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Subject: The Lie: Mexico will pay for the Wall. The Trump-McConnell Government Shutdown.
14 Michigan Congressional Legislators
Question asked: Do you feel your vote on these bills support Trump's reported campaign LIE that Mexico will pay for the Wall resulting in the Trump-McConnell Shutdown?
Thank you letters sent to 11 Elected Official Responders below:
Representative Debbie Dingell (D), Representative Bill Huizenga (R),
Representative Dan Kildee (D), Representative Brenda Lawrence (D),
Representative Andy Levin (D), Representative Paul Mitchell (R),
Representative John Moolenaar (R), Representative Elissa Slotkin (D),
Representative Haley Stevens (D), Representative Fred Upton (R), Representative Tim Walberg (R),
Third Sending: Representative Justin Amash (L), Representative Jack Bergman (R), Representative Rashida Tlaib (D)
ORIGINAL LETTER
The MceZ Core Principle for January is CITIZENSHIP!
Open Letter for publishing in MceZ-It!
Third Sending: January 25, 2019 - DAY 35 of the Trump-McConnell Shutdown.
Second Sending – January 19, 2019 – Day 29 of the Trump-McConnell Shutdown
Subject: (THIRD Sending) The Lie: Mexico will pay for the Wall. The Trump-McConnell Government Shutdown.
Dear Representative ________________________,
Thank you for your public service.
As of January 12, the government will have been partially shutdown for 22 days, the longest governmental shutdown in our history over, some say, Trump's immoral, racist, xenophobic, divisive campaign lie. Over 800,000 federal employees and contractors' are not receiving a paycheck with a cascading affect on millions of citizens.
Some say Donald Trump is a psychopathic liar and that Republicans are afraid of challenging Trump's lies. Some call it enabling at best, complicity at worse. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has learned that Trump cannot be trusted and some say this reality has rendered him impotent. Some are wondering where is the integrity and patriotic courage on the part of Republicans (Representatives and Senators) to end the suffering and misery resulting from the Trump-McConnell Shutdown. The following is a list of Bills introduced this past week to reopen the government and the Michigan legislators who voted NAY.
S 24 1/11/19
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
BILL TITLE: Government Employee Fair Treatment Act
H R 265 1/10/19
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes
BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes
H.R. 267 1/10/19
BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for the Department of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
NAY S 24 Justin Amash(L)
NAY H.R.221 Justin Amash(L)
NAY H.R. 265 Justin Amash(L), Jack Bergman(R), Bill Huizenga(R), Paul Mitchell(R), John Moolenaar(R), Tim Walberg(R)
NAY H.R. 266 Justin Amash (L)Jack Bergman(R), Bill Huizenga(R), Paul Mitchell(R), John Moolenaar(R), Tim Walberg(R)
MY QUESTION TO YOU IS: Do you feel your vote on these bills support Trump's reported campaign LIE that Mexico will pay for the Wall resulting in the Trump-McConnell Shutdown?
I look forward to hearing from you soon. If I don't hear back by January 18, I will contact you again. Thank you.
Eunice Beck
www.mcez.org
https://www.mcez.org/policy.html
RESPONSES:
Representative Debbie Dingell (D)
Dear Mrs. Beck,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the federal government shutdown. This issue is of concern to most Americans.
On December 19, 2018, President Trump and House Republicans rejected a continuing resolution to fund the government through early February 2019, triggering a partial shutdown of the federal government that remains ongoing. Because of this inaction, agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, and Department of Justice have been affected, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to forgo pay and benefits while jeopardizing a multitude of basic services vital to our national well-being. This shutdown, which is now the longest in U.S. history, has come at a tremendous human and financial cost to hardworking Americans across the country. Transportation Security Administration workers at our nation's airports have been forced to work with pay, the Food and Drug Administration has had to cut back on mandatory food safety inspections, and the Coast Guard has suspended vital patrols and other services integral to our national security.
It is the most basic responsibility of Congress is to fund the government, and I am working with my colleagues to reopen the government and end this shutdown as soon as possible. Since the 116th Congress has convened, the House of Representatives has passed multiple bipartisan pieces of legislation to reopen the government while we work on a thoughtful, comprehensive way to secure our nation's borders and humanely reform our broken immigration system. This includes legislation that passed the Senate unanimously prior to the shutdown but which President Trump refused to sign. Unfortunately, neither the Senate nor the President have taken up these commonsense proposals, citing President Trump's demand of $5.7 billion for a down payment of a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall. This is despite independent assessments that a wall would do little to address undocumented immigration, require construction in inhospitable terrain at significant cost, and substantially degrade the surrounding environment. In addition, the President has consistently refused to negotiate this position with House and Senate leaders and has not yet put forward a proposal that can pass Congress.
