their 
memory today by supporting my colleague, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, 
in her proposal to expand the use of breathalyzers in new vehicles.

  This doesn't change the fact that someone got drunk and got behind 
the wheel of a car, and, as a result, we lost five bright lights in 
Michigan: Issam Abbas, Dr. Rima Abbas, and their three children, Ali, 
Isabelle, and Giselle.
  I want to repeat a quote by Helen Keller: ``What we once enjoyed and 
deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes 
part of us.''
  Let us honor the memory and the lives of the Abbas family and pray 
for the comfort of their surviving family.
  In regards to the shutdown, Mr. Speaker, I would like to help my 
colleagues understand the human toll on our residents and thousands of 
Federal workers across the Nation. It is now day 20.
  Today, over 400 housing units across my district, the 13th 
Congressional District, are directly impacted by the HUD funding 
expiring due to the government shutdown. HUD is begging landlords to 
not evict our residents due to the lack of payment.
  HUD provides affordable rent for over 40,000 low-income families 
across this Nation. We are talking about residents who are disabled, 
children, seniors, and veterans who are living with challenges that 
require assistance to live.
  Mr. Speaker, again, going on day 20, we are creating a humanitarian 
crisis. In Detroit, Michigan, there are nearly 1,000 families affected 
by this current situation. The number is sure to rise as the shutdown 
continues.
  Another area of the shutdown that we cannot stress enough is the 
amount of workers who do not know when they will receive their next 
paycheck. In Michigan alone, we have 6,000 workers, mostly in 
southeastern Michigan, and now they are scrambling to figure out how 
they will pay for their shelter and food for their family.
  In Wayne County, Michigan, Federal workers are being given an 
extension to pay their property taxes. The shutdown is causing a 
disruption in their lives and so many that are connected. The bills 
will continue to come, Mr. Speaker. The late fines and interest fees 
will pile up while the administration plays games with the lives of the 
American people.
  Government must be about people first. The continued denial that the 
real crisis is the shutdown will cause a detrimental impact on our 
residents. The cost to reopen government will continue to increase. We 
deserve better. We deserve our President to lead with compassion.
  It is critical that we put a human face to this crisis so that we 
understand the real impact on everyday people.
  The U.S. Coast Guard employees in Michigan today are at risk of 
missing their next paycheck. They are currently working around the 
clock on the Great Lakes breaking ice to keep our shipping and 
logistics industries going. They are providing a critical role in our 
regional economy and security without knowing whether they will get 
paid.
  Our Coast Guard even rescued a man from Lake Michigan, an honorable 
action, but let's thank them by paying

[[Page H451]]

them so they can take care of their families.
  Jasmine, a worker that has been with the TSA for nearly 16 years, has 
already been unable to cover her bills and had to turn to her own 
mother for financial help. She said that they are doing their job to 
the best of their ability and feel that they are being treated as pawns 
in something they have no control over.
  She is right, Mr. Speaker. She and her fellow workers are wondering 
how they are going to pay for gas and feed their children.
  I know I am a new Member here, but the disconnect of many of my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the current 
administration, it has been felt here and also back home. I see it. It 
is toxic, and it will never serve the American people. The 
disconnection with real people will continue to deny the right for our 
citizens to live with human dignity.
  I have vital EPA workers that monitor air pollution in my district 
that have been off duty for weeks now. One in five children has asthma 
in my district, Mr. Speaker. This is unjust. We need to have a 
functional and open government that protects us. We have some of the 
worst corporate polluters in the country in the 13th Congressional 
District, and now we have no one protecting us from air pollution 
violators. Let's get them back to work for our residents.
  Mr. Speaker, these are just a handful of examples of Americans that 
are being harmed by the actions of this administration and the inaction 
of the Senate. We must end this shutdown now. Our residents deserve us 
to lead with compassion and responsibility.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the great State 
of California, Mike Levin.
  Mr. LEVIN of California. Mr. Speaker, when the people of California's 
49th District elected me to represent them in Congress, I did not 
imagine that I would be sworn in during a partial government shutdown. 
However, on the same day that I raised my right hand and took the oath 
of office, I also cast my first votes to fund Federal agencies that 
have been shut down by President Trump.
  We have since voted on several similar bills, including earlier 
today. The bills we voted on were not controversial. In fact, they were 
the same exact bills that Senate Republicans supported just 1 month 
ago, and they have received bipartisan support here in the House. In 
fact, just today, 12 Republicans voted to fund and reopen 
Transportation and HUD, and 10 voted to reopen Agriculture and the SNAP 
program.
  One-third of the Federal workforce is comprised of veterans. The 
shutdown is hurting their credit rating and that of all Federal 
employees. How can President Trump claim to care about veterans while 
allowing this to continue?
  For those in my district back home who are impacted, I hear your 
voices. I have heard the voice of the Fish and Wildlife Service 
employee in my district who told me the other day that many of her 
colleagues are living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to go any 
longer without the pay that they have earned and that they deserve.

