if you ever really looked at those people, i think that he would say, mr. president, keep going, this is far more important. >> congressman sarbanes, is that how your constituents see it, there's a higher purpose than their pay? >> no. i think that's an incredibly cynical view and assertion for the president to make. he is sacrificing the livelihood of these federal employees to this obsession with building a wall. that's not fair. it's not respectful of them. we need to move past this government shutdown. let's get the government reopened. let's make sure that those workers are being treated fairly, and let's get back to where they can deliver the services that the american public expects. let's get that done, let's have a conversation about smart border security, and let's keep moving forward. but the posture that the president is right now -- is in right now is irresponsible and in my view it's a failure of leadership. >> all right. thank you very much, congressman sarbanes, i appreciate your time tonight. >>> and next, why president trump says he can't be impeached. >> well,

from maryland, my good friend, mr. sarbanes, a member of the energy and commerce committee and oversight and reform. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i rise in support of the rules package being put forward by the democratic majority and in particular, i want to applaud the decision to establish a select committee on the modernization of congress and i want to thank chairman mcgovern. i want to thank speaker pelosi and all those who made this a priority. we know that the best motives of members on both sides of the aisle are too often frustrated by dysfunction in the legislative process, which then makes it difficult for us to deliver on the promises that we give to our constituents and to the nation. diminishing congressional outside and at interests in the legislative process and those are interests who don't always have the public interest in mind and, of course, we know modern day campaigning demands are running members ragged. we are increasingly unable to st

task force, our champion, integrity and government, congressman john sarbanes. [applause] mr. sarbanes: good morning, everybody. thank you, speaker pelosi. thank you for your leadership and your commitment to this agenda of giving the american people their voice back. last year when candidates were out campaigning to their constituents, new candidates and candidates were running for re-election, we heard loud and clear from the american people that they feel left out and locked out too often from their own democracy. that they want us to fight the culture of corruption. they want us to clean up washington. fix the system. and give them their voice back. they want to be able to get to the ballot box without having to run an obstacle course. they want it to be easy and not hard to register and vote in america. and h.r. 1 will address that concern. they want to make sure that when people come to washington to serve, whether it's in the legislative branch or the executive branch, or member of the judiciary, they behave themselves. they abide by ethics. they have integrity. that t

maryland, my good friend, mr. sarbanes, a member of the energy and commerce committee and oversight and reform. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i rise in support of the rules package being put forward by the democratic majority and in particular, i want to applaud the decision to establish a select committee on the modernization of congress and i want to thank chairman mcgovern. i want to thank speaker pelosi and all those who made this a priority. we know that the best motives of members on both sides of the aisle are too often frustrated by dysfunction in the legislative process, which then makes it difficult for us to deliver on the promises that we give to our constituents and to the nation. diminishing congressional outside and at interests in the legislative process and those are interests who don't always have the public interest in mind and, of course, we know modern day campaigning demands are running members ragged. we are increasingly unable to study the ma

business as usual. i thank you and i want to introduce now my good friends, mr. sarbanes -- my good friend r. sarbanes of maryland. mr. sarbanes: thank you, congresswoman norton. i want to thank congresswoman norton for her bill that would make sure contractors are bade retroactively. i want to thank tom beyer for his efforts on behalf of our federal employees. this is not just about making sure that we get people back to work. there's a lot of stress on federal workers because they know the job they need to do. and they know that that work is piling up. they're sitting at home, they're not getting paid. they know that the stack is getting taller and taller. if you're somebody who has to process these tax refunds for americans all across the country you know that work is going to be there. you want to be in your office doing the work. you want to be issuing those mortgage applications. you want to be issuing those permits. you want to be handling the tax refund requests. because you have a sense of mission. all the federal employees that we represent and each of us here today has te