Senator Barrasso Condemns Democratic "Schumer Shutdown" and its Impact on Americans

Mourning Dick Cheney

• 🇺🇸 The Senate begins by mourning the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney, highlighting his extensive career in American public service.
• 💡 Cheney's impactful roles included White House Chief of Staff, Congressman for Wyoming, House Republican Whip, and Secretary of Defense, shaping decades of domestic and foreign policy.

Consequences of the Government Shutdown

• 💔 42 million Americans lost access to food assistance, and 1.8 million federal workers missed paychecks due to the shutdown.
• ✈️ Thousands of flights were delayed, impacting air travel safety and reliability, a direct consequence of the shutdown.
• 🗓️ The shutdown, now on day 35, has tied the record for the longest government shutdown in American history.

Republican Efforts and Democratic Opposition

• 🗳️ Republicans have voted 13 times to reopen the government with a clean continuing resolution, which Democrats have rejected each time.
• 🚫 Democrats have voted against paying troops, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, border patrol, food assistance, and Head Start programs.
• 📉 The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shutdown has cost the economy as much as $14 billion.

Union Leaders' Calls for Reopening

• 🗣️ Leaders from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Teamsters Union, and American Federation of Government Employees have urged Democrats to pass a clean continuing resolution.
• 🤝 They emphasize the unfairness to workers and call for an end to political gamesmanship, stating it's time to end the shutdown today.

Democrats' Use of Shutdown as "Leverage"

• 📢 Democrats, including Senator Schumer, have framed the shutdown as beneficial to their party, with one Whip admitting families would suffer but calling it "leverage".
• ⚠️ Senator Chris Coons described the shutdown as an "unpleasant tool" that inflicts pain, uncertainty, and chaos on American lives.
• 🚫 Senator Ruben Gallego stated he would "shut it down again," indicating a willingness to repeat the process despite the suffering caused.

Call for Government Reopening

• 🇺🇸 Republicans are ready to reopen the government today with a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution to support federal workers and vital services.
• 🛑 The American people have suffered enough, and Democrats are urged to end the shutdown and stop using their pain as political leverage.