[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 7 (Monday, January 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SHUTDOWN STORIES

  (Mr. LEVIN of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, on Friday, several of my 
Democratic colleagues and I met with hardworking Americans who are 
living with the consequences of the ongoing Trump shutdown.
  We met an FAA employee, working without a paycheck, who has two kids 
in college, and they need money for books as the new semester begins.
  We met a Customs and Border Patrol employee who said his friends 
think he is on vacation, but a vacation does not include calling your 
mortgage lender and your auto loan company to tell them you may not 
make a payment. He said he never expected to get rich as a public 
servant, but he thought he would be able to buy formula for his 5-
month-old daughter.
  We met a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee who 
told us weather forecasts for the Great Lakes will be impacted for 
months, which will, in turn, impact shipping.
  We are on day 24 of the longest government shutdown in American 
history. Estimates say we are letting GD growth take a hit of $1.2 
billion every week.

  The President has to stop holding the health, safety, and paychecks 
of the American people hostage and reopen the government immediately, 
because 5,200 Federal workers in Michigan are working without pay or 
are furloughed. I guarantee you that every one of them has a story like 
the ones I shared.

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