  I have heard the grocery store owner in my district who can't get 
help with his food stamp eligibility because the appropriate USDA 
office is shut down.
  The Trump shutdown is hurting people in my district and every 
district who have done nothing but worked hard and played by the rules.
  We can end this today by reopening the government while we continue 
to debate border security. And make no mistake, we need smart, 
effective, and humane border security, but we do not need 5th century 
technology for a 21st century problem.
  I strongly urge Leader McConnell to bring up the bipartisan funding 
bills for a vote in the Senate, and I urge President Trump to do the 
right thing and sign them.
  Mr. Speaker, 20 days is far too long. The American people have had 
enough. Let's end this senseless shutdown, and let's end it now.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California has 43 
minutes remaining.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee), my colleague.

                              {time}  1815

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the 
distinguished Congresswoman from California, for her leadership and her 
amazing journey here to the United States House of Representatives. It 
is clearly because of life stories like hers that we will be more 
effective in representing all of the American people, so I thank her 
for leading the Congressional Progressive Caucus this evening and 
really speaking to our colleagues and, yes, the American people.
  I know that the number 20 has many meanings. For 3-year-olds and 4-
year-olds and 5-year-olds, you give them 20 pennies for their piggy 
bank and you can see their sparkling eyes, just really happy.
  You can count down 20 days till your vacation. It is reasonable. You 
can get ready, get new clothes and new suitcases.
  You may be able to count down if you are suffering from an illness 
and the doctor says that in 20 days things will be looking up.
  But in this instance, I am standing alongside of this sign, ``20 
Days,'' because it represents pain and frustration. It certainly 
represents a sadness that is truly unnecessary, for we will approach 
the longest shutdown of the Federal Government, the longest abuse of 
power that the United States of America has ever seen.
  Just a few weeks ago, we saw the President of the United States 
indicate that he will take ownership of a shutdown. I think it is 
important to take note of the fact that this is a policy dispute, a 
simple policy dispute that is not catastrophic.
  In the meantime, we have dangerous conditions in the Nation's parks, 
national historic sites, and we have a shut door for the Nation's 
schoolchildren at our museums.
  Individuals who are seeking mortgages, first-time buyers, young 
couples, retirees, have been stopped in their tracks.
  Those brave men and women, including firefighters under the 
Department of the Interior who fought those terrible fires in 
California, will not be paid tomorrow.
  My colleagues and friends in Texas, as a border State resident, will 
not be paid tomorrow: border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, the 
brave men and women that I visited with working in the Nation's 
airports and in my airport, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 
Houston, Texas.
  Mortgages and rent not paid, car payments not being paid, spring 
tuition checks not being paid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance not 
being paid. So much is riding on the fact that these individuals are 
working without pay because of, simply, a temper tantrum.
  Now, I want information. I was down at the border just a couple of 
weeks ago. I go all the time. I served on the Border Security Committee 
on Homeland Security. I helped write a bipartisan Homeland Security 
border security bill.
  When the Border Patrol was a small agency, we poured millions of 
dollars, post-9/11, to build up their personnel, give them laptops, 
night goggles, jeeps. I went to the border at night, in the dark of 
night. I saw their work. I know what they need. I know that they have 
their views.
  Many have said: I don't care what kind of barrier it is; a concrete 
wall will not work, but we need a combination of things.
  And so what the Commander-in-Chief will see at the border that will 
warrant the shutting down of government, the make-believe national 
crisis, I hope--and I wanted him to visit the patrol stations, the 
Border Patrol stations where hopeless families and children are there, 
some suffering, as little Felipe was, because the conditions are not 
there for welcoming women and children seeking asylum through the 
normal legal process, of which some would be granted and some will be 
directed to go home. That is the American way.
  But yet 35,694 employees are not getting a paycheck in Texas because 
of this tragic condition.
  So I say to the commonsense people, the Democratic majority that 
voted on legislation that could have simply gone to the other body, 
been placed on the calendar for the Senate, voted on, and

