U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said today he objects to the Senate leaving town while hundreds of thousands of federal employees – many of them Virginians – are going without pay.
“Millions of Americans have been hurt by President Trump’s shutdown, but Majority Leader McConnell has refused to hold a vote to end it. It would be outrageous for Senators to leave town this Wednesday without fixing this mess, and I object to the Senate going into recess unless Senator McConnell holds a vote on the bipartisan bills the House passed to reopen government. Senate Republicans shouldn’t need a permission slip from the President to do their jobs when families in their own states are going without paychecks and government services.”
Kaine has helped lead efforts in the Senate to call on President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reopen government. Last week, Kaine lodged an objection to the Senate adjourning for the weekend, which led to negotiations with Leader McConnell resulting in unanimous passage in the Senate of the legislation to secure back pay. Virginia is home to 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of federal contractors.
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