As this unnecessary shutdown continues, the President needs to show leadership by coming to the table and working with Congress to reopen the government. Now, for the moment, Senator McConnell waits on Trump. Thousands of federal workers in my district have missed paychecks as a result of the shutdown. Every single day, my office receives outreach from desperate federal employees who are forced to decide between paying for necessities like food, medicine, and housing. I meet and speak daily with members of both parties and in both chambers of Congress. I have always said that I will work with anyone, regardless of background or party affiliation on behalf of my constituents. We must continue to push for an end to the shutdown, and your perspective is helpful as we work to reopen the federal government without delay.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. If you are interested in regular updates on current legislation or issues of the day, you can visit my website at https://debbiedingell.house.gov and sign up for my newsletter. You can also find me on Twitter at @RepDebDingell and on Facebook. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on interests of concern.
(signed)
Debbie Dingell
Member of Congress
January 16, 2019 Day 26 of the Trump-McConnell government shutdown
Subject: (Thank you) The Lie: Mexico will pay for the Wall. The Trump-McConnell Government Shutdown.
Dear Representative Dingell,
Thank you for your thoughtful response of January 15, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You stated, "I meet and speak daily with members of both parties and in both chambers of Congress. I have always said that I will work with anyone, regardless of background or party affiliation on behalf of my constituents. We must continue to push for an end to the shutdown, and your perspective is helpful as we work to reopen the federal government without delay."
Unfortunately, 6 of the 7 Michigan Republican Legislators voted against the bills to reopen the government which is disturbing. Our values are being tested and are at stake. Thank you for staying the course.
Representative Bill Huizenga (R)
Dear Ms. Beck:
Thank you for contacting me about the recent negotiations to fully fund the government. I appreciate hearing from you, and welcome this opportunity to address your concerns.
First and foremost, I want to be clear that the partial shutdown of our government was a travesty. On December 20, 2018, I voted in support of a Continuing Resolution to fund the government, secure our borders, and provide relief to communities harmed by natural disasters. By temporarily keeping the government open, this would have given lawmakers enough time to negotiate a larger deal without going into a shutdown. Unfortunately, the Senate took no action on this bill, causing federal funds for 25% of the government to lapse.
Since this occurred, there were several attempts by House Democrats to pass funding bills without valuable input from the Senate, Congressional Republicans, or the President. Consequently, these highly partisan bills had no chance of becoming law, and were clearly designed for political grandstanding. For example, H.R. 21 included a provision that authorized the use of taxpayer funds for the performance and promotion of abortions overseas. Furthermore, these bills contained no funding for any type of border security, not even for improvements in technology, infrastructure, or equipment that are unrelated to a wall.
By including controversial policies and refusing to enhance border security in any way, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats made their disinterest in finding a bipartisan solution extremely clear. This is a stark contrast to last year's appropriations process, in which 111 House democrats and 40 Senate Democrats voted for strong border security measures- including a wall- in exchange for greater spending in domestic programs.
I am, however, encouraged that President Trump, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate leaders have agreed to temporarily fund the government until February 15, 2019. I truly hope that all sides approach these new negotiations with an open mind, reasonable demands, and a willingness to compromise. Indeed, it is a unique opportunity to reach a comprehensive agreement that greatly benefits our country and all American citizens.
As an elected official, I believe I have a responsibility to do all I can to ensure that the government continues to operate. If the government shuts down, I do not believe that Members of Congress should receive their paychecks while other Federal workers do not. For this reason, I have sponsored a constitutional amendment that suspends salaries for lawmakers whenever a shutdown is in effect. Additionally, I voted several times for legislation to pay federal workers and Coast Guard members during the partial shutdown. People who dedicate their lives in various ways to our country do not deserve the burden of unproductive, unnecessary, and uncivil partisan theatrics in Washington, DC.
The shutdown was wrong; yet completely ignoring the needs of our border security is also wrong. Leaders of both parties must be willing to negotiate, compromise, and collaborate to overcome these challenges.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you, and will be sure to keep your comments and concerns in mind moving forward.
Bill Huizenga
THE LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN-35 DAYS- ENDED JANUARY 25, 2019 – 11 DAYS UNTIL FEBRUARY 15, 2019 – ANOTHER TRUMP-MCCONELL SHUTDOWN THREATENED
The MceZ Core Principle for FEBRUARY is COMMUNITY!
Dear Representative Huizenga,
Thank you for your response of January 31, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You state, "Since this occurred, there were several attempts by House Democrats to pass funding bills without valuable input from the Senate, Congressional Republicans, or the President. Consequently, these highly partisan bills had no chance of becoming law, and were clearly designed for political grandstanding. For example, H.R. 21 included a provision that authorized the use of taxpayer funds for the performance and promotion of abortions overseas. Furthermore, these bills contained no funding for any type of border security, not even for improvements in technology, infrastructure, or equipment that are unrelated to a wall."