[[Page H452]]

sent to the desk of the President of the United States, I would say: 
Mr. President, sign the bill and open the government.
  Policy changes are not warranted for a shutdown. Fifty-one thousand 
TSA agents missing their paychecks is not defendable, and the 800,000 
total employees, 16,000 NASA employees who were furloughed, and the 
impact on the fourth largest city in the Nation, rural home loans 
financed by the USDA, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program, Hurricane Harvey Federal aid.
  I heard the pain of a Member whose Pacific Island, which he 
represents as a Delegate, has just suffered a massive typhoon. We need 
disaster aid for them.
  The good news is that the Democratic leadership is doing our job. We 
are on the floor every day passing the bill to open the government--let 
me say it again--to open the government.
  Mr. Speaker, let me conclude on these two points:
  I always believe that it is important to be truthful in one's 
statement. Any of us in public service should give the best evidence of 
the truth that we can.
  Those of us who have served in the last 2 to 3 to 4 or 5 years have 
seen the pain of our constituents and the pain of Members of Congress 
who come from districts where the enormity of the opioid crisis has 
taken whole families. We know that there are 100-plus people dying 
every day from opioid abuse.
  For those of us who come from inner-city communities, that was 
yesteryear's crack and cocaine that didn't get the attention that we 
are getting now. But I am not selfish. I am glad, as a nation, we 
recognize the literal destroying of a human being and family.
  So we have invested money in treatment. We have looked at the 
criminal justice system, and we will look even more to not penalize 
those who are addicted. We are trying to eliminate access to meth and 
some of the most poisonous drugs, now kush, and many others.
  But it is shameful to use the pain of these families and to create a 
false narrative that I put up a wall and I will heal Johnny Smith way 
up in New England from his opioid disease.
  Drugs, we have a war that we must finish, fight and finish. We must 
get people off of drugs. We must cure them. We must treat them as if 
they are sick.
  But I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, no wall is going to stop the 
epidemic. We must engage in diplomacy and the frustration and the 
poverty in South and Central America.
  By the way, I have introduced a bill that says if we have a wall, 
concrete wall, then, as was promised by this administration, Mexico 
should pay for it.
  But we must engage with the South and Central American countries, and 
any drugs that want to get into this country, you can be assured they 
will be coming in underground, in tunnels, well-lit tunnels, well-known 
pathways and legal points of entry.
  How do I know? I have been at the border when a bust has been made 
and seen the car open and the most unique places where millions of 
dollars of drugs were hidden.
  Thank you to the canine team that is so effective.
  None of this was spoken about. The narrative was not true. The White 
House is not presenting to the American people what really is a 
national emergency. Opioid is, but the way it must be dealt with is 
increased access to healthcare and not the continued undermining of the 
Affordable Care Act.
  So, finally, we have heard the President call and scream that he will 
declare a national emergency.
  I think it is important, as it is for the Members of this great body, 
this great Nation, to know that we have a Constitution where Article I 
is the Congress and Article II is the Executive, and nowhere in those 
two articles does it say that the Congress has to be told what to do by 
the administration--nowhere. An independent body must stand for what 
the American people need. So there are statutes that govern the 
emergency declaration.
  I will give it to you straight: There are two statutes that require 
either that there be a declaration of war--I have not heard that--or 
else a proper formal declaration of national emergency. They don't 
dictate exactly what the conditions are. It is all about process and 
transparency.
  If, for example, the President would want to declare this a national 
emergency, he would have to frame it, and he would have to determine 
what that means. Do we want to use the Armed Forces? What kind of 
national emergency is it?
  And do you realize that national emergency means taking money from so 
many vital programs? Just like the $5.7 billion wall that, for some 
reason, the supporters or people listening to this narrative of the 
wall, they must think that we have a hidden treasure somewhere that we 
will just go in and dig down in the pot and get $5.7 billion.
  You take $5.7 billion, and you will take it out of the United States 
military. You will take it out of the Coast Guard. You will take it out 
of education. You will take it out of healthcare. You will take it out 
of the environment. You will take it out of international diplomacy. 
You will take it out of those suffering from HIV/AIDS. You will take it 
out of the starving people around the world. That is where the money 
will come from.
  So I hope that there will be a pathway where this body of Congress 
works to send the bills to the President's desk. I hope that we don't 
go 2 or 3 more days past this day tomorrow, when no checks will come to 
thousands of Americans, and get this government open.
  If the President thinks he can declare a national emergency and that 
is the only narrative he wants to use, we will do our job. He will do 
his job, but we should have, as our number one job, to open this 
government now and to provide the good, hardworking Americans who serve 
us in the Federal Government and those who are impacted by them to be 
able to get a check, to be able to do the things that this great Nation 
has allowed them to do; for we stumble, we do not realize that, in the 
Declaration of Independence, it indicated that we were all created 
equal, with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness.
  I take that to heart, what this country stands for, and we have got 
to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the kind words.
  I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat).
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the gentlewoman and 
the Progressive Caucus for organizing this very important Special Order 
hour. It is an important opportunity for us to share stories about how 
the Trump shutdown is causing real damage in many of our communities 
and to remind the American people that President Trump is holding 
government hostage not for some noble cause, but for his petulant 
demand for an unnecessary and medieval border wall.

