Scalise: Democrats' Shutdown Causing Real Harm on Real Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and House Main Street Caucus leadership to discuss American families suffering as a result of Democrats holding the government hostage over their partisan demands. Leader Scalise praised President Trump for finding a way to pay our troops, as Senate Democrats voted for an eighth time to withhold paychecks for our men and men in uniform.
Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise's full remarks.
Excerpts from Leader Scalise's remarks:
On Democrats’ opposition to paying our troops:
“I want to say thank you to the over one million men and women in uniform who continue to serve right now, despite the uncertainty – that uncertainty that does not need to exist. And why? Because Chuck Schumer is more afraid of the radical leftists in his own party than he is concerned about making sure that those families don't have to wonder about whether or not they're going to be able to put food on the table. Their families, while they're overseas, many of them, are going to be able to put food on the table during this Schumer shutdown.
“Keep in mind, over one-third of all men and women who serve in uniform right now, over one-third of them live paycheck to paycheck. That means when Chuck Schumer is voting to deny them pay, many of them will not be able to make their rent payment or their mortgage payment. Many of them will not be able to make their car note payment. The stress that that adds to their lives unnecessarily should not happen, did not need to happen.”
On the need for Senate Democrats to reopen the government:
“This House came together. I'm so proud of the men and women I serve with in Congress here in the House, where we did our job, weeks ago, we sent a bill over to the Senate. That doesn't resolve all of our differences. People often say, 'Gee whiz, why can't Washington just get together? Which side is going to win this thing?' It's not about which side wins. It's about stopping the American people from being the losers in Chuck Schumer's fight while we go negotiate our differences. We have big differences we need to negotiate. The clean CR that we passed over to the Senate does not resolve those differences. It just gives us some more time to have that negotiation.”
On Democrats’ wishlist of radical partisan demands:
“How big are those differences? Just look at the wishlist, the hostage list that Chuck Schumer filed weeks ago. His demands that he said have to be met before he'll even open up the government again – $1.5 trillion in new, unrelated spending, Chuck Schumer demanded, including, yes, eliminating all the verifications so that illegals will get taxpayer-funded health care. That's in Chuck Schumer's bill. Chuck Schumer guts the $50 billion rural hospital fund to give taxpayer-funded health benefits to illegals in his hostage demands. That's not going to happen. When are we going to have a rational conversation? When are Democrats going to actually become serious in this discussion?”
On the contrast between Democrats and President Trump:
“In contrast again, just look at what happened yesterday. Some of us were at the White House at just an amazingly emotional ceremony where President Trump posthumously, unfortunately, issued the Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk, and his incredibly brave widow, Erika, was there to receive it on his behalf and gave another emotionally powerful speech. This comes on the heels of President Trump returning from the Middle East, where he was in Israel, he was in Egypt, working with other world leaders to establish historic Middle East peace.
“President Trump has been doing all those things, and in the middle of doing all of those things, he had to go find time to figure out, creatively, a way to pay our troops, even though Chuck Schumer wants to defund our troops. Yes, the party, the Democrats, that were for and continue to be for defunding our police, now want to defund our military troops by not paying them, by not opening up the government. The votes are clear. Nobody has to wonder which side is for shutting down the government, which side is for trying to deny troops their pay.
“We had yet another vote, the eighth time on the Senate floor yesterday. While we were at the White House, the Senate was having that vote on whether or not to open up the government. You saw Democrats continued, led by Chuck Schumer, to shut down the government and deny troop pay. It's embarrassing. It's not just unserious, it's having devastating consequences on millions of Americans around this country, and it doesn't need to happen.”