[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H608-H609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the irresponsible 
government shutdown that is hurting people not only in my district, but 
throughout California and our Nation. There is no good reason for our 
government to be shut down.
  As national leaders, one of the most important responsibilities as 
Members of Congress is, in fact, to pass a budget every year on time 
and always to keep government open. But since 2010, we have seen a 
phenomena take place where groups on both sides think, well, there can 
be justification to shut down government for an agenda, usually 
politically motivated, and put all of our other responsibilities aside.
  Over half the Members of Congress have been here less than 6 years.
  I say this government shutdown, any government shutdown, is 
irresponsible. We are supposed to have a budget for our country, like 
every family has a budget and every business has a budget.
  When the government shuts down, people suffer, families suffer, 
veterans suffer, all Americans suffer. Approximately 800,000 Federal 
employees are currently furloughed or working without pay across the 
country.
  Last Friday, in my home State of California, over 37,000 Federal 
employees did not receive their paychecks. That is irresponsible.

                              {time}  1030

  Yesterday was payday for the United States Coast Guard. Protecting 
our seas throughout our Nation is a vital part of America's national 
security. They got a paycheck with a printed ``0'' on it for their 
wage.
  Our national parks are operating without full staff or guides. We 
have had, already, Americans die as a result of the shutdown, one in 
Yosemite close to my district.
  The government shutdown is putting Americans in danger in other ways 
as well. By shutting down the government, the President is making 
border security--supposedly the reason for all of this--more difficult 
and has stopped paying key law enforcement personnel, including Customs 
and Border Protection officers, Federal prosecutors, immigration 
judges, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and members, as I 
said earlier, of the Coast Guard.
  This is a manufactured crisis in order to pursue a political agenda. 
It is just not right. It is not the way our government is supposed to 
function.
  Within the United States, Homeland Security investigation agents who 
investigate human trafficking, drug smuggling, and transnational 
criminal gangs are working without pay. Does that make any sense? I 
thought this was supposed to be about national security. We ought to be 
paying these folks.
  The Department of Justice has stopped processing discretionary grants 
that support State and local law enforcement, which is critical, I can 
tell you, in California, where we have many of these challenges. I have 
been listening to the people back home. That is our job. We are 
supposed to listen.
  For 25 days now, the shutdown has been hurting the people of San 
Joaquin Valley. Middle-class families are suffering. We have IRS 
officers and large numbers of Federal employees in my district who are 
working or not working, and they are not receiving paychecks.
  Many of these individuals have shared that they don't even know how 
they are going to be able to feed their children or pay their mortgage 
or their car payment, because the majority of families live--what?--
from paycheck-to-paycheck. In fact, a group of Federal employees in my 
district is at the point of needing to take out loans and trying to 
find other jobs--which makes no sense--to keep themselves and their 
families afloat.
  And the pain radiates, broadly affecting our local economies. Small 
businesses in downtown Fresno, Madera, Merced, and many other 
communities

[[Page H609]]

throughout my district are being impacted, along with the Federal 
officers who are involved in the United States Department of 
Agriculture and the ability to operate their offices.
  And there are those who contract with the government who are looking 
at not receiving paychecks. It is affecting our Nation's economy. And 
there is clear proof of that.
  Mr. Speaker, this harm must stop. Let me say it again. There is no 
good reason for a government shutdown. We have our differences, to be 
sure, and we ought to be negotiating those differences on border 
security and other matters.
  On December 18, the Senate passed a bipartisan agreement, 
unanimously, to keep the government open that was acceptable to both 
Chambers and the President, and it did not include funding for a border 
wall. The next day, the President changed his mind.
  This shutdown is not about securing our border, but it is about 
consistently providing funding to improve our border security, and we 
can do that. We should do that.
  I urge my colleagues to get to work. The American people expect 
better.

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