Thune: Schumer Shutdown Day 37

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, we are 37 days into an entirely avoidable government shutdown.

"And I say avoidable, Mr. President, because it was.

"Democrats instigated this shutdown by rejecting a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution.

"Republicans weren't asking them to swallow a bunch of new conservative policies.

"There isn't a single partisan policy in the bill.

"And yet Democrats couldn't bring themselves to take yes for an answer.

"Democrats, of course, have claimed their decision to shut down the government is about health care.

"They want Republicans to bail out their Obamacare mess.

"And as I've said probably a thousand times now, Mr. President, Republicans are one-hundred-percent willing to sit down and talk about the mess that Democrats have created.

"We're just not going to have that conversation while Democrats are holding the federal government hostage.

"That was our position in September.

"That was our position in October.

"And, yes, it's still our position in November.

"We're just waiting for Democrats to take yes for an answer.

"Mr. President, I do know that Democrats have been under a lot of pressure from the far left.

"The far left pushed them to shut down the government.

"And the far left has pushed them to keep it shut down.

"As one House Democrat told Axios yesterday, and I quote, 'There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out.'

"'There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out.'

"That quote, from a House Democrat just yesterday.

"Well, Mr. President, what events need to play out?

"What more needs to happen for the far left to be satisfied?

"The pain this shutdown has caused is only getting worse.

"Forty million Americans who rely on food assistance programs are now at risk of going hungry without a resolution to the shutdown.

"I'm sure these Americans are doing everything in their power to feed their families, but they can't do that forever.

"Federal workers have now gone without pay for more than a month, including the people in this building.

"Will the far left not be satisfied until federal workers and military families are getting their Thanksgiving dinner from a food bank?

"Because that's where we're headed.

"And then, Mr. President, there's air travel.

"Yesterday the transportation secretary announced that - as a matter of safety - the Department of Transportation is requiring a mandatory reduction in air traffic starting tomorrow because of shutdown staffing issues.

"That means widespread flight cancellations.

"Supply chain issues.

"Hundreds of thousands of passengers dealing with disruptions to travel every day.

"The impact this will have will be immense.

"And all of it because Democrats cannot bring themselves to accept a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution - something that happened 13 times when they had the majority and President Biden was in the White House.

"So, I ask the question again, Mr. President: What more do Democrats need?

"They got their cheers at the left-wing No Kings rally.

"They kept their base satisfied through the fall campaigns and Election Day.

"And, as of Tuesday, they have the extremely dubious honor of instigating the longest and most severe government shutdown in history.

"How much more do Americans have to endure before Democrats are satisfied?

"Mr. President, the Democrat leader said … that every day gets better for Democrats.

"The number-two Democrat in the House has said that the American people's suffering takes a back seat to Democrats' precious leverage.

"And the senior senator from Vermont - a leading voice on the left - wrote an op-ed over the weekend calling for Democrats to keep the government shut down forever, as far as I can tell.

"Mr. President, I hope that's not where most Democrats are.

"I hope at least a few Democrats can see that this can't go on any longer.

"People are suffering, and it's getting worse every day.

"A furloughed federal employee - a mother of five in Maryland - told the New York Times last week, and I quote, 'I don't know how to get the mortgage paid.'

"Federal workers are taking on second jobs to make ends meet.

"Food banks across the country are overwhelmed.

"And American families are looking to the holiday season with apprehension.

"Mr. President, Democrats have a choice to make.

"Are they going to continue to bow to pressure from voices on the far left telling them to keep up their opposition?

"Or are they going to stop the American people's suffering and end this shutdown?

"I hope enough of them are willing to do the right thing.

"And I hope they do it soon.

"The American people can't wait for events to play out."

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