Barrasso: Our Country Deserves Safety and Security, Not Another Government Shutdown

"Republicans will keep working with Democrats to keep the government open. Our country deserves safety and security - not another government shutdown."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor ahead of voting on a motion to proceed to the bipartisan appropriations bills that keep the government open and Americans safe.

Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso's remarks.

Sen. Barrasso's remarks as prepared:

"On the Senate Floor today are six bipartisan appropriations bills. Bills that keep America safe. Bills that keep the government funded and open. Bills Senate Democrats helped to draft. Bills a majority of House Democrats voted for. These bipartisan bills fund the rest of the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Every Senator should vote yes. Americans are counting on their government to stay open and keep them safe.

"Today, Senate Democrats are threatening to block these bills. Not just vote against them. Block them from even being debated. Once again, Democrats are threatening to shut down the government. If the vote we are about to take here in the Senate does not succeed - if these bills stall - the government shuts down Friday at midnight. That's about 36 hours from now.

"Here are the painful consequences. No funding for FEMA - the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It would be disastrous to shut down FEMA

in the middle of a major winter storm affecting half the country - and there's another storm on the way. A shutdown would mean no paychecks for our troops. Again. No money for TSA Agents or air traffic controllers as the country tries to get back up and running. Those are the consequences.

"We all remember the Democrat shutdown at the end of last year. That was the longest shutdown in American history. It was the politics of pain. The last Democrat shutdown was about shoring up the failures of Obamacare. This Democrat shutdown would be about prioritizing illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens.

"A Democrat shutdown does not change immigration law. Nor will it halt immigration law enforcement. Even Senate Democrats admit this publicly. That's because Republicans already put into law the largest investment in border security and immigration enforcement in history.

"The vote we'll take in just a few minutes to advance the six bipartisan appropriations bills allows us to avoid a shutdown. These bills make America safer. They fund disaster assistance through FEMA. They hire thousands of new air traffic controllers. They fund TSA agents, the Coast Guard, and our military. They give our troops a well-earned pay raise. They support housing assistance for vulnerable families. They improve roads, bridges, and ports across the country. They upgrade our nation's outdated air traffic control system.

"These bills are the product of the Senate working the way it was designed to work. They reflect months of bipartisan committee work and good-faith negotiations. I applaud Senator Susan Collins of Maine - the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. These bills are a product of her determination to deliver for the American people.

"It is time for the Senate to vote. All Senators should vote yes to avert a painful shutdown. Republicans will keep working with Democrats to keep the government open. Our country deserves safety and security - not another government shutdown."

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