I'm sorry, but it seems obscene to me that you would vote against a bill this inclusive, reopening the government for over 800,000 American employees and providing for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and several Medicaid provisions, by using the excuse that it included a provision that authorized the use of taxpayer funds for overseas abortion. Unfortunately, your priorities seem out of whack for the necessary art of humanistic political compromise.
Summary: H.R.21 NAY
116th Congress (2019-2020)
Introduced in House (01/03/2019)
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019
This bill provides FY2019 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies. It includes 6 of the 12 regular FY2019 appropriations bills:
the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019;
the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019;
the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019;
the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019;
the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; and
the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019.
The departments and agencies funded in the bill include:
the Department of the Interior;
the Environmental Protection Agency;
the Forest Service;
the Department of the Treasury,
the judiciary;
the Executive Office of the President;
the District of Columbia;
the Department of Agriculture;
the Food and Drug Administration;
the Department of Transportation;
the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
the Department of Commerce;
the Department of Justice;
science-related agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA);
the Department of State; and
several related and independent agencies.
The bill also extends several authorities and programs, including:
the National Flood Insurance Program,
the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides,the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and
several Medicaid provisions.
You also state, "Additionally, I voted several times for legislation to pay federal workers and Coast Guard members during the partial shutdown."
Below is your current voting record during the Trump-McConnell Shutdown:
H J RES 31 NAY 24-Jan-2019 10:48 AM
BILL TITLE: Making further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes
H J RES 28 NAY 23-Jan-2019 1:44 PM
BILL TITLE: Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes
H R 648 NAY 23-Jan-2019 3:54 PM
BILL TITLE: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019
BILL TITLE: Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes
H R 790 RECORDED VOTE NAY 30-Jan-2019 2:08 PM
BILL TITLE: Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act
Thank you, again. I look forward to contacting you in the future.
Representative Dan Kildee (D)
Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent government shutdown and border security. I appreciate hearing from you on these important issues.
I am glad that the President finally put an end to this government shutdown—which was a completely manufactured crisis—that he himself created. This government shutdown inflicted a great deal of pain on working families and our country's economy. Economists have determined that the last shutdown cost our economy $11 billion—which is money that could have been spent on many other important priorities, including repairing our crumbling roads and bridges, investing in education or ensuring access to clean drinking water.
Shutting down the government should never be a negotiating tactic. It is unfortunate that the President is already talking about a second government shutdown if he does not get his way when it comes to a border wall on the U.S.—Mexico border.
I do not support wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective and expensive border wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for. I continue to listen to many Customs and Border Patrol experts that have said that a physical barrier will not deter migrants from fleeing violence or stop drugs from entering the U.S., which mostly come through legal ports of entry.
Nevertheless, I am willing to sit down with the President and negotiate on border security that makes sense, including developing new technologies to scan for drugs and detect unauthorized crossings, invest in better infrastructure at ports of entry, and increasing Customs and Border Patrol personnel. Congress should pass a budget that keeps the government open and protects our national security, including fixing our broken immigration system.
In the future, please do not hesitate to contact me about any issue. It's important for me to hear your views so that I can best represent you and the Fifth Congressional District.
I hope you stay in contact with me by visiting my congressional website at www.dankildee.house.gov and signing up for my email newsletter. You can also connect with me on Facebook (Congressman Dan Kildee) or follow me on Twitter (@RepDanKildee).
Dan Kildee
THE LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN-35 DAYS- ENDED JANUARY 25, 2019 – 11 DAYS UNTIL FEBRUARY 15, 2019 – ANOTHER TRUMP-MCCONNELL SHUTDOWN THREATENED
Dear Representative Kildee,
Thank you for your informative, clear and direct response of February 1, 2019 of your position to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You state, "Shutting down the government should never be a negotiating tactic. It is unfortunate that the President is already talking about a second government shutdown if he does not get his way when it comes to a border wall on the U.S.—Mexico border."
In my view, Donald Trump, unfortunately, is unable to perform his presidential duties with intelligence, honesty, ethics, integrity, selflessness, maturity, understanding and empathy.
Thank you, again, for your work. I look forward to contacting you in the future.
Representative Brenda Lawrence (D)
Thank you for writing me to express your concerns about the government shutdown. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents, and I welcome the opportunity to correspond with you.
