ICYMI: Lankford Urges Democrats to End Government Shutdown, Votes to Pay Troops and Federal Workers
WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference, spoke on the Senate floor recently, demanding Senate Democrats end the longest full government shutdown in history and stop forcing federal workers to serve without pay.
You can watch his full remarks HERE.
Excerpts (as delivered):
On Federal Workforce Impact:
“I’d love to introduce this Senate to a couple that I know. Husband [and] wife both work for the federal government. Young couple expecting their first child. This week they will miss a paycheck. Both of them. You tell me how many people in their early days of marriage, both spouses could miss a paycheck while they’re preparing for their first child? But that’s the reality that’s being faced by that couple.
“I’d love to introduce this body to a single mom that just a couple of weeks ago, got the invitation to go to the FAA academy and to become an air traffic controller. Very difficult to get into that school, but is in the process, has been accepted, is in the process, has quit her job, has canceled her lease, and as a single mom is taking the risk to be able to step out in a new, great career. But right in the process of stepping out to do that new, great career, there’s a government shutdown and now she has no idea what’s about to happen.
“She’s quit her job already. She’s canceled her lease already. She was preparing to move to get to the academy. Now, what does she do?”
On Senate Democrats’ Absurd Demands:
“For all the folks out there that say, ‘Government shutdowns? No big deal.’ Or as my Democratic colleagues in the House have said, ‘Some families are going to have to suffer to give us leverage.’ Here are the families that are actually suffering to give my Democratic colleagues leverage, so they can discuss health care.”
“… Their focus seems to be on a Covid era subsidy that they created for the Affordable Care Act to try to make it more affordable. Because here’s the problem. In my state,in Oklahoma, the Affordable Care Act, the cost for it has increased 200% in six years. While commercial insurance has increased 29% in those same six years.”
[…]
“My Democratic colleagues say we’re going to keep the government closed until we even get more money on that. And we don’t want to discuss anything.”
[…]
“They say just keep dumping more money into it. We absolutely know. And my Democratic colleagues have told me privately, we know there’s a lot of fraud, that there’s money being sent, insurance companies that they’re then covering, people that actually don’t even know they have coverage just because it’s cheap for the insurance companies.”
[…]
“We also know the way that my Democratic colleagues created these subsidies. They went around the Hyde Amendment, which has been very clear. Federal tax dollars do not go to pay for abortions. But they created this very creative system of tax credits so they could send money to insurance companies to pay for elective abortions. They’re asking every Republican now to jump on board and to be able to vote for that.”
On Paying Federal Workers:
“…For all the folks today that are on the road working for the federal government that are in critical positions, that they’re not being paid, and they’re actually putting their expenses on their credit card, not knowing if they’re going to get a chance to pay that off. It’s not right.’
[…]
“…At a minimum, let’s at least while we’re arguing, pay federal workers that are still at the task. That should be the easiest threshold to be able to step over.”
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