On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Weeknight,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said that “It is hard to go into the Capitol and look Capitol Police in the eye, knowing they’re not being paid. It is hard to go into my office knowing the folks who work with me are not being paid…it is very hard to look people in the eye and say, I think we need to keep fighting.” And “We could reopen today if our Republican colleagues would accept the offer Democrats made.”
Coons said, “[T]his is hard. It is hard to go into the Capitol and look Capitol Police in the eye, knowing they’re not being paid. It is hard to go into my office knowing the folks who work with me are not being paid. I got a call from the head of the AFGE, which is the union that represents the folks who serve at Dover Air Force Base and who work at the Veterans’ Administration in Delaware, saying, I got members who are going to the food bank. So, on the one hand, it is very hard to look people in the eye and say, I think we need to keep fighting. But it is harder to get phone calls from folks outraged that their health care is doubling in cost and saying, I’m either going to have to abandon health care, shut down my small business, choose which of us, my husband or I, get care, as I’m facing a terminal diagnosis, I’ve had some really heartbreaking conversations.”
He continued, “We put on the floor a proposal that would move forward on all these issues today. We could reopen today if our Republican colleagues would accept the offer Democrats made. It was a unanimous offer from my caucus. I think it’s important that we’re united, and I think it speaks to how to deal with all of these issues, pay all federal employees, and deal with the healthcare costs that are impacting millions.”
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