On December 19, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 695 – Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, the third Continuing Resolution (CR) which would keep the government operating through February 8, 2019. The bill extends Fiscal Year 2018 funding levels for seven of the twelve appropriations bills, comprising approximately one quarter of discretionary funding. These are Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Homeland Security, Financial Services-General Government, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD bills. On December 20, 2018, the Republican-controlled House voted 217 to 185 to pass legislation that would fund the federal government through Feb. 8, 2019, with the addition of over $5.7 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for "procurement, construction and improvements." The legislation would also provide about $7.8 billion in emergency disaster aid for hurricane and wildfire victims. Senators from both parties have indicated that the modified legislation won't pass when it returns to the Senate for approval, leaving lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill at an impasse. Ultimately, the decision to add border wall funding resulted in a lapse in funding for certain federal agencies, initiating a shutdown of those agencies on December 21, 2018.
This is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The shutdown endangers the health and safety of the American people while failing to provide timely paychecks to 800,000 innocent workers, including over 5,200 workers in Michigan, many of whom must continue working without their pay. The shutdown impacts sectors of government from carrying out their responsibilities. For example, the Agriculture Department has said that benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be fully provided for the month of February, but the department offered no assurance about what would happen in March if the shutdown continued. The Food and Drug Administration cannot adequately complete routine food safety inspections and might run out of funds to review new drugs. The National Park Service has suspended services like trash collection and road maintenance, and members of the Coast Guard have missed their paychecks.
As a Member of Congress, I support smart, effective border security solutions. Some of these include installing new technology to eventually scan all commercial and passenger vehicles for illegal drugs and other contraband at our ports of entry. According to both CBP and DEA, 90% of heroin, 88% of cocaine, 87% of methamphetamine and 80% of fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. are seized at official ports of entry, not areas between the ports of entry where President Trump wants to build his wasteful border wall. Furthermore, I believe advanced technology will help detect unauthorized crossings. I also believe that we need more customs personnel to fill the more than 3,000 vacancies for customs officers who facilitate trade and travel at our land, air, and sea ports of entry, inspect commercial and passenger vehicles for illegal drugs and other contraband, and ensure that travelers are vetted and screened before entering the United States. Finally, we must expand port of entry infrastructure to improve security and better facilitate trade and travel, ending the long delays for visitors and commercial shipments that cost our country billions in economic activity and thousands of jobs.
The needless continuation of the government shutdown is unacceptable and detrimental to our nation and its economy. My colleagues and I in the House have now voted nine times to reopen the government, protect our borders, provide backpay to furloughed federal workers, and get people back to work. Please know that I will continue to do everything I can to end this shutdown and put our government back to work for the people it serves. The American people deserve to have this dangerous and costly shutdown come to an end.
Serving as your representative in Washington is a great privilege and honor. I take your viewpoints and suggestions very seriously and look forward to hearing from you again. You may also visit my website at www.lawrence.house.gov to learn more about my voting record and positions on issues that matter most to you and the 14th Congressional District of Michigan.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence
January 20, 2019 - DAY 30 of the Trump-McConnell Shutdown.
Dear Representative Lawrence,
Thank you for your comprehensive and informative response of January 18, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You state, "The needless continuation of the government shutdown is unacceptable and detrimental to our nation and its economy. My colleagues and I in the House have now voted nine times to reopen the government, protect our borders, provide backpay to furloughed federal workers, and get people back to work. Please know that I will continue to do everything I can to end this shutdown and put our government back to work for the people it serves. The American people deserve to have this dangerous and costly shutdown come to an end."
Some say it should be made incumbent upon Mitch McConnell to agree to veto proof legislation when bi-partisan common ground is reached to avoid sabotage by Trump since he cannot be trusted. I look forward to contacting you again. Thank you.
Representative Andy Levin (D)
Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration reform and border security.
Please be assured that I stand ready to discuss smart, evidence-based solutions for our border and immigration system, but I will not allow the President to take our country hostage and thrust thousands of working families into financial instability over the debate of a southern border wall. We must listen to border security personnel and engineering experts when they say that simply building a wall will not work.
Thus, I have voted to pass a package of bills—agreed to by U.S. House of Representatives and Senate negotiators—to fund the government while providing more than $1.6 billion for smart, effective border security solutions. This funding would provide advanced technologies and infrastructure investments, and it would ensure that more than 3,000 Customs and Border Patrol vacancies are filled. This bill is a bipartisan opportunity to begin streamlining our immigration system for families, workers and employers, as well as protect federal workers who have been impacted by the shutdown.
Securing our border should also not come at the expense of the human rights of those seeking entry into our country. I am a proud cosponsor of the Keep Families Together Act of 2019, which promotes family unity, limits criminal prosecutions for asylum seekers and creates procedures to reunify families that have been separated by past policy decisions. Separating families and detaining children in inhumane facilities is immoral. Furthermore, people who have spent years living, working and paying taxes here should be afforded a path to citizenship. I support comprehensive action to address these issues and others that plague our immigration system, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue to tackle these problems during the 116th Congress.
