[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 15 (Thursday, January 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SHUTDOWN HAS TURNED LIVES UPSIDE DOWN

  (Ms. WEXTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WEXTON. Madam Speaker, my district in Northern Virginia is home 
to tens of thousands of Federal workers, and even more contractors who 
work alongside them.
  I have heard from hundreds of constituents about how the shutdown has 
turned their lives upside down, like Teresa, who is a furloughed 
Federal worker.
  She and her husband recently sold their home and signed a contract to 
purchase another one in my district. The mortgage financing for their 
purchase was all set and approved before the shutdown. Their closing 
date is set for next Monday, the 28th, 4 days from now.
  But just a couple days ago, they learned that the mortgage company is 
now denying their mortgage application because she is furloughed. She 
was told by the lender that they consider her unemployed and too much 
of a risk to finance.
  This is a Federal employee who will receive backpay when this 
shutdown eventually ends, but that isn't enough for the mortgage 
company. It isn't enough for any of their other creditors, and now she 
and her family, instead of celebrating moving into their new home, are 
essentially homeless, all because of the reckless Trump-McConnell 
shutdown.

                          ____________________