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Floor Speech
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Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, earlier today, we heard about an offer from the minority leader. It shows just how unserious he and the Democrats are. That offer is full of horse hockey. It has things in it that Republicans cannot accept, and he knows it.
My colleague from Michigan, the Democrat from Michigan, was just talking about power because that is what it is about. He mentioned power.
A number of other folks have talked about leverage. They need to have this shutdown for leverage. A number of Democrats have said this.
But what I am here today to talk about are people; not leverage, not power--people--air traffic controllers.
These are letters that I have received from air traffic controllers-- handwritten letters--that are talking about what they are going through right now because of the minority leader's shutdown. Let me just read you some of these.
My wife suffers from a chronic autoimmune disease that without her medication would cripple her. Our monthly copay for her specialty medication is $2,800 a month. We have less than 2 weeks before her next round of medication is due. Our situation is not sustainable even with pulling money from our savings.
That was from one of our air traffic controllers in Nebraska.
Here is another one:
Each shutdown gets harder than the last. The mental stress of the unknown gets harder each time. With my growing family and medical bills for my family, it gets harder every time. Both of my children have neurobiological disorders that require constant monitoring and medical care. I take pride in my job and the service we provide here at Omaha Approach control. As a patriot and veteran, I take my Federal oath . . . seriously. I will always continue to do my job [and] keep the skies safe and expeditious.
Here is another one:
Myself and my family, to include my 3-year-old daughter, are struggling to make ends meet. I now have to decide between putting food on the table, paying my mortgage, paying [my] car note, and many other things . . . I need to survive.
Are the Democrats deaf? Do they not hear from the people who are put in these situations?
This is their shutdown. This is their Biden budget they are not voting for. They voted for this 14 times over the last 19 months, and now they won't because their far-left wing tells them not to. We have patriots here who are suffering.
Why don't they show some of the courage that these people are and stand up to the far-left wing and vote for this bill so at least the people who are working can get paid? Is that so much to ask--that we pay the people who are actually trying to keep the skies safe?
A Democrat staffer was earlier quoted as saying we are going to do this ``until planes start falling from the sky.'' Well, folks, we already heard that the FAA is going to cut back 10 percent this week on the number of flights because of safety concerns.
But it is the people--the air traffic controllers and our law enforcement and everybody else who is working in a Federal job who is not getting paid--who are paying the price for the minority leader's shutdown.
I yield to my colleague from Wisconsin.
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