Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, across my district, the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania, and across our country, this shutdown is hurting small businesses.

One of my constituents is an entrepreneur from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He recently emailed me to let me know that he can't get his mandatory employer ID number for the new business he is trying to start because the IRS is shut down. Until he gets that number, he can't set up payroll for his employees or open a company bank account.

Another constituent from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, processes Small Business Administration-backed loans to entrepreneurs trying to start or expand businesses. But, as he explains, since the SBA has been shut down, no small business loans have been going out. For many, that means no access to capital at reasonable interest rates and having to turn to loan sharks to keep businesses afloat.

And let us never forget that our Coast Guard is still working without pay.

We were sent here to make people's lives better, not make them harder and more stressful than they already are. Members of both parties need to come together to support our military and the small businesses that power our economy, and that means ending this shutdown.

Madam Speaker, as a freshman Member of this body, I take deep offense at the suggestion a little while ago here on the House floor by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that House Democrats are responsible for this government shutdown.

To the contrary, their leader in the Senate has failed his responsibility to the American people to bring a vote to the Senate floor on any of the nine appropriations bills passed by the House that would reopen this government.

A few days ago, I visited Turning Point of Lehigh Valley in my district, a shelter that assists survivors of abuse and their families and that has stopped receiving Federal funding as a result of this shutdown. When I return to my district tomorrow, I will be visiting with more organizations that have been similarly affected.

The shelter has a long waiting list. So while it does extraordinary work, it already struggles to maintain the funding it needs to take in all those who are suffering in the community, and that is the case in many communities across our country.

So, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle wish to do something constructive, they should go see their leader in the Senate and urge him to bring a vote to the floor.

Madam Speaker, last week, I spoke on this floor about the first bill I introduced, a bill to fund our Coast Guard through this government shutdown.

Incredibly, our Coast Guard is still not being paid. Yesterday was payday, but they got nothing.

Just an hour ago, I spoke with Admiral Charles Ray, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, who emphasized to me just how hard this is for young members of the Coast Guard who have not yet accumulated savings. As he said to me, these men and women do everything we ask of them. All they ask is that we stand by them.

This is no way to treat those who put their lives on the line in our defense. Members of every branch of our military, and the families who serve alongside them, need to know that our government's commitment to them is unbreakable.

Our government has betrayed the values of service and camaraderie embodied by our military families. We need to remember and honor those values. That means funding our Coast Guard and ending this crisis right now.

Mr. Speaker, this shutdown is tearing at the fabric of our society, and one of the clearest examples is the lack of funding for the Justice Department.

As a practicing attorney for the past 30+ years, I know that many people, when facing some of the most challenging times of their lives, often depend on Justice Department services. When we fail to provide those resources, our fellow citizens are forced to suffer in silence.

This lack of funding has led the Violence Against Women Act to expire, jeopardizing protections for domestic abuse and sexual assault victims. Constituents in my district, who provide assistance to these survivors through such fine organizations as Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, and the Crime Victims Council, have said that their programs could soon be at risk.

And because of Washington's failure to fund programs like the Victims of Crime Act Assistance Grant Program, organizations that look out for children suffering abuse aren't getting the resources they need either.

As promised, when this shutdown began, I will be making regular charitable contributions to individuals and agencies in my district who are adversely affected by the shutdown, but that will, by no means, offset loss of Federal funding.

Our constituents are suffering, and they need us to act.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to reintroduce my first bill, which was introduced at the end of the 115th Congress, the Continuing Appropriations for the Coast Guard Act. I am doing this on behalf of Janeen and her family, constituents from Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Janeen is the mother of two children, ages 10 and 12. Her husband of 15 years is a Coast Guard member. Until recently, they were focused on what most families across our country focus on: family time, work, balancing their checkbook to pay their mortgage and bills, enjoying the holidays together, and hoping to celebrate a new year.

All of that changed this past December when a partisan fight in Washington, over which they had no control, suddenly threw their family's entire existence into question.

Because the Coast Guard falls within the Department of Homeland Security, one of the agencies that has not been funded, Janeen's family and 42,000 others, including 320 Pennsylvanians, have been left to fend for themselves.

They received a one-time payment from the Coast Guard's emergency fund, equivalent to half a paycheck. But the Coast Guard doesn't have any additional funds on hand, so they have been advised to hold garage sales and take up dog walking for extra income.

My bill would fund the Coast Guard until an agreement is reached to fully fund the government, ensuring that Coast Guard members receive their paychecks during the entire shutdown.

I am proud to have the support of some of my Republican colleagues, including Mr. Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, and I hope that a bipartisan coalition of Members in both Chambers can urgently pass this bill.

It is important to take a step back and remind ourselves of what is at stake for Janeen's family and thousands like them. As long as the government is shut down, and until this bill is passed by the House and Senate and signed into law, Janeen's husband won't get a paycheck on the 15th of this month.

Already, their family has been forced to dip into their savings and emergency funds just to buy groceries and keep the lights on. It is about a 70-mile drive from home to the base each way, so Janeen's husband is not only not getting paid, he is actually losing money to go to work every day.

As the daughter of a man who spent his entire career in the Air Force, I must say, this is a shameful way to treat men and women who have devoted their lives to serving our country and the families who serve and sacrifice among them.

