WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues on the Senate floor to condemn the ongoing government shutdown and urge the President and Congressional leadership to reopen the government. The Senators’ remarks came after two proposals to reopen the government failed to garner the needed 60 votes required to advance in the Senate. Senator King voted again the first bill, which would have funded the President’s unspecified border wall and make dramatic shifts to the laws governing immigrants attempting to seek asylum. Senator King voted in favor of the second bill, which closely mirrors legislation previously passed the Senate by voice vote in December. This legislation, which received more votes in the Senate than the White House’s proposal, would have reopened the government immediately and enacted a two week continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security, allowing for bipartisan negotiations on increased border security.

 “It strikes me there are two problems before us. One, we can resolve this evening, tomorrow morning, in the next 24 hours – that is the shutdown. Or at least we can resolve for a limited period of time, and then we can talk about the second problem, which is border security…

“I want to be very clear. I am very supportive of border security and increasing border security. There also may be cases where there are parts of the border where some kind of barrier makes sense and is cost-effective, whereas there are other parts of the border where it doesn't. What I'm interested in is a thorough discussion with the experts about what is the most cost-effective way to protect our citizens and secure the border, and I believe this proposal today gives us the breathing space to have that discussion. I would remind my colleagues that this administration submitted a border security proposal to the Congress last February with their budget of $1.6 billion, and lo and behold, that was approved by the appropriations committee and by this body. So that's an indication to me that there is good faith, and I think the important thing to communicate now is let's not complicate this with conditions.

“Let’s take the hammer – the awful hammer, and I don’t have to reiterate all that has been said today about the devastating effects of this shutdown in all of our states appeared people working with no pay, which is fundamentally wrong. We should take that away and spend the next three weeks finding a solution, which I believe we can do. I've had enough discussions with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I think there's a solution to be had that will satisfy the President, the two bodies of Congress, but most importantly, the American people in terms of the protection that we can provide. So I'm happy to join my colleague today in supporting this message, and importantly my colleagues across the aisle. Because give us a breathing space, take the problem of the shutdown away, and then we can have a discussion and debate and find a solution through a process that is the way it ought to be, not with a shutdown being something that's hung over everyone. That's not the way we should be governing. I look forward to working with my colleagues on finding a creative, cost-effective and safe solution to this issue of border security to protect this country.”

Since the shutdown began in late December, Senator King has made reopening the federal government his top priority. He has repeatedly called to end the shutdown, including in a speech on the Senate floor and in a video message emphasizing the negative impact the government shutdown is having on people across Maine, including U.S. Coast Guard personnel and families. In addition, Senator King has worked to reduce the impact of the shutdown on federal workers. He was a cosponsor of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, a bipartisan bill that Senator King cosponsored to ensure that affected federal workers will receive back pay when the government is reopened, and was a cosponsor of the Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act, a bill which would secure back pay for the federal contractor employees who continue to go without pay during the current government shutdown.