{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-schumer-shutdown-is-a-dangerous-game/", "Barrasso: Schumer Shutdown is a Dangerous Game", "2025-10-08", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "\u201cDemocrats are holding the American people hostage to extract far-left concessions. They\u2019re telling our service members their paychecks are negotiable. They\u2019re telling small businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They\u2019re telling mothers and young children that WIC benefits are leverage for far-left demands of healthcare for noncitizens.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor about how hardworking Americans and states across the country are forced to pay the price of the Schumer Shutdown.\n\nClick HERE to watch Senator Barrasso\u2019s remarks.\n\nSen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks as prepared:\n\n\u201cFollowing up on what the Majority Leader says, it says here, \u2018Democratic leaders are playing a dangerous game.\u2019 That\u2019s what the Democrats are doing. We heard the Majority Leader talk about what we\u2019re trying to do, what we\u2019re facing, how Chuck Schumer is held hostage by the liberal groups who set up the war room with him. And what we see is a dangerous game being played and threats to the American people. This is The Washington Post. This goes on to say, \u2018There is a clean funding bill on the table. Only a handful of Senate Democrats need to vote for it.\u2019 Instead, the Minority Leader is leading the Democrat Party into a boxed canyon, can\u2019t get out. It\u2019s a dangerous game. And it\u2019s not just dangerous for them. It\u2019s dangerous for the American people. That\u2019s where the danger lies.\n\n\u201cSo I come to the Floor today because the American people are facing an immediate crisis, and they know why. Anybody watching knows why. It\u2019s because Senate Democrats have now voted five times against a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution that would open the government today. This is Day 8 of the Schumer Shutdown. The country is being held hostage by the Democrats, and they\u2019re playing a dangerous game. So, the question before us is simple. What have Democrats accomplished during this dangerous game they\u2019re playing?\n\n\u201cOn October 10, on Friday, in two days, Border Patrol Agents and other federal workers will receive only half a paycheck. That\u2019s the result of the Democrats\u2019 dangerous game. It will be their last paycheck unless and until the Schumer Shutdown ends and Democrats vote to reopen the government. They could do it today. The House of Representatives passed a clean continuing resolution at current funding levels. It funds our military, pays our law enforcement, continues food assistance for moms with young children, and keeps small business loans flowing. Democrats voted 13 times under Joe Biden to keep the government funded. Now, they reject it because they want to please their radical base, their extreme base, the base that has put up a war room that Chuck Schumer has bowed down to. That\u2019s what we just heard from the Majority Leader. They\u2019re the ones calling the shots. And that\u2019s why we find ourselves in this situation.\n\n\u201cDemocrats are demanding radical new policies before they allow the government to reopen. I\u2019ve seen their new ransom note. It is stitched together like Frankenstein\u2019s Monster: $1.5 trillion in reckless new spending; free healthcare for illegal immigrants; free Medicaid for working-aged, able-bodied adults who refuse to work \u2013 there are over five million of these individuals in the United States and yet they refuse to work, and the Democrats want them all to get free Medicaid; $50 billion that Democrats want to cut from vulnerable rural hospitals. Do the Democrats not care at all about those communities even though there are rural communities in their states? They are beholden to the big cities and the mayors and the sanctuary cities that control the Democrat Party. That\u2019s what we\u2019re dealing with here. That\u2019s why The Washington Post called what Democrats are doing, as I pick it up again, a \u2018dangerous game.\u2019\n\n\u201cDemocrats are holding the American people hostage to extract far-left concessions. They\u2019re telling our service members their paychecks are negotiable. They\u2019re telling small businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They\u2019re telling mothers and young children that WIC benefits are leverage for far-left demands of healthcare for noncitizens. Republicans remain committed to ensuring families receive the support they deserve. Democrats have chosen repeatedly to keep the government closed for political purposes only. American families are feeling the pain nationwide.\n\n\u201cIn Georgia, more than 100,000 federal employees are wondering where they will find the money to pay their bills and buy their groceries.\n\n\u201cIn Arizona, 344,000 children enrolled in SNAP face uncertainty. Those benefits are running out. Time is of the essence. Shutdown Democrats are telling those families their problems aren\u2019t urgent.\n\n\u201cIn New York, 438,000 individuals who rely on WIC will lose access at the end of this week. It\u2019s already Wednesday. We\u2019re talking about pregnant women, new mothers, and young children. They depend on this program.\n\n\u201cIn Illinois, every week the shutdown continues, it costs the state\u2019s economy over $500 million. That\u2019s jobs lost, paychecks missed, and opportunities evaporated.\n\n\u201cIn Michigan, small businesses face delays of $92 million in loans because the Small Business Administration is frozen during a shutdown. These businesses are the backbone of our communities and our economy. They should be able to make payroll and keep their doors open, not as the Democrats continue to play what has been termed a \u2018dangerous game.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn Nevada, for each month the shutdown continues, consumer spending from lost wages will fall by over $200 million. That\u2019s money that won\u2019t flow into local businesses, won\u2019t pay rent, and won\u2019t put food on the table.\n\n\u201cIn New Jersey, telehealth programs are on hold. I\u2019m a doctor. Without these programs, patients may be put at greater risk.\n\n\u201cIn New Hampshire, workers maintaining our nuclear attack submarines face furloughs and unpaid work. This goes beyond missing a paycheck. This is about our national security. The Schumer Shutdown, the dangerous game that he is playing, puts America\u2019s safety at risk.\n\n\u201cAt airports nationwide, we are already seeing the direct effects of the shutdown. Flights are being delayed. Security lines are growing longer.\n\n\u201cEven the head of the Teamsters Union, Sean O\u2019Brien, says that Democrats\u2019 political theater is something he can see right through. He says, \u2018A shutdown will hurt working people. Period. American workers are not a bargaining chip.\u2019 That\u2019s the leader of the Teamsters Union. He goes on to say, \u2018Senators should stop screwing around and pass the House-passed clean, short term funding bill.\u2019 That\u2019s where we are today. He\u2019s right. Regrettably, Senate Democrats are treating the American people as bargaining chips. As hostages. That\u2019s why they sent the list of demands as ransom.\n\n\u201cDemocrats have voted five times against opening the government. They have voted five times against supporting our military. Five times against paying law enforcement officers. Five times against food assistance for mothers with young children. Five times against small business loans that help Main Street. Five times Democrats have looked at the mounting damage of the Schumer Shutdown and shrugged their shoulders. That\u2019s the situation we have today.\n\n\u201cThe American people overwhelmingly say Democrats should pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown immediately. There is a clean, bipartisan resolution before the Senate. It is ready for a vote right now. It reopens the government immediately. Today. It would protect the paychecks and the programs that Americans depend on. It would end the uncertainty gripping millions of American families.\n\n\u201cThe question is not whether Democrats can end the shutdown. The only question is whether they have integrity to do it. Or will they continue to play this dangerous game with our nation and with our families?\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-schumer-shutdown-is-a-dangerous-game/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8813259191811085, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}