For their sake and for the sake of the security of our country, we cannot let toxic hyperpartisanship keep an entire branch of the United States military from receiving pay.

We should be talking about funding more effective technology and infrastructure to protect our country, not about a border wall that will do nothing to stop the incursion of illegal drugs into our country. The Coast Guard is our most effective method of stopping drug runners.

In Janeen's words: ``If my husband doesn't show up for work, he is AWOL.'' That is the reality for our men and women in uniform. The very least they should be able to expect from their elected representatives is that we have their backs and that they will get the support they need no matter what the politics are.

This is not about party or ideology. It is not about scoring points in Washington or on cable news shows. Ultimately, Janeen and her family, and everyone like them, just want to see their government live up to its most basic responsibilities, because as Janeen tells her kids: ``When you say you are going to do something, you make a promise.''

Servicemembers like Janeen's husband made a promise to defend our Nation when they took their oath. They have never let us down. Every single day, through every challenge and hardship, they have kept their promise and done everything expected of them and more. But during this shutdown, their government has failed to keep its promise to them.

Janeen's family and other Coast Guard families need us right now. Through our actions by getting this bill through the House of Representatives, the Senate, and to the President's desk, we can show them that we take care of our own and that we honor selfless service in this country more than partisanship.

Madam Speaker, right now, 12,643 Pennsylvanians are being denied a paycheck because of a partisan fight they have no control over. It is time to end this shutdown and restore our government's ability to protect our country and deliver vital services to our people.

The longer this shutdown goes on, the worse the impact will be, not just on Federal workers, but on the communities that depend on them. Unless we act, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will be at risk. Over 94,000 families in my district depend on SNAP, and national data shows that over 40 percent of beneficiaries are children.

I have heard from food banks in my community that they expect a twelvefold increase in people who need assistance if SNAP recipients don't receive their benefits. That is unacceptable.

We must reaffirm our most fundamental duty: to stand with and support our most vulnerable constituents. Let's act to protect people across this country from hunger and malnutrition by protecting SNAP and reopening the government.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, volunteers across the country honored fallen servicemembers on National Wreaths Across America Day. While the focal point of this national day of remembrance is the laying of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, ceremonies also took place at local cemeteries across the country.

I had the honor of participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, a tiny borough no more than a mile square, in Delaware County. On a raw and rainy Saturday, 2 weeks before Christmas, nearly 50 community members turned out to lay wreaths upon veterans' graves at an historic cemetery atop Prospect Hill. Among those honored was George Wood, a soldier who lost his life at Gettysburg on July 7, 1863.

As we stood in the drizzle, listening to ``Taps,'' I thought about the many ways in which people served their communities. Obviously, those who serve in our Armed Forces commit to providing the ultimate service. But on that hilltop last weekend, there were so many others willing to spend the time to step up with their neighbors, honor the sacrifice of others, and bring a community together.

I want to recognize Joyce Foresman-Capuzzi, the nurse who learned about the Wreaths Across America program and brought her neighbors together to have it in Prospect Park. I want to recognize Reverend Chris Hensley Terrell, the pastor of Prospect Hill Baptist Church, which hosted the event.

But the event wouldn't have been the success that it was without the participation of other volunteers, the members of the Prospect Park Borough Council, the Prospect Park Volunteer Fire Department, and local veterans and their families. There was also great support from the local elementary school principal and students at Prospect Park Elementary, many of whom helped lay wreaths.

I want to thank all these community members for allowing me to participate in their ceremony, and I thank them for their service.

Mr. Speaker, with only 4 days until open enrollment closes for next year, I want to call on people in my community, across Pennsylvania, and in every part of our country to sign up for coverage on healthcare.gov.

Because Pennsylvania chose to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, low-income individuals and

families in every corner of our district and State can obtain coverage, and nearly 700,000 Pennsylvanians are now covered.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Americans of every background can choose from a range of plans to find one that works for them and their family free from discrimination over gender, sexual orientation, race, or preexisting conditions. However, there is still work to be done.

Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. While the Affordable Care Act has brought us closer to universal coverage, we must build on this progress. In the coming months I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to make clear that we need to move away from our profit-driven healthcare system toward a society where affordable, high quality care is the birthright of every single child, woman, and man in this country.

Mr. Speaker, Representatives of the 115th Congress, I am profoundly humbled and honored that the people of my district have entrusted me with the duty of representing them.

The work of conducting the people's business in this Chamber has endured through unfinished struggles for equality and justice, through conflicts abroad and crises at home.

I look forward to taking part in that work through the remainder of this session and into the next Congress, when a historically diverse freshman class, including more women than ever before in our Nation's history, will take their oaths. Our first responsibility must be to the most vulnerable and least fortunate among us, and our voices should amplify theirs.

My parents both lived lives of service. My father, a conservative Republican, spent his entire career in the Air Force and was driven by a sense of duty. My mother, a progressive Democrat, believed at her core that we are defined by what we do for others. They have both passed away now, but my standing here is a testament to them.

We in Congress have a responsibility and opportunity to improve the everyday lives of the people of our districts. On behalf of my community, your communities, and generations to come, I know that we can and must rise to the occasion and deliver shared and lasting progress.