WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today took to the Senate floor to voice his concern for Maine people hurt by the government shutdown. Today marks the first day federal workers will miss their paycheck since the shutdown began 21 days ago. Senator King has repeatedly called to reopen the government to fairly compensate federal workers who are furloughed or working without pay and to ensure businesses, contractors, and people who rely on federal government agencies can access the services they need.

            “You can shut down and stop peoples’ checks from coming, but you can’t stop their bills from coming,” Senator King said. “Their mortgage payment, their childcare payment, their automobile insurance, their home insurance, their heating bill, their medication, their food, all of that has to be paid for…

“These people are being used as pawns, as hostages in a policy debate that has nothing to do with them. One of the easiest solutions, Mr. President, would be for us to pass the six bills the House has passed, that we passed, that fund 90 percent of the government. Why should the Department of Agriculture be caught in the cross fire of a debate over a wall in Texas? Why should park rangers be caught in that? Why should Coast Guard people be caught in that? And this is having a real effect. Aside from these federal workers, of whom there are about 1,000 in Maine on furlough right now, there are all the contractors that serve these government agencies.”

Citing stories reported in the Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News, and Ellsworth American, Senator King demonstrated the real and immediate impact the government shutdown is having on people throughout the state of Maine. Those stories include Sullivan Harbor Farm Smokehouse in Hancock and its problems with licensing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; concerns from Maine craft breweries that are unable to get new licenses and approve labels for out-of-state beer sales through the federal Tax and Trade Bureau; and troubles for homebuyers who are seeing delayed action on loans from the Small Business Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

To watch Senator King’s floor speech in full click HERE.