For more than a month, the federal government has been shut down because Washington Democrats continue to use the American people’s pain as leverage to appease their radical base –  demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending, taxpayer funded health care for illegal immigrants, and cuts to rural health care. This is now the longest government shutdown in American history. Democrats are not only holding our government hostage, they are taking pride in the suffering that comes with it.

This shutdown is not about compromise or negotiation. It is about power and control for Washington Democrats. House Republicans delivered a straightforward, non-partisan, 24-page piece of legislation more than six weeks ago to extend current funding levels and keep government open until a full year government spending agreement can be reached for 2026. Senate Democrats must stop using suffering as a tool and instead vote for this noncontroversial extension of current spending levels, just like they did thirteen times under President Biden and as recently as March. The livelihoods and wellbeing of the American people should not be used as a bargaining chip for their radical agenda.

It is unconscionable that as a result of their shutdown, Washington Democrats are denying paychecks to the men and women of our Armed Forces, who are serving overseas with their lives on the line defending our great country. But as this shutdown is now being dragged into month two, it is having painful impacts on many more who bravely served our country in the past. Nearly 37,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are either furloughed or working without pay. Veterans who rely on the VA for disability claims and benefit processing are facing delays. Regional benefits offices are closed. GI Bill hotlines and transition programs that help service members re-enter civilian life are shuttered. Our Veterans deserve respect and gratitude, not to be treated like bargaining chips by Democrats in some political game. It is shameful.

This pain is being felt across southeast Missouri. In Poplar Bluff, home to one of our state’s largest VA Medical Centers, veterans and their families are worried about the strain this shutdown is putting on staff and services. Veteran-owned small businesses in Missouri are feeling the pinch from delayed federal contracts and frozen small-business loans. The men and women who fought for this nation are paying the price for Washington Democrat-caused dysfunction.

As we mark Veterans Day on November 11, it is a time to put partisanship and political games aside, do right by and honor the men and women who wear the uniform today or who have put on the uniform in the past and risked everything. They are fighting and have fought for America, for freedom, for opportunity, and for the promise that this country keeps its word to those who defend it – not for a political party.

To every active duty servicemember and veteran in Missouri’s Eighth District and across the nation, I say thank you. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your commitment to keeping America safe. Your courage built this nation, and your example reminds us what real leadership looks like.

Republicans will continue fighting to reopen government responsibly and ensure our Armed Forces and veterans never again become collateral damage in Washington’s political fights. This Veterans Day, we must do more than say thank you. We must prove it through action.