Again, thank you for getting in touch with me. I hope you stay informed and continue to stay in contact by visiting my website at https://andylevin.house.gov/ and signing up for my email newsletter. You can also connect with me on Facebook (Congressman Andy Levin) or follow me on Twitter (@RepAndyLevin).
ANDY LEVIN
Subject: Subject: (Thank you) The Lie: Mexico will pay for the Wall. The Trump-McConnell Government Shutdown.
Dear Representative Levin,
Thank you for your response of February 1, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You state, "I am a proud cosponsor of the Keep Families Together Act of 2019, which promotes family unity, limits criminal prosecutions for asylum seekers and creates procedures to reunify families that have been separated by past policy decisions. Separating families and detaining children in inhumane facilities is immoral."
As this country recognizes 400 years since the first African slaves were horrifically and monstrously brought to Virginia in the bowels of slave ships, this action of separating families of color being done by Donald Trump and his administration is deplorable, inhumane, shameful and offensive to all Americans. I hope that you will take the lead in a national conversation on slavery and the insidious effects of racism.
I look forward to contacting you in the future. Thank you, again.
 Representative Paul Mitchell (R)
Thank you for contacting me to share your opposition to the current government shutdown. It is an honor to represent the people of the 10th District of Michigan and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
I share your concerns and understand your frustrations regarding lapses in appropriations for the federal government. I believe any shutdown can and should be avoided. Last Congress, I voted for a spending bill that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provided $5.6 billion for border security and a physical barrier for a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. Unfortunately, this bill failed to pass the Senate, leading to a government shutdown.
It is clear that there is room for compromise. In a meeting at the White House, I directly told President Donald Trump that view. A compromise does require a willingness to have a discussion on areas of disagreement, and acceptance that neither side will get everything they want at once. Unfortunately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not yet engaged in constructive talks. Democrats' refusal to secure our border is the reason for the shutdown. This is a pressing national security issue that has been neglected for too long. Barriers have proven effective in securing our border. According to DHS, illegal traffic dropped by over 90% in three cities – Yuma, Tucson, and San Diego – after border walls were constructed. In fact, during the Obama Administration, all 54 Senate Democrats voted to double the length of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border.
I join those in Michigan and across the country who expressed concern about the government shutdown. Now, I call on my colleagues to continue their previous efforts to strengthen border security and bring an end to this impasse.
Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. To stay up to date on my work in Congress, sign up for my newsletter at mitchell.house.gov, like my Facebook at facebook.com/RepPaulMitchell, or follow my Twitter @RepPaulMitchell. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future on any issue.
*******************************************************************************************************
Dear Representative Mitchell,
Thank you for your response of January 14, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019, attached below.
You write, "It is clear that there is room for compromise. In a meeting at the White House, I directly told President Donald Trump that view. A compromise does require a willingness to have a discussion on areas of disagreement, and acceptance that neither side will get everything they want at once. Unfortunately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not yet engaged in constructive talks. Democrats' refusal to secure our border is the reason for the shutdown. This is a pressing national security issue that has been neglected for too long. Barriers have proven effective in securing our border. According to DHS, illegal traffic dropped by over 90% in three cities – Yuma, Tucson, and San Diego – after border walls were constructed. In fact, during the Obama Administration, all 54 Senate Democrats voted to double the length of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border".
If you truly believe in your statement above that there is merit to your case, do your job, reopen the government and have an honest debate. Begin by acknowledging the lie - that Mexico is not paying for the Wall. It is irresponsible for you as an elected official and representative not to do. Thank you.
************************************************************************
Representative John Moolenaar (R)
Dear Eunice,
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico. As always, I appreciate your input.
As you may know, on December 20, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to keep the government funded through February 8, 2019. It included $5.7 billion in border security funding but failed to pass in the U.S. Senate, leading to a partial government shutdown. The shutdown has continued as negotiations regarding border security and government funding have come to a standstill in Washington with the President refusing to sign any legislation to re-open the government unless it contains funding for a border security wall.
At this time, there are a number of legislative proposals regarding the proposed border wall before the U.S. House of Representatives. Should legislation regarding this topic come before me in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will keep your views in mind.
Again, thank you for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any future questions or comments.
JOHN MOOLENAAR
**************************************************************************************************
January 20, 2019 DAY 30 of the Trump-McConnell Shutdown.
Dear Representative Moolenaar,
Thank you for your interesting response of January 18, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
Unfortunately, your response seems disingenuous and opaque inasmuch as it is my understanding that 9 bills to re-open the government have passed the House of the 116th Congress, all of which you have consistently voted NAY along partisan lines. If this information is incorrect, please respond.
Some say it should be made incumbent upon Mitch McConnell to agree to veto proof legislation when bi-partisan common ground is reached to avoid sabotage by Trump since he has shown he cannot be trusted. I look forward to contacting you again. Thank you.
