[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 6 (Friday, January 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H511-H512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS HURTING PEOPLE

  (Mr. EVANS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, the government shutdown is hurting people in 
Philadelphia right now.
  I met a HUD employee this week who is tired of being used as a pawn. 
She said: ``I'm ready to go back to work. I'm ready to serve the 
people.''
  Instead, she has to worry about her mortgage and student loans.
  She said: ``My American Dream is slipping through my fingers. It's 
really not fair.''
  Mr. Speaker, she teared up. I understand why.
  For the 800,000 Federal workers and Federal contractors, this is not 
some reality TV show. This is real life.
  The workers and citizens served by the government need the President 
and the Senate to reopen the government first, and then we can have a 
debate about border security.
  The Senate should join the Democratic House in passing the spending 
bills to reopen the government, bills

[[Page H512]]

that they have already passed last year. And we all need to keep 
foremost in our minds that this debate about the wall--we should be 
talking about the real people and getting to work now, Mr. Speaker.

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