Portland Congressional Reps React to Trump's Temporary Government Re-Opening

ALEX ZIELINSKI

The federal government is on track to re-open—temporarily, at least.

Sponsored Welcome Back! Pastini Downtown Reopens for Dining Join us for lunch combos like Alfredo + Caesar, Chicken Caesar + Soup, and ten more!

Donald Trump announced Friday his intention to sign a bill that would pause the shutdown. This bill will fund the government through Feb 15, ideally giving Trump and congressional leaders time to negotiate a more permanent budget.

On Friday afternoon, Oregon Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader met with Transport Security Administration (TSA) agents and air traffic controllers at Portland International Airport, then held a press conference to address the new stopgap bill. While all three expressed optimism about the government temporarily re-opening, they also stressed the need for a more permanent solution—one that doesn’t involve funding Trump’s much-fantasized-about border wall.

“This is a three-week fix,” Blumenauer said. “You don't fund the government at three weeks at a time."

As the Mercury has reported, the federal government shutdown has had a wide impact on services that many Oregonians rely on, including immigration court, domestic violence shelters, and food assistance programs. Many federal employees, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers, have not received a paycheck in weeks.

The representatives said they’d heard stories of people selling plasma to pay for rent and groceries, as well as people being told they couldn’t count on the federal housing assistance they’d previously qualified for.

"The reality is that people have bills to pay,” Bonamici said. “There's this notion among some people in the Trump administration that federal employees can look at this like a vacation. They are of touch with reality. A lot of these families are living paycheck to paycheck."

Trump's new willingness to cooperate with Congress, at least on a short-term bill, comes as air traffic control staffing shortages are causing flight delays at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and the Philadelphia International Airport. Last Friday, TSA agents held a rally outside Portland International Airport protesting the shutdown.

"Our national air space system cannot be used as a political pawn,” said Richard Kennington, a spokesperson for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, at today's press conference. “I won't say it is unsafe to fly today, but it is less safe to fly today than it was a month ago."

Trump promised that during the temporary re-opening, federal employees will receive back wages. Bonamici said she isn’t sure when that pay will come, but that she and her colleagues would “do everything will can to make sure they get paid as soon as possible."

At 35 days, the current government shutdown is the longest one in US history. Trump has so far refused to sign any long-term spending bill that doesn’t include full funding for a border wall—but Blumenauer said he and his fellow Democrats won’t be “throwing $5.7 billion at someone’s delusion” anytime soon.