{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/video-ricketts-despite-the-schumer-shutdown-senate-republicans-are-continuing-to-work-for-americans/", "VIDEO: Ricketts: Despite the Schumer Shutdown, Senate Republicans are Continuing to Work for Americans", "2025-10-16", "2025", "2025-10", "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) slammed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for admitting that the Schumer Shutdown is political. Ricketts made the comments during his regular conference call with Nebraska media.\n\nWatch the video here.\n\n\u201cWe are into the third week of the Schumer Shutdown,\u201dsaid Ricketts. \u201cIt\u2019s shameful that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are holding government funding hostage for political gain. This is a Schumer Shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cChuck Schumer himself said this shutdown is for his political benefit,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cRecently, Chuck Schumer told journalists that, during the shutdown: \u2018Every day gets better for us.\u2019 Better for who? Certainly not for those Nebraskans who are missing their paychecks. Certainly not for Nebraskans whose services are delayed and disrupted. Certainly not the American people.\u201d\n\nRicketts emphasized that, despite the Schumer shutdown, Senate Republicans continue to work for the American people.\n\n\u201cLast week, we confirmed 107 qualified nominees, including Lesley Woods, our U.S. Attorney for Nebraska,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cWe stopped 3 burdensome Biden-era regulations restricting land use. These regulations would have prevented us from using our resources to lower costs for Nebraskans. We also passed a National Defense Authorization Act.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are ensuring our military has the tools it needs to deter adversaries like Communist China and keep Americans safe,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cFinally, we passed the Road to Housing Act, landmark legislation that puts America on a path to make home ownership a possibility for all Americans. This includes my Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which offers loans, grants, and rental assistance to rural communities. While Chuck Schumer wants to keep the government closed, Senate Republicans are continuing to do the work of governing this country.\u201d\n\nTRANSCRIPT:\n\n\u201cWe are into the third week of the Schumer Shutdown.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s shameful that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are holding government funding hostage for political gain.\n\n\u201cThis is a Schumer Shutdown.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t take my word for it.\n\n\u201cChuck Schumer himself said this shutdown is for his political benefit.\n\n\u201cRecently, Chuck Schumer told journalists that, during the shutdown: \u2018Every day gets better for us.\u2019\n\n\u201cBetter for who?\n\n\u201cCertainly not for those Nebraskans who are missing their paychecks.\n\n\u201cCertainly not for Nebraskans whose services are delayed or disrupted.\n\n\u201cCertainly not the American people.\n\n\u201cSenate Republicans don\u2019t think this is \u2018better\u2019 for Americans who are worried about the uncertainty a shutdown causes.\n\n\u201cWe have supported and are supporting the only bipartisan solution to this Schumer Shutdown.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s passing a clean continuing resolution.\n\n\u201cPassing a \u2018Clean CR\u2019 is what Senate Republicans and three Senate Democrats are supporting.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve voted for it eight times this month.\n\n\u201cDemocrats have supported these exact same spending levels four times in the past eighteen months.\n\n\u201cBut not this time.\n\n\u201cThis time, they are supporting a Schumer Shutdown.\n\n\u201cChuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are the only ones insisting that the federal government stays closed because it is \u201cbetter\u201d for them.\n\n\u201cThe Clean CR is already a bipartisan compromise.\n\n\u201cIt is a bipartisan funding deal struck during the Biden administration.\n\n\u201cWe agreed to it as Senate Republicans when we were in the minority.\n\n\u201cClean means there are no partisan additions.\n\n\u201cThere are no partisan policies or changes.\n\n\u201cIt simply keeps the government funded at the same level as before.\n\n\u201cThat gives Congress time to continue the normal process of passing appropriations bills.\n\n\u201cDespite Chuck Schumer shutting down government, Senate Republicans are continuing to work for the American people.\n\n\u201cLast week, we confirmed 107 qualified nominees, including Lesley Woods, our U.S. Attorney for Nebraska.\n\n\u201cWe stopped 3 burdensome Biden-era regulations restricting land use.\n\n\u201cThese regulations would have prevented us from using our resources to lower costs for Nebraskans.\n\n\u201cWe also passed a National Defense Authorization Act.\n\n\u201cThis legislative package funds the Defense Department, Department of Energy, and other critical national security programs.\n\n\u201cIt authorizes $924.7 billion for national defense next year.\n\n\u201cIt gives a 3.8% pay raise to our servicemembers.\n\n\u201cIt includes my AUKUS Improvement Act, which will strengthen military cooperation between the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom.\n\n\u201cThis will help deter Communist China.\n\n\u201cIt includes an important review of U.S.-China science and technology agreements.\n\n\u201cIt also includes a provision, modeled after a bill by Senator Fischer, designed to enable local communities to support defense healthcare facility development \u2013 like we did with the Omaha Ambulatory Care Center.\n\n\u201cPlus, it contains funding for programs at Offutt Air Force Base and Nebraska-based Sentinel nuclear missiles.\n\n\u201cWe are ensuring our military has the tools it needs to deter adversaries like Communist China and keep Americans safe.\n\n\u201cFinally, we passed the Road to Housing Act, landmark legislation that puts America on a path to make home ownership a possibility for all Americans.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis includes my Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which offers loans, grants, and rental assistance to rural communities.\n\n\u201cWhile Chuck Schumer wants to keep the government closed, Senate Republicans are continuing to do the work of governing this country.\n\n\u201cWhen Americans face a problem, we work together to find a solution.\n\n\u201cRefusing to pay bills, furloughing workers, and withholding pay from federal law enforcement make the challenge worse.\n\n\u201cChuck Schumer doesn\u2019t want to debate.\n\n\u201cHe is not working toward a solution.\n\n\u201cHe is not acting like a leader.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s being a hypocrite.\n\n\u201cBut Chuck Schumer doesn\u2019t care, because it\u2019s \u2018better\u2019 for him.\u201d", 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": 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