                              {time}  1830

  There are 14,000 Federal workers in New York State whose pay has been 
impacted by this Trump shutdown, but I will share the story of one of 
my constituents.
  This is the reality of a constituent from the 13th Congressional 
District, someone I have the privilege to represent and know. That 
person is a NASA employee who, along with dozens of her colleagues, has 
been furloughed due to the Trump shutdown.
  Most Americans are unaware that NASA operates and conducts some of 
the most important climate change research in New York City through 
NASA labs right in the heart of New York City.
  My constituent's work is even more critical now than ever before, as 
our global climate is in its most fragile state, with record-shattering 
hurricanes pounding the Caribbean. We saw how Hurricane Maria ravaged 
through the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and the Gulf Coast of our 
country, as well as the massive wildfires burning throughout California 
and other parts of the West Coast.
  My constituent and her fellow workers, dedicated researchers, conduct 
observational-based climate assessment. Now, because of the Trump 
shutdown, these crucial studies will stop.
  The intensive models they build explain past climate behavior and 
help us predict future climate conditions so we can be better prepared 
in the future.
  This is not surprising, Mr. Speaker, because many of the folks around 
the

[[Page H453]]

White House believe that climate change is a hoax, that it doesn't 
exist at all.
  These researchers that have been furloughed are so necessary for the 
future of our Nation and our planet. Their periodic reports are 
essential for understanding our climate and how it is changing.
  In a response from agencies that seems almost like a cruel joke, 
furloughed Federal workers, like my constituent, have been encouraged 
to get creative, to budget closely. They have been asked that perhaps 
they could make ends meet if they baby-sit or if they have garage 
sales.
  This is the message that these agencies have given to some of the 
furloughed workers across the country, but too many in our Federal 
workforce simply cannot afford to miss a loan payment, a utility bill, 
their rent, their mortgage.
  This President simply doesn't understand just how hard it is for 
working class people and middle class people. As Speaker Pelosi aptly 
put it, President Trump doesn't understand that working people cannot 
ask their dad or their mom for money.
  This whole situation is unacceptable. And just like President Trump 
said when he accepted the Republican nomination back in 2016, he alone 
can fix this. He created this crisis.
  I bring this here to show the American people who is crossing the 
border. I went down to the border in New Mexico, and I saw moms and 
little children running away from violence, from hunger, running away 
from natural disasters, sleeping on a cold, dirty, dingy floor, packed 
like sardines.
  We are a better country. We are a better America.
  We ask you, Mr. President: Give up your wall. Give up your wall and 
reopen government. Free the 800,000 Federal workers you have held 
hostage in this manufactured, fictitious security crisis.
  This is the moment, this is the time. Mr. Speaker, we must fight 
back, we must reopen government. We will not give in to the wall.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for being here 
tonight.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I was just on the floor, but I could not leave the floor 
without reminding us that our constituents have names.
  So I wanted Edith to know how concerned I am about her, and to say 
that when I spoke about the 20 days and the 20 pennies, all of that is, 
if you will, things that are static, but a human being who has to deal 
with life's ups and downs is real.
  Edith Banda--recently returned from a reservist deployment in the 
Middle East--is among thousands of people in the Houston area feeling 
the impact of the government shutdown.
  Edith has not worked her Federal job in downtown Houston, which is 
where my congressional office is, since the shutdown 17 days ago.
  Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston are unable 
to seek private sector work, because such jobs require permission, and 
the people who process these requests have been furloughed; just like 
some are trying to get unemployment, and some of the documentation they 
need are with people who are furloughed.
  Edith has been selling her personal possessions to make ends meet, 
but she said another couple of weeks of no work would be crushing.
  Now, I know our Speaker has indicated that we are working very hard 
here to get access to credit through credit unions and no-interest 
loans. We have letters that they can send.
  I want to personally say that my office is open. 713-655-0050 is my 
