Kim Schrier

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, yesterday marked 1 full month of this unnecessary government shutdown, and 800,000 Federal employees are set to miss their second paycheck later this week. The shutdown is not only affecting those workers, but we are seeing ripple effects of agencies being closed or staff being downsized. Food banks are seeing massive increases, some almost twelvefold, in demand from Federal employees, but also people who rely on help like Section 8 housing checks or SNAP benefits. Here is some of what I am hearing. I heard from a constituent who is a career employee at the FAA that ``it is frustrating that thousands of hardworking Federal employees have become innocent pawns in the current Washington standoff between Congress and the President over funding for border security. As an integral part of the Nation's air traffic control system, my focus has always been and will always be on safety.'' He goes on: ``My dedicated colleagues and I at the FAA work tirelessly in furtherance of the agency's mission of providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, despite some of us now doing so without pay.'' I have also heard from a woman whose husband is a Federal agent at the FDA. ``My question,'' she says, ``is how are we going to make ends meet without a paycheck from my husband this Friday? We adopted our sweet son a year and a half ago, draining our savings account to do so. We currently do not have savings to fall back on during this time. ``How are we supposed to pay our rent, our bills, keep food on the table for our family, or pay for an emergency should it arise? I do have a full-time job that will at least bring us some income during this shutdown, and I am sure we are luckier than most Federal-employed families, but I can assure you that our family is in true panic mode. ``We have been doing everything in our power to ensure our family would be able to purchase a home this summer. How do we explain to creditors that we don't have the money to pay them right now without it affecting our credit?'' I have also heard from a constituent who is a furloughed Federal worker who is ``forced to come to work every day without pay due to the partial government shutdown. ``Every day that goes by, the stress and anxiety about not having a paycheck and having to support my family, all the while having to incur the costs of going to work every day, mounts. To top this all off, as an `excepted,' or an `exempt,' employee, under current Federal law, I am not allowed to apply for nor can I receive unemployment compensation.'' I have also heard from a local business owner who contracts with Federal entities. He says: ``My work has ground to a halt. I won't be compensated for any downtime, and I will have to reduce my workforce. We don't need a wall; we don't need to waste money; and we don't need symbolic racism. We need an open government that manages land, services, travel, and commerce. Please apply pressure to get the government open and our district's Federal employees, contractors, and private-sector partners back to work.'' I have heard from a constituent who served 40 years in the Coast Guard, under many different administrations, who said: ``Worst of all, it is negatively impacting the most junior members of our workforce. These are the people you will meet if you ever take your family out boating on Puget Sound or the navigable waters of this country and experience some form of distress. As a retiree, I will not be paid at the end of this month, a statement I once believed I would never have to say.'' I have heard from a social worker whose client left a domestic violence situation and recently received a letter about discontinuation of Section 8 housing benefits: ``This family, without this support, will be homeless once again, let alone the emotional strain that this is causing. Please do what you can,'' she says, ``to prevent the stress on our most vulnerable.'' The shutdown must end now. Federal employees and their families should not be held hostage for a wasteful and ineffective wall. People who rely on assistance from the Federal Government are now caught in the fray. The House now has voted nine times to reopen the government with bipartisan bills that have similar language to what the Republican Senate passed in December, and we will introduce similar legislation today, giving Republicans in the Senate yet another opportunity to open the government. I will not support reopening the government in exchange for the President's wall. This hostage-taking strategy must not be a successful one, or we will see it again. The wall, as he defines it, is a monument to racism and xenophobia, an environmental disaster, and a huge waste of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Let's be clear that what Mr. Trump offered as a ``compromise'' on Saturday doesn't even undo the damage he alone has caused. That is no compromise; that is lip service. Get the government open, and then we can have an informed, evidence- based discussion about the best way to protect our borders without holding the American people hostage.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, I want to applaud my colleagues, especially Mr. Engel and Mr. McCaul, for sending a strong message with a vote on H.R. 221, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti- Semitism Act. Jewish people enjoy freedom, acceptance, and assimilation in this country like we never have before. Sadly, in recent years, there has been a disturbing uptick in anti-Semitic rhetoric and acts both in the U.S. and Europe. In the context of rising intolerance, hatred, and xenophobia in our country, we are witnessing emboldened normalization of anti-Semitic language and behavior. This includes anti-Semitic propaganda targeting many of us new Members of Congress. The tragic shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh was the deadliest attack on Jews in our Nation's history. Bigotry is not unique to the Jewish community. What is, however, is that we don't have anyone monitoring and responding to the uptick in anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric. This bill elevates the State Department's top position to that of Ambassador, reporting directly to the Secretary of State. The stature of this position sends the strong message that we are committed to combating anti-Semitism here and abroad. As a Jewish woman, anti-Semitism is personal for me, but we need to understand this in the context of the larger issues of intolerance and White nationalism that are gaining traction in our country right now. No minority is safe when any minority is targeted. We should all be on high alert when Muslims, Blacks, Latinos, and immigrants are cast as ``the other,'' scapegoated, and dehumanized. We cannot sit idly by while people are targeted for how they dress, how they look, or how they choose to worship. I ask my counterparts in the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill. Let's show the world that America takes this issue seriously and that hate has no place here.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, on roll call vote 29, I was unavoidably detained and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on HR 221, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti- Semitism Act.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to deliver my first floor speech today speaking about an issue that is deeply personal to me, to the patients that I care for as a pediatrician, and to thousands of my constituents in Washington's Eighth District. As you know, the lawful nature of the Affordable Care Act has been challenged, and if the decision stands, 17 million Americans will lose their health insurance. This includes many of my patients, children, and people with preexisting conditions. Having seen families struggle to pay ever higher insurance premiums and deductibles every year, I understand that we need improvements in our system. The answer is to shore up the ACA, not dismantle it. And as the lone woman doctor in Congress and as a patient with type 1 diabetes, I look forward to leading that conversation. The first step is to preserve the protections that we have now, and that is why I am so pleased that the House will take steps to intervene in this court case. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to consider the fates of their constituents who might not have access to medical care without the Affordable Care Act and to support this intervention. Millions of Americans and thousands in my district are counting on us.