You and senator Warner are very concerned senator heinrich and myself are very concerned about what's uh happening in new Mexico and I wanted to speak a little bit about uh the interior Department bill where I'm the the ranking Democrat mister President I rise today to call on this body to take action and immediately end the government shutdown that is causing tragic consequences in the lives of Americans we are on day 27 of the shutdown the longest in our nation's Every day my constituents in new Mexico or asking me what are we doing to end this senseless shutdown so I'm here on the Senate floor demanding that we open the government them Andy that we do our jobs as a Co equal branch of government demanding that we pass bipartisan appropriations bills I have the privilege of serving as the ranking member of the interior appropriations subcommittee and I know how critical That the interior bill is particularly to my home state of new Mexico and States across the West and across the country the interior bill funds basic services like health care and public safety for two million American Indians and Alaska natives through the Indian health service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs this bill keeps our air and water clean through the work of the environmental protection agency this bill protects Preserves National parks and other treasured public lands and help support small businesses that depend on them the agencies in this bill fund science wildlife protection energy development and arts and cultural programs in every state and they employ tens of thousands of the of Americans there's no reason why they should be shot or they are simply too important this shutdown Particularly devastating for Indian country every day the President continues to treat tribal programs like hostages for political game by his action he endangers families across Indian country multiple health clinics that serve urban Indians have closed their doors forced to turn hundreds of patients away tribal court programs are in jeopardy food distribution and social service programs are on the chopping block long Services are stretched to the breaking point thousands of tribal members are furl owed all to devastating effect Indian country is paying the price for every day that the president's reckless shutdown continues these are people's lives and livelihoods on the line our government is completely failing to uphold its trust and treaty obligations to native Americans all for what a wildly Expensive and ineffective Wall that this nation doesn't want and a vanity project for a President who is not putting the best interest of this country first it doesn't make any sense we need to pass the interior appropriations bill so that we can reopen the entire National Park system along with other public lands and do so safely already we've heard about the tragic impact of the shutdown on our parks including thousand year old joshua trees cut down in California and fossils that have been looted at carlsbad caverns in my home state of new Mexico we can't let this kind of damage happened to our most treasured places and we must ensure that small businesses that depend on our public lands from fishing guides to gas stations and hotels are able to thrive and keep our economy strong across the This shutdown is hurting businesses contractors and federal workers even the president's own Council on economic advisors has released figures doubling the expected impacts to the economy think about that the president's own aides admit that this shutdown is worst than they anticipated this is totally unacceptable but it's not too late to change the situation week and This shutdown today all it takes is a for enough of my Republican colleagues and friends to find the courage to join us to pass these appropriations bills and to send a message to the White House we need to reopen the government so Mr President I want to say to them let's join together to make sure the tribal health clinics are open and tribal law enforcement officers are on patrol let's work Side to reopen the entire National Park system and other public lands that ensure that there are enough and ensure that there are enough staff members on the ground to protect our nation's most cherished natural and cultural resources let's pass this bipartisan appropriation bills without delay I don't understand how this chamber can stand by and watch the devastating effects of this shutdown on our nation in new Mexico alone we estimate that there are at least 10000 800 federal workers that are working without pay or are furl owed outright and nationwide there are an estimated 800000 federal workers and as many as two million federal contractors that may be affected we're talking about millions of people's paychecks being held hostage for a border Wall that the American public doesn't support yesterday I stood on this floor and talked about the impacts this shutdown is having on the or nail yes family of carlsbad new Mexico they're depending On a paycheck from the Department of interior to help keep their family afloat as they deal with a disable son who had two brain surgeries the cornelius family was already dealing with one of the worst crises of family can go through and now they have to worry about how to pay for basic necessities they are just one example of the lives at stake but it's not just federal workers and federal contractors every single American relies on the federal government for essential public safety and security the food and drug Administration shutdown contaminated food can kill thousands ts agents and faa rt m for traffic controllers we rely on to keep air travel safe they're unpaid and a massive irony President trump shutdown means that the Department of homeland security is unpaid there are an estimated two thousand new Mexico two thousand new mexicans we rely on for border security international trade and immigration work they are unpaid this Really truly is madness for their sake and for the sake of all Americans who are affected by this tragic situation we need to end this shutdown now the consequences of inaction are too great and once again let me just uh thank senator kaine for his passion on this issue and for his vigilance in terms of bringing uh this issue and fighting with all of us here on the floor and I would yield to senator King senator from Virginia I will briefly conclude Recognizing that my colleague from indiana is also on the floor I wanna thank senator from new Mexico for his words he