Representative Elissa Slotkin (D)
Thank you for emailing my office about the current government shutdown. I truly appreciate hearing directly from constituents about the issues that are on their mind. Frankly, I need that feedback, and I will endeavor to make this response as helpful as possible.
As you know, in the closing days of the previous Congress, legislation to appropriate funds for the remaining, unfunded federal departments failed to pass both chambers. This failure to agree on appropriations funding resulted in a partial government shutdown closing nine federal departments and numerous federal agencies. These closures have resulted in over 350,000 federal workers being placed on furlough and over 400,000 workers being asked to work without pay. The impacted departments include the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of State, Department of Transportation, and Department of Treasury. On the first day of the new Congress, legislation passed the House for Representatives to reopen the government with funding for all effected departments and agencies. However, the Senate has, until now, not taken up the legislation due to an impasse on the funding of a wall on our southern border.
As a national security professional and former acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, I do believe that a principled debate over the security of our southern border is one worth having. But this is different from a wall from sea to shining sea. We need to reopen the government, and both sides need to come to the table in order to have a serious, fact-based conversation about how to best secure our southern border in an effective and responsible way. We all agree that we need more border security and humanitarian assistance, and it's time we actually get to work and compromise on something real. But the first step is to open the government and stop punishing our federal workers who are caught in the middle.
I want to sincerely thank you for sharing your views. I need feedback from my constituents. I believe that reaching out to your members of Congress and staying civically engaged is a service to your country, and I appreciate the time you have taken to do so. To learn more about my work in the U.S. House of Representatives, please visit my website, where you can sign up for my e-newsletter. You can find regular updates on my social media pages by "following" me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, which you can do by clicking on the icons below. You can also feel free to reach out to either my Lansing, Michigan, or Washington, D.C., office to ask any questions, further express an opinion, or seek assistance with a federal agency. My office is here to help.
Elissa Slotkin
*************************************************************************************************
January 23, 2019 DAY 32 of the Trump-McConnell Shutdown
Dear Representative Slotkin,
Thank you for your informative response of January 23, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
What is happening in our country is abnormal, atrocious and stressful. Thank you for your courage and leadership in protecting our democracy from this insidiousness.
Representative Haley Stevens (D)
Thank you for taking the time to write to me about the government shutdown. This shutdown – the longest in our nation's history – was unacceptable, and I will work to ensure the government never shuts down again.
The 35 days of this partial government shutdown caused irreversible harm to our federal workforce and our country's economy. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion, $3 billion of which cannot be recovered. More than 800,000 federal workers were furloughed or working without pay, 5,730 of whom live in Michigan.
In southeast Michigan, our automakers were unable to begin selling new vehicles because Environmental Protection Agency testing centers were shut down. Food and Drug Administration laboratories in Metro Detroit were barely able to stay open to screen for food and drug safety. Aviation safety specialists were struggling to ensure our airplane and aerospace safety. We were fortunate to have municipalities, credit unions, and local businesses working to ease the burden on furloughed federal employees in Michigan, but we should never have to put anyone in this position again.
A deal was reached on January 25th to reopen the government, giving the President and Congress three weeks to continue negotiating the terms of Fiscal Year 2019 funding. However, the threat of another shutdown on February 15th is leaving Michiganders uncertain about their ability to pay bills and putting our federal operations, like food inspection and aerospace safety, at risk.
I believe that shutting down the government for any reason is unacceptable. Since being sworn in to Congress on January 3rd, I have used my voice and my vote to open the government by speaking on the House Floor three times and supporting over 10 pieces of bipartisan legislation to reopen the government. I will work to prevent the government from ever shutting down again, while continuing to work across the aisle to find common ground on border security.
Thank you again for contacting me about this issue. It is an honor to represent Michigan's 11th District in Congress and I will work to ensure that my constituents' voices are heard in Washington. Please do not hesitate to continue keeping in touch with me about the issues that are important to you.
Haley Stevens
Representative Fred Upton (R)
Thank you for contacting me regarding the government shutdown. I share your frustration over the dysfunction in Washington at this time and continue to be committed to find bipartisan solutions to keep our government funded.
There are no winners in a government shutdown and it has a very real impact in Southwest Michigan. The continued shutdown jeopardizes critical federal services such as food stamps, Department of Housing and Urban Development's rental assistance programs, including Section 8 vouchers, and various public safety functions carried out by workers that are furloughed or working without pay, like the Coast Guard. This is unacceptable. That is why I joined 234 Democrats and 6 Republicans to pass H.R. 21, a six bill spending package that would fund nearly all of the government agencies that have unnecessarily shuttered since December 22, 2018. At this time, it seems unlikely the U.S. Senate will consider the House passed package.
Rest assured, I will continue to working with all my Republican and Democrat colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure that the government is fully funded.