local office. My staff, get ready, in case we can be of help to you 
down in Houston to be able to see what we can do about your 
circumstances.
  Finally, I just want to say that Carol has been a Federal employee 
for over 25 years. She is waiting to find out when she will be allowed 
to return to work. She has been furloughed.
  After reflecting on her two daughters enrolled in college and her 
fears of no longer being able to help them with their education 
expenses, she wrote about how the Trump shutdown was hurting her. And 
like many employees, she has a mortgage, credit card payments, Federal 
student loans, and she is trying to be a mother.
  And I would just say this as I close, that she has got to deal with 
late fees, interest rate hikes and damage to her credit score, and so 
she is one of those individuals.
  I just want to say that the metaphor, the narrative, again, of so 
many people having gates to their homes, and to use that when these 
people are pouring out their life savings, they are pouring their heart 
out, they are in distress, I have a very diverse district, and I can 
assure you I can travel around and see very few gated communities of 
all economic levels. And they love their family. They have a door, but 
they are moving around the community.
  This is a great Nation. That is a poor example, that we have gated 
communities because we love the people that are in or not, because we 
don't like the people who are out.
  It is because you have a dislike for the people who are out. That 
must be your lack of understanding of all of our humanity, because for 
those of us at Homeland Security who have been to the northern border 
as well, there is not one fence there and not one person that wants a 
fence. And we know what happened in 2000 when a person came across to 
do harm to the United States.
  We can find a better solution. Let's stop using the narrative, 
because I think many Americans live in circumstances where they see 
their neighbors, they interact with their neighbors, and they don't 
have locked gates and walls. Some do. That is their choice. But that is 
not the definition of who we are.
  So I want to say to Edith and to Carol and others, Democrats are here 
working as hard as we can. Congresswoman Porter is working as hard as 
she can. And we will be back on the floor again tomorrow.
  I am just hoping that the Senate, the other body, can take up our 
bills. Once they do that, it is very clear that they can go right to 
the President. If it sits for 10 days, it is law.
  I feel that if it is vetoed, I really feel that the good people of 
this House and Senate will override it and get these people back where 
they need to be.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding so I could tell 
Edith and Carol's story.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to join my colleagues in discussing the 
Trump Shutdown and its devastating impact on the financial security of 
federal families and contractors.
  As the Trump Shutdown enters its third week, the effects of President 
Trump and Republicans' reckless decision to shutter the government over 
a wasteful and unnecessary border wall are obvious.
  Frontline federal employees, including law enforcement and public 
safety personnel, have been working without pay since December 22.
  This includes around 14,000 FBI agents, 54,000 Customs and Border 
Protection agents, 47,000 Transportation Security Officers and 6,000 
Forest Service firefighters.
  TSA employees received their last paycheck on December 28, giving 
them money that would typically last through the next pay period but 
which will now have to stretch much further.
  The shutdown has already forced some employees to look for new jobs 
or take on extra work, and the pressure is immense for employees and 
families with no other source of income.
  This also includes 3,200 Secret Service agents who risk their lives 
every single day to protect President Trump and his family.
  In addition to the federal employees working without pay, hardworking 
federal employees at agencies like the Department of Justice, the 
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, and 
NASA have been furloughed without pay, plunging them and their families 
into uncertainty.
  These are real American families that are being put through an 
unwarranted and unnecessary shutdown and are suffering because of it.
  With many federal employees being furloughed, and those deemed 
essential being expected to work without pay American families are now 
stuck wondering how they are going to get by without an income, 
especially since things like rent, groceries, and general day-to-day 
living costs still need to be paid whether the government is fully 
functional or not.
  The Trump Shutdown will end when the President comes to his senses.

