Good move:
https://www.politicususa.com/...
From the Senate floor today, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) urged Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to bring the Senate-passed clean CR to fund the government up for a vote since they have the votes to pass it.
But the most poignant thing Franken said came from a letter written to him by the wife of a disabled veteran who explained how the shutdown was hurting their family, but then begged him not to give in to delaying ObamaCare.
She wrote, ‘We would rather do without, than have you give in to delaying the Affordable Care Act. Please stand strong and do not let anyone change or delay this. We will sit tight without income while you work towards this.’
According to his prepared remarks, Senator Franken talked about his constituents urging him not to give in on ObamaCare, “Brenda Gregorich from Duluth wrote me on Wednesday about her husband, a disabled veteran, whose disability benefit is now further delayed due to the shutdown. She says – quote, ‘We would rather do without, than have you give in to delaying the Affordable Care Act. Please stand strong and do not let anyone change or delay this. We will sit tight without income while you work towards this.’” - Politicus USA, 10/5/13
Franken's also talked about how the government shutdown was hurting Minnesotans:
http://kstp.com/...
“We are now five days into a government shutdown that should never have happened,” Sen. Franken said in his speech.
“Minnesotans do not want a government shutdown. They want us to do our job, not refight the same political battles over and over again. With each day of this shutdown, I hear more and more reports about how it is affecting Minnesotans. Minnesotans seeking basic government services are being turned away.”
Sen. Franken continued, “This shutdown is unnecessary, and it’s irrational. Please, let’s reopen the government and get back to the work the people elected us to do.”
There's no word of progress on ending the partial government shutdown that began on Tuesday, but the House has voted to give 800,000 furloughed federal workers retroactive pay once the government reopens. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Senate will also approve the bill, but he didn't say when. - ABC 5 News, 10/5/13
With the government shutdown, Franken will be donating his salary to charity:
http://southwestminneapolis.patch.com/...
Sen. Al Franken will be donating the salary he receives while the federal government is shut down to Second Harvest Heartland, a hunger relief organization that works throughout Minnesota.
Franken chose this organization because he said people who rely on the federal government’s safety net programs may need help making ends meet as a result of the shutdown.
“Second Harvest Heartland is a great organization that works throughout Minnesota, providing vital assistance to families who would otherwise go hungry,” Franken said in a news release. “Just as I was prepared to do in 2011 when we faced a possible shutdown, I won’t be taking my salary. I believe that while the government is shut down, donating my salary to charity is the right thing to do, and I’m going to make sure that money goes toward helping people who might be badly affected by the shut down.” - Southwest Minneapolis Patch, 10/2/13
Thank you Senator Franken. By the way, received an e-mail from Franken today calling on the GOP stop their shutdown madness:
The bad news is that Republicans in the House have succeeded in doing a really dumb thing for the worst possible reason: they’ve shut down the government because they don’t like Obamacare.
Now basic government services have stopped. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are prohibited from doing their jobs. Many more are forced to work not knowing when they'll get their next paycheck. And our economy is at serious risk.
Fortunately, it would take about five minutes for House Republicans to fix this by re-opening the government.
Sign my petition telling them to stop the madness and end the shutdown!
http://www.alfranken.com/...
It’s not just Democrats who know that’s the right thing to do -- a growing number of Republicans in the House are also ready to fund the government and move on from this disaster.
And as more and more people take advantage of the benefits of Obamacare, it’s going to keep being a worse and worse idea to hold the government hostage in an attempt to take those benefits away.
But we need more House Republicans to come to their senses, and we need them to do it quickly, before this unnecessary and, frankly, really dumb shutdown causes more harm to our economy.
It’s time for House Republicans to stop the madness and end the shutdown -- click here to sign my petition!
http://www.alfranken.com/...
We knew a government shutdown would be disastrous. That’s why 30,000 people signed our petition calling on House Republicans not to cause one.
But now that the government is shut down, every day costs our country more. We need to raise our voices louder than ever and call for some sanity.
Click here to sign my petition!
http://www.alfranken.com/...
Thanks,
Al
P.S.: The only way we’re going to bring an end to this government shutdown is if the voices of reason are louder than the voices calling for more ideological gamesmanship. You have a voice of reason -- use it! Sign my petition calling for an end to the shutdown.
http://www.alfranken.com/...
You can click here to sign Franken's petition:
http://www.alfranken.com/...