Thank you again for contacting me. As always, I appreciate hearing from you and it's of the utmost importance to me that your voice is heard. Due to the highly charged political atmosphere, my office is experiencing an unprecedented amount of mail and it may take several weeks for a response to get back to you. Sometimes you may receive a "form letter," but please know these letters accurately reflect my position.
Many of you reach out regarding the dysfunction back in Washington. As Vice Chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of representatives, I was pleased to join my colleagues in introducing the "Break the Gridlock" proposal. This effort would force consideration of bipartisan amendments and make Washington actually fix problems. If we had these rules in place, just in recent weeks, I believe important bipartisan legislation would have been adopted on immigration, the environment as it relates to PFAS and water quality, health care, agriculture, and other spending issues. We will insist on these proposed changes in the 116th Congress.
As we continue our work in Congress, please do not hesitate to contact my team in Washington, D.C. (202-225-3761), Kalamazoo (269-385-0039), or St. Joseph (269-982-1986) or visit upton.house.gov to share your thoughts on legislation or issues of importance to you. In addition, I encourage you to sign up for my weekly e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on what I'm working on each week in Congress and back home in Southwest Michigan. To see my official position on more than 70 issues and policy concerns and to view my official voting record, please click here.
Fred Upton
*********************************************************************************************************
January 16, 2019 Day 26 of the The Trump-McConnell Government Shutdown.
Dear Representative Upton,
Thank you for your principled response of January 15, 2019 to my letter of January 12, 2019 attached below.
You state, "This is unacceptable. That is why I joined 234 Democrats and 6 Republicans to pass H.R. 21, a six bill spending package that would fund nearly all of the government agencies that have unnecessarily shuttered since December 22, 2018. At this time, it seems unlikely the U.S. Senate will consider the House passed package."
Your willingness to do your job with integrity as an elected official and representative by putting citizens before party is commendable in today's partisan political atmosphere.
I look forward to reaching out to you in the future.
https://www.mcez.org/policy.html
Representative Tim Walberg (R)
Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns regarding government funding to secure the southern border. I appreciate hearing from you.
Like you, I am frustrated with the impasse in negotiations between the White House and Democratic leaders regarding funding for border security, resulting in a partial government shutdown. You may be interested to know, at the conclusion of the 115th Congress, I voted in favor of legislation to keep the full government open through February 8, 2019 and provide funding for border security, including more personnel, increased technology, and a physical barrier in some areas. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 217-185 but did not garner enough support in the Senate to be brought to the floor.
You also may be interested to know, to show solidarity with federal workers furloughed or working without pay, I have refused to accept a paycheck as long as the partial government shutdown continues.
Immigration reform must prioritize the enhancement and protection of our nation's borders. The current system is a detriment to both prospective legal immigrants and the safety of hardworking Americans by encouraging people to break the law while punishing those who abide by it.
Congress and the President must now work together to end the partial government shutdown, pay our federal workers, and provide the necessary funding to secure our southern border and ensure the safety of all Americans. Please know I take the responsible use of taxpayer dollars very seriously and you can be certain I will keep your views in mind as deliberations continue on how best to fund border security.
Again, thank you for contacting me.
Tim Walberg
Dear Representative Walberg,
You state, "Like you, I am frustrated with the impasse in negotiations between the White House and Democratic leaders regarding funding for border security, resulting in a partial government shutdown. You may be interested to know, at the conclusion of the 115th Congress, I voted in favor of legislation to keep the full government open through February 8, 2019 and provide funding for border security, including more personnel, increased technology, and a physical barrier in some areas. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 217-185 but did not garner enough support in the Senate to be brought to the floor."
If the above statement is true, it appears paradoxical that at the beginning of the 116th Congress, you consistently, along partisan lines, voted NAY opposing bills to reopen the government.
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text:
Published on December 11, 2017 January 22, 2018 by Adam Thomas
Sermon for Sunday, December 10, 2017 || Advent 2B || Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
https://wherethewind.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/20171210-081437.mp3
The second semester of my sophomore year of college, the choir of Sewanee performed in concert an extraordinary piece of music that I bet most of you have never heard of. The Dona Nobis Pacem by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is a work for choir, soloists, and orchestra in a similar vein as something like Handel's Messiah but with a more eclectic text. The words of the Dona Nobis Pacem come from the Bible, a political speech, the church service, and the poetry of nineteenth century American poet Walt Whitman. Written in 1936 as fascism was on the rise in Europe, Vaughan Williams work acknowledges the horror and heartbreak of war even as it cries out for peace. Dona nobis pacem: give us peace.
Now, the choirmaster at Sewanee, Dr. Robert Delcamp, programmed the music for the entire school year the summer beforehand. So he could never have known what would happen the same week we sang our song of peace. It was the spring of 2003: Shock and Awe, the bombing of Baghdad, the beginning of the Iraq War. And here we were, a little choir at a little college, tucked away on a mountaintop in Tennessee, singing our plaintive cry for peace while the drums of war sounded both within the music and out in the world.