[[Page H454]]

  Not only are Americans struggling to pay for their day-to-day 
expenses but veterans and military families are suffering as well.
  If the shutdown lasts for more than two or three weeks, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs has said that it may not have enough 
money to pay disability claims and pension payments.
  That could affect approximately 3.6 million veterans.
  For military families, although their pay has continued, the military 
is suffering in other areas.
  For example, changes of station for military personnel will be 
delayed, medical offerings could be scaled back, and facility and 
weapons maintenance could be suspended.
  Additionally, military commissaries (base grocery stores) have shut 
down and military families are being forced to shop elsewhere.
  According to the Defense Commissary Agency, military families 
generally save more than 30 percent on average at the commissaries.
  Shopping off the base can be pricey, especially for military families 
living in cities with a high cost of living.
  Edith Banda who recently returned from a reservist deployment in the 
Middle East is among thousands of people in the Houston area feeling 
the impact of the government shutdown.
  Edith has not worked her federal job in downtown Houston since the 
shutdown 17 days ago.
  Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston are unable 
to seek temporary private sector work because such jobs require 
permission, and the people who process those requests have been 
furloughed.
  Edith has begun selling her personal possessions to make ends meet, 
but she said another couple of weeks of no work would be crushing.
  There are so many other issues that we could tackle with the money 
Trump wants to spend on the wall.
  With an increase of $265 million the Department of Justice could hire 
2,000 new police officers and make steps towards making many 
communities a safer place.
  With increase of $99 million the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy could support community-level efforts to address substance abuse 
programs in nearly 730 additional communities.
  Economic Development Administration with an increase of $200 million 
could create or preserve 31,000 jobs for our hardworking Americans.
  Small Business Administration grants with an additional $20 million 
could support dozens more Women's Business and Veterans Outreach 
Centers providing business training, counseling and outreach to 47,000 
additional US veterans and women.
  These are the changes that American citizens deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, it is critical that the President ends this government 
shutdown and end the unwarranted suffering of American families across 
the nation.
  Carol with the Bureau of Land Management wrote to me sharing her 
frustrations and anxiety over the Trump Shutdown.
  Carol has been a federal employee for over 25 years. She is waiting 
to find out when she will be allowed to return to work. Carol is one of 
800,000 federal government employees living with constant worry and 
angst. Hearing that President Trump is willing to keep her and many 
others furloughed for years has her questioning her career choice.
  After reflecting on her two daughters enrolled in college and her 
fears of no longer being able to help them with their education 
expenses did she write about how Trump's Shutdown will hurt her.
  She, like many other federal employees, has a mortgage, has credit 
card payments, has federal student loans. The places where she would 
look for assistance are closed, leaving her to attempt to navigate and 
negotiate late fees, interest rate hikes, and damage to her credit 
score that inevitable missed payments will create.
  Carol is just one of the 800,000 federal government employees who 
will not be receiving a paycheck tomorrow.
  The President should be ashamed.
  Prior to Trump's election the nation heard about his history of 
refusing to pay contractors for work they had completed. The United 
States Federal Government does not and will not conduct business in 
