LANSING, Mich. — It is day 23 of the government shutdown and little progress has been made.
On Sunday, some local politicians spoke out.
"And I am here despite the dark period our government is going through right now, people have hope and refuse to give up on our country," Rep. Elissa Slotkin said in a speech.
Even at Rep. Slotkin's swearing-in event, the longest government shutdown in history was on her mind.
"Its now really sinking in. People are having to make trade-offs. We heard of a woman who is a TSA manager, former Detroit police officer, former army veteran who said for the first time in her life she went to the food bank," she said.
She's not the only Michigan representative speaking out on the shutdown. Rep. Tim Walberg of Jackson tweeted on Jan. 8th