That singular performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem still haunts me with its beauty and its longing, even some fourteen years later. I recall it for you today because we just read some of the words Vaughan Williams set to music in the glorious finale of the choral work. The piece ends with a soaring vision of the peaceable reign of God, where swords have been beaten into plowshares, where "justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream," as Martin Luther King Jr. would say a generation later.
In the middle of that soaring final movement, Vaughan Williams quotes our psalm for today, Psalm 85: "Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." I can hear it in my mind even now. I still get tingly and teary when I listen to the recording, still remember how it felt to cry out for peace even as bombs were falling on the Iraqi capital.
I tell you, the range of emotion was vast. There was sadness, utter sadness in the knowledge that our song of peace could not prevent our soldiers and the Iraqi people from dying in the desert sands. There was the flutter of hope that maybe, just maybe, our song of peace could do just that – could join a chorus of voices that would bring the conflict to a swift and just conclusion. There was the fervor of patriotism, for I believe the desire for peace in the midst of war is a patriotic act. And there was the joy of raising my voice in harmony with a hundred other people, all of us singing as one voice, speaking a word of peace into a world of war.
"Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." When I read these words from Psalm 85 today, the same roil of emotions fills me: sadness and hope and fervor and joy. But I must confess: today, sadness pushes the others down. I look out and see a world where mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace are far from here; where the scourge of gun violence takes more lives everyday; where sexual harassment and abuse are wielded like weapons by famous and ordinary men alike; where the safety net of the poor is being eroded away to line the pockets of the rich; where race, sex, religion, and orientation continue to be warrants for exclusion and disrespect. I look out and see a world covered in darkness, and the darkness threatens to overwhelm me.
Then I remember one of my favorite verses of scripture from the prologue of John's Gospel, and I say it to myself over and over again: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
I'm convinced this is God's way of reminding me that total despair is an unproductive state of being. For despair is sadness made comatose. But God invites us to take our sadness and remember that hope still exists alongside it. That is why, as we approach the darkest days of the year, we light candles against the encroaching night. We defy the darkness with the Light of God's own Word that is coming into the word.
When we say "Mercy and truth have met together," it is no mere pipe dream; it is our mission. When we say "righteousness and peace have kissed each other," it is not simply a figure of speech; it is speech that figures into how we live our lives as followers of God.
Mercy is quiet. It does not draw attention to itself. The same with truth. The problem is that lies are loud because they must be told over and over again to be believed. All we can do in response is speak the truth in love, trusting that in the end the truth will set all people free. Righteousness is quiet too. It is the daily living of those who do right by each other, loving their neighbor as themselves. Anything louder becomes self-righteousness. And then there's peace, which you would expect to be quiet, and it is, compared to the cacophony of war. But where war is deafening with destruction, peace crescendos with new creation.
Just because mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace are often quiet things, that doesn't mean they are gone. It doesn't mean the darkness has swallowed them up. It just means we have to look harder for them. And the harder we seek them, the more we train our eyes to notice them.
It's no surprise Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the Dona Nobis Pacem three years before the outbreak of World War II. In that moment, the world needed that prayer: give us peace. It's no surprise that he quotes Psalm 85 and later in the finale a certain group of angels who sing to some bewildered shepherds: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to men." For those angels sang that song of peace in a war torn age of violence and degradation. They sang that song of peace because of something happening quietly in the little town of Bethlehem: the Word of God made flesh, the Love of God incarnate. They sang that song of peace which echoes down the ages to us, and we can join their song.
If sadness at the state of the world is threatening to overwhelm you today, remember to light a candle in defiance of the darkness. That light is the Light of Christ. Use that light to help you see God's mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace persisting in the midst of the horrible and the heartbreaking. And ask God to give you the grace and the strength to help make those quiet things just a little bit louder.
Listen to the original 1936 BBC recording of Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem.
Categories Sermons•Tags Advent, darkness, light, mercy, peace, Psalm 85, Righteousness, Truth
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3 thoughts on "Dona Nobis Pacem"
trawlerowner says:
Have sung that song in church choirs for many years!! One of my favorites! A tradition in the Episcopal churches that I have gone to!!
Adam Thomas says:
The Dona Nobis Pacem in the Hymnal 1982 is wonderful! I love it! However, Vaughan Williams's piece is a different one — a choral cantata of several movements that lasts about 30 minutes. You can listen to it via the link at the bottom of the sermon.
elaine_nelson@hotmail.com says:
Dear Father Adam Thomas: The sermon was lovely and Dona Nobis Pacem is one of my favorite Hymns From Elaine and Robert Nelson

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