{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-we-need-five-more-democrat-votes-to-reopen-the-government-restore-essential-services/", "Ricketts: We Need Five More Democrat Votes to Reopen the Government, Restore Essential Services", "2025-11-06", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Pete Ricketts", "R000618", "www.ricketts.senate.gov", "ricketts", "https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list&pagenum=", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) emphasized his efforts to end the Schumer Shutdown. It is now the longest government shutdown in history. Ricketts made the comments during his regular conference call with Nebraska media.\n\nWatch the video here.\n\n\u201cThis is day 36 of the Schumer shutdown. It\u2019s the longest government shutdown in history, and we\u2019re seeing the impacts all across the country,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cBut even in Nebraska, a friend of mine last week called me to tell me about a restaurant in Bellevue, where it\u2019s normally packed with airmen. Because of the government shutdown, airmen and the civilian employees are being very reticent to come in to be able to talk or to eat, because they want to make sure they\u2019re managing their dollars appropriately. This is the cost of Schumer shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to govern \u2013 even if the Democrats aren\u2019t,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cI\u2019ve voted fourteen times for a clean, bipartisan Continuing Resolution. I voted for the bipartisan Shutdown Fairness Act to pay our on-duty federal workers. I voted for a bipartisan appropriations bill to pay our military servicemembers. I voted to confirm 117 of President Trump\u2019s nominees. I will continue doing everything I can to reopen the government and restore essential services for Nebraskans.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe just need five more Democrats to stand up to their far-left base and vote to reopen government,\u201dsaid Ricketts. \u201cWe need five more Democrats to say we care more about people than political leverage. We need five more Democrats to join three Democrats who are already with us. That\u2019s all we need to reopen government. The sooner, the better.\u201d\n\nTRANSCRIPT:\n\n\u201cThis is day 36 of the Schumer shutdown.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the longest government shutdown in history, and we\u2019re seeing the impacts all across the country.\n\n\u201cBut even in Nebraska, a friend of mine last week called me to tell me about a restaurant in Bellevue, where it\u2019s normally packed with airmen.\n\n\u201cBecause of the government shutdown, airmen and the civilian employees are\n\nbeing very reticent to come in to be able to talk or to eat, because they want to make sure they\u2019re managing their dollars appropriately.\n\n\u201cThis is the cost of Schumer shutdown.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s impacting businesses in Bellevue, Nebraska.\n\n\u201cBut it\u2019s also the air traffic controllers, the federal law enforcement officers, border patrol and TSA agents, U.S. attorneys and Capitol police officers who are working without getting paid.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the federal courts that are in limited operations.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the SNAP benefits that are only being partially issued.\n\n\u201cHead Start grants that are not going out, hurting low-income students.\n\n\u201cSmall business loans are also not going out.\n\n\u201cRural Development programs that support housing, utilities, and infrastructure projects are on hold.\n\n\u201cGrants to local law enforcement to fight fentanyl and protect our communities are disrupted.\n\n\u201cAircraft inspections are delayed.\n\n\u201cVeterans transition assistance is disrupted.\n\n\u201cNational Guard trainings are delayed.\n\n\u201cI could go on and on.\n\n\u201cTelehealth and at-home care, community health centers, payments for ambulances, hospital-at-home services all disrupted.\n\n\u201cThese are all the consequences of the Schumer Shutdown.\n\n\u201cTo be clear, Republicans cannot open government by ourselves.\n\n\u201cWe need eight Democrats to vote to reopen government right now.\n\n\u201cWe have three.\n\n\u201cWe need five more.\n\n\u201cYet for too many of my Democrat colleagues in the Senate, these consequences are just leverage.\n\n\u201cYet for too many of my Democrat colleagues in the Senate, these consequences are just \u2018leverage.\u2019\n\n\u201cDemocrat Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said that our bipartisan bill to reopen the government: \u2018gives the president more leverage.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhy is it leverage for the President to have a working government?\n\n\u201cI think that benefits everyone.\n\n\u201cDemocrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said this shutdown is \u2018the only lever we have.\u2019\n\n\u201cDemocrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona said: \u2018I\u2019d just go back and shut it down again\u2019 if he didn\u2019t get what he wanted.\n\n\u201cAnd, of course, socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said: \u2018you reopen the government, we lose our leverage.\u2019\n\n\u201cTo Democrats, the Schumer Shutdown is about political leverage, not the American people.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s past time Democrats ended their partisan game.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to govern, even if Democrats aren\u2019t.\n\n\u201cI voted 14 times for a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution.\n\n\u201cI voted for the bipartisan shutdown Fairness Act to pay our on duty federal workers.\n\n\u201cI voted for a bipartisan appropriations bill to pay our military service members.\n\n\u201cI voted to confirm 117 of President Trump\u2019s nominees during the shutdown.\n\n\u201cI will continue doing everything I can to reopen government and restore essential services for Nebraskans.\n\n\u201cWe just need five more Democrats to stand up to their far left base and vote to reopen government.\n\n\u201cWe need five more Democrats to say we care more about people than political leverage.\n\n\u201cWe need five more Democrats to join three Democrats who are already with us.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s all we need to reopen government.\n\n\u201cThe sooner, the better.\n\n\u201cWhile Democrats claim they are holding out to negotiate on the Biden Obamacare COVID Boosters, Bonuses, whatever you want to call them, we need to reopen government first.\n\n\u201cAnd then we can have those negotiations.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cWe need to reopen government.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what Nebraskans deserve.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "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.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-we-need-five-more-democrat-votes-to-reopen-the-government-restore-essential-services/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2555071152746677, "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"}