As the Trump Shutdown stretches into Day 26, Senator Murray joined Senate Democrats on the Senate floor and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to share stories from families in Washington state and across the nation about the impact of the #TrumpShutdown on their lives
To date, Senate Republicans have refused to allow a vote on a House-passed bill that would reopen the federal government and restore paychecks for 800,000 federal workers, including nearly 13,000 Washingtonians
Senator Murray: “We’re going to keep lifting up the voices of those who are impacted by President Trump and Republican Senators’ shutdown. And we’re not going to stop until our country is back open again—and we are able to get back to work”
ALSO: In a new letter to President Trump, Senator Murray highlights harmful impact of the Trump Shutdown on federal affordable housing programs – MORE HERE
“Reopen the government”: On Wednesday, during speeches on the Senate floor (left) and at a news conference with Senate Democrats outside the U.S. Capitol (right), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) turned up the heat on President Trump and Senate Republicans to abandon their reckless partial government shutdown and work with Democrats to reopen the federal government immediately to provide relief to hundreds of thousands of federal workers in Washington state and across the country who have worked for days without pay.
(Washington, D.C.) – In an effort to push President Trump and Senate Republicans to reverse course on their manufactured shutdown of the federal government, today U.S. Senator Patty Murray joined Senate Democrats on the Senate floor and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to share more stories from Washington state families who have been impacted by the Trump Shutdown. Reading letters and recalling anecdotes from dozens of Washingtonians about how the Trump Shutdown has adversely impacted their lives—from federal workers and Coast Guard families who have been furloughed or worked for weeks without a paycheck, to families around the state who are feeling the ripple effects of the Trump Shutdown in their local communities—in her remarks Senator Murray again stressed the urgent need to fully reopen the federal government and called on Senate Republicans to stand up to President Trump and with their constituents to end the government shutdown. Now in its 26th day, Senator Murray has heard from thousands of Washington state residents since the beginning of the shutdown, and has continued sharing their stories about the impacts of the shutdown with her Senate colleagues and on social media to highlight the urgent need to fully reopen the government and provide relief for hundreds of thousands of workers and families, including nearly 13,000 Washingtonians. During an afternoon news conference with the entire Senate Democratic Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol, Senator Murray highlighted the story of Washington state resident Shirley, a furloughed employee with the FAA:
“She told me that hers is a single income family with monthly bills to pay. And that not knowing when her paycheck will come is very stressful—to say the least. She isn’t sleeping at night worrying about how she can cut expenses to pay her bills if this shutdown continues. She doesn’t know how she is going to make it. And she told me that she knows so many others in the same position—who are desperate for their government to fix this problem,” Senator Murray said, noting that Shirley’s story is one of countless families who are fearful and frustrated about how they will manage if the shutdown continues.
Added Senator Murray: “That is just one story—if you look around at these faces, these pictures—you can see there are so many more. It’s truly shameful that we have gotten to this place as a country—and we need to get out. So Democrats are going to keep sharing these stories. We’re going to keep lifting up the voices of those who are impacted by President Trump and Republican Senators’ shutdown. And we’re not going to stop until our country is back open again—and we are able to get back to work.”
Watch video of Senator Murray’s full remarks HERE.
Senator Murray also joined her colleagues in a new letter to President Trump on the harmful impact of the Trump Shutdown on federal affordable housing programs, and earlier in the day led a group of her Senate Democratic colleagues in an effort to highlight stories from their home states from people and families who are being hurt by President Trump’s shutdown, recalling additional stories from Washington state residents about how challenging it has been to make ends meet and take care of their families in a speech on the Senate floor:
“These are people in every state in our country. They are people on every side of this border debate. They are people who heard President Trump say he would be “proud” to shut down the government. They are people who simply don’t understand why they are being asked to bear the burden—to pay the price—because President Trump and Republican leaders in the Senate have boxed themselves into a political corner. And they are people who are getting angrier and angrier—more and more desperate with every day that goes by—and who are going to be making their voices heard and fighting by our side to end this shutdown right away,” Senator Murray said.
Watch video of Senator Murray’s floor speeches HERE and HERE.
(Copies of Senator Murray’s full floor speech and news conference remarks available upon request.)
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