this way. The United State Government pays its workers.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much. I 
appreciate her sharing their stories and adding the stories of Edith 
and Carol to those that I shared of my constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I think this really shows that the harms of the shutdown 
are being felt in communities around the country, including from her 
home State in Texas and mine in California.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call for an end to the Trump 
shutdown. This Republican-imposed shutdown is threatening job creation, 
harming small businesses and leaving families with uncertainty and 
instability.
  It is shameful that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are 
so desperate to secure taxpayer funding for a senseless border wall 
that they're willing to harm hardworking Americans by shutting down the 
federal government.
  This outrageous shutdown is forcing 420,000 federal employees to work 
without pay. These dedicated public servants have been doing their jobs 
and serving the public without pay since December 22. They include 
about 14,000 FBI agents, 6,000 Forest Service firefighters, and 54,000 
Customs and Border Protection agents. Furthermore, thousands of airport 
security screeners and air traffic controllers are working without pay 
to protect the safety of the flying public at airports throughout the 
country, including LAX in my congressional district.
  In addition, 400,000 federal employees have been furloughed without 
pay. This includes federal workers at the Departments of 
Transportation, State, Commerce, Interior and Agriculture.
  These dedicated public servants are sitting at home wondering how 
they will pay their mortgages and buy food for their families. Yet, 
they want nothing more than to go back to work serving the American 
people.
  As the Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, I am 
especially concerned about the impact of the Trump Shutdown on American 
homebuyers and renters. Millions of families that rely on Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) rental assistance programs are dangerously close to eviction and 
foreclosure due to lapses in funding. Families aspiring to become 
homeowners may see their Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or rural 
housing loans delayed or be unable to close on their loans altogether 
during the shutdown. In rural communities, very low-income, elderly 
homeowners who rely on HUD grants and loans to address health and 
safety hazards will not receive payments and may be forced to live in 
dangerous conditions.
  In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency 
that investors and the public rely on to police Wall Street and 
maintain the safety of our capital markets system has furloughed 
roughly 94% of its staff, leading to a backlog of complaints that could 
delay enforcement actions. Companies looking to go public and enter the 
stock market for the first time may also have to delay their Initial 
Public Offerings (IPOs).
  Meanwhile, our National Parks are overflowing with uncollected trash, 
and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stopped conducting 
inspections of drinking water systems, hazardous waste facilities, and 
chemical facilities.
  If the Trump shutdown continues beyond January, about 40 percent of 
40 million individuals and families across the country who are 
dependent upon the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), 
also known as Food Stamps, will see their benefits reduced.
  These are just a few examples of the harm being caused by the third 
shutdown this nation has experienced since Trump took office. It is 
time for Republicans to stop jeopardizing livelihoods, the financial 
system, and our economy by ending this shutdown immediately.
  It's long past time to end this Trump shutdown, and put America's 
public servants back to work serving the public.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

                          ____________________