[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 15 (Thursday, January 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H1191-H1192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           LET THEM EAT CAKE

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, let them eat cake--Marie Antoinette.
  The Secretary of Commerce has indicated that my $28,000-paid TSA 
agent can walk into the Nation's banks and demand a loan. Well, right 
now, in my district, the city and other good neighbors are opening 
their doors to give free groceries to those TSOs and other wonderful 
Federal workers. I don't know what bank they can go into.
  I can tell you that Edith, who just returned from deployment in the 
Middle East, is suffering. She hasn't worked for 25 days. To make 
matters worse, she has to take temporary work in order to help pay for 
her children. She now is selling personal possessions to make a 
difference.
  Sandra, who recently came to Houston to work at NASA, came to start 
on January 7 from Nebraska. She hasn't been able to work; she doesn't 
have a job; and she doesn't have any money.
  Or what about Linda, who has been working and now has to work extra 
shifts to help pay for her children? She, too, is selling her items for 
rent, groceries, everything that is needed.
  Let them eat cake. That is what is being said by this administration.
  Open the government. Pay our workers now.
  Mr. Republican, join us in the 11 times that we have voted to open 
the government now.
  Madam Speaker, today I rise to join my colleagues in condemning the 
President's decision to shut down the federal government, furloughing 
800,000 civil servants and forcing nearly half that many to work 
without pay, and which is costing the economy more than $1 billion each 
day in lost productive and economic output.
  As the Trump Shutdown enters its thirty-fourth day, the effects of 
President Trump and Republicans' reckless decision to shutter the 
government over a wasteful and unnecessary border wall are obvious.
  A continuing resolution could be passed that would provide funding 
for the federal government through February 28, 2019 but it has not 
been done.
  Frontline federal employees, including law enforcement and public 
safety personnel, have been working without pay since December 22. So 
many people have risked their lives in order to serve this country and 
the way they have been treated
  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, this 
single paycheck will now have to stretch much further than they 
initially anticipated.
  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.
  Among those not receiving a pay check for their work are 3,200 Secret 
Service agents who risk their lives every single day to protect 
President Trump and his family.
  Speaker Pelosi's decision to delay the State of the Union is in 
defense of the Secret Service agents who would be forced to work 
without pay.
  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 they 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, children's prescriptions 
and general day-to-day living costs must still be paid whether the 
government is fully functional or not.
  The Trump Shutdown will end when the President comes to his senses.
  The Republican members of the House and the Republican controlled 
Senate can send a message to the President to end the shutdown by 
voting a veto proof margin in favor of a short term continuing 
resolution.
  Not only are Americans struggling to pay for their day-to-day 
expenses but veterans and military families are suffering as well.
  The shutdown has lasted long enough that the Department of Veterans 
Affairs has said that it may not have enough money to pay disability 
claims and pension payments.
  This could affect approximately 3.6 million veterans.
  The military is also suffering in other areas.
  For example, changes of station for military personnel will be 
delayed and facility and weapons maintenance could be suspended.
  Military commissaries (base grocery stores) have shut down and 
military families are being forced to shop elsewhere, costing up to 30 
percent more on average than at the commissaries.
  The United States Coast Guard is still without funding.
  This is an added expense that adds up quickly, 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

[[Page H1192]]

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 25 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 an 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.
  With an increase of $200 million the Economic Development 
Administration could create or preserve 31,000 jobs for our hardworking 
Americans.
  With an additional $20 million Small Business Administration grants 
could support dozens more Women's Business and Veterans Outreach 
Centers providing business training, counseling and outreach to 47,000 
additional U.S. veterans and women
  These are the changes that American citizens deserve.
  Madam Speaker, it is critical that the President ends this government 
shutdown and end the unwarranted suffering of American families across 
the nation.

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