WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
“Thank you, Mr. President, I want to start by thanking my colleague from Maryland and from Alaska for bringing us together today, but also for the work that our group has been putting in for the last several weeks to find a solution to end this harmful and hurtful shutdown. The voters of Arizona want a government that is lean, that allows them to pursue their individual interests, and that above all does not detract from their everyday life. And unfortunately, when the federal government is shut down as it is today, it detracts and takes away from the quality of life for folks in Arizona. Recently, the President asked the United States Congress to consider appropriations for border security, and I stand in support of working together across the aisle with my colleagues, here in the Senate, to answer that request. Arizona needs enhanced funding for border security, and I feel confident that if given three weeks, the Republicans and Democrats together in this body could find a reasonable compromise that both continues to keep our government operating in a lean and efficient way, while also providing for efficient and effective border security. In Arizona, we bear the brunt of a government that has failed its duty to secure our border and protect our communities. In Arizona, we bear the brunt of our country’s failure to solve the immigration crises that we live in today. In Arizona, we have been waiting for over three decades for the United States Congress to solve this problem so that we in Arizona can live our lives free from unnecessary government interference and with the full freedom that our country has promised us. I believe that if we work together over the next three weeks, that we can find a compromise. We can find a solution to this challenge, and we can work with our colleagues in the House and send a piece of legislation to the President that will meet the security needs of our country and ensure that we keep government operating efficiently and effectively for the people of my state and for this country. I look forward to working over the next several weeks to solve this challenge, and I request that the President allow us those three weeks to find this bipartisan solution together. Thank you, Mr. President.”