WATCH: Ranking Member Blunt Rochester Pleads with Senate Republicans to Pay the Coast Guard

The Senator's full remarks can be viewed here.

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries Subcommittee, today delivered remarks on the Senate floor and pleaded with Senate Republicans to negotiate on funding that would pay members of the U.S. Coast Guard. Currently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the Coast Guard, is shut down due to a lapse in appropriations.

Below are Senator Blunt Rochester's remarks, as delivered:

Thank you, Senator Murphy. I want to start off, as the Ranking Member on the United States Coast Guard Subcommittee. And I stand here today, first of all, to acknowledge your leadership and to acknowledge the fact that it is surprising, I think, to most Americans that when we can get agreement on 90 percent of something, we don't act on that 90 percent. We have an opportunity right now.

And again, as ranking member of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, we know that the Coast Guard keeps our nation safe, in times of peace but also in times of war. Even wars that weren't brought to Congress or had no strategy or exit strategy, they do their job. From protecting our ports to helping our communities with search and rescue operations, the Coast Guard is critical to our nation's national security and safety. They patrol over 4.5 million square miles of ocean, they protect over 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline, they secure over 26,000 miles of commercial waterways, and ensure the safety of over 360 ports, 3,700 marine terminals, and 25,000 miles of navigable channels. The men and women of the Coast Guard of the United States dedicate their lives to protecting the largest system of ports, waterways, and coastal seas in the world. And right now, over 42,000 active duty servicemembers are uncertain about whether they will receive their next paycheck. And nearly 10,000 civilians who support their critical work are going without pay right now. Their next paychecks should actually be hitting their accounts in a couple of days. Which is why what we do here today is so vital.

I had the privilege of visiting Sector Delaware Bay last summer. And I met the Coasties stationed there. And I got to hear firsthand how deeply connected they are to the mission, to our safety, our economy, and our national security. And it helped clarify immensely…that we must take care of the Coasties at home, so that they can serve our country with confidence at sea. Again, right now, we are neglecting our duty. Politics aside, the Coast Guard has a job to do. And we have an opportunity to do something about it. Our colleagues ask us for more weeks. We got two weeks in the beginning - we are now weeks and weeks and weeks from those two weeks. The best way that we can support our Coast Guardsmen and women is to pay them.

And while we, as Democrats, fight to address a broken agency that we know of as ICE, we have to recognize and pay our Coast Guardsmen and women. So, Senator Murphy, do you agree that our colleagues across the aisle should join us in paying our [coastguardsmen] and women without delay?

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.