This morning N.M. Congressman Steve Pearce posted this on his Facebook page:
It looks like the Park Service has replace the barriers to keep visitors out of the parks. Veterans from across the country are coming to DC to see the WWII memorial. Yesterday vet groups and a few Congressman removed the barriers. I am headed down to the memorial to see that the groups scheduled to visit today get in.
Rep. Pearce Facebook
Rather than chase after Tea Party contrived photo ops perhaps Rep. Pearce should be aware of what the GOP's actions are truly doing to our military families.
U.S. Military Commissaries are a vital benefit to our serving forces. The are required to sell food at cost plus 5% to be used to improve and develop new commissaries. This allows our military members to feed their families on a servicemen or servicewoman's salary.
Being the spouse of a career Navy Officer (though only for a short time while he served) I had an opportunity to visit with enlisted men and woman who spoke of what the commissary meant to them and how precious that benefit was to their budgets.
While Representative Pearce and other TeaParty/GOP members are making meaningless gestures for the television cameras our serving troops are experiencing, or will experience, the closing of their grocery sources.
Our Commissaries are closing...and that's going to really hurt.
The Defense Commissary Agency based at Fort Lee, Va. says its shoppers save more than 30 percent, on average, compared with commercial prices. The agency says a family of four that shops at a commissary year-round has an annual savings of about $4,500. That's significant, given that many entry-level members of the military make about $20,000 a year, excluding bonuses and allowances for housing and meals, under certain conditions.
ABC News
I've already heard from three friends this morning who are spouses of active Navy Officers who are extremely concerned. One is planning a meeting to try to discover what they can do to help enlisted families in the event this GOP shutdown lasts longer than a few days.
Please contact your Congressman, through Facebook, through email, through any possible source, and ask them to let a vote on a clean bill occur in the House. Let them know that while they may think contrived events for the press are important our military families are experiencing real harm.
This isn't funny, its not patriotic, and people are being hurt.
11:35 PM PT: I've had a lot of communication with individuals this evening, both conservative, moderates and liberals.
Rep. Pearce is now receiving messages from a few of his donors speaking of solving this with the full realization that the Tea Party picking and choosing what part of the government should run is not a viable solution.
I'm being consistent in asking simply that they bring a clean bill to the floor of the House to be voted on and I encourage others to message their representatives with the same thought. We can make sure our voices are heard and it does make an impression
And thank you for the rescue....this is just one issue where the actions of the Tea Party/GOP is causing harm. There are many others...such as no oil or gas leases being processed in New Mexico. This is starting to effect even the financial supporters of these extremists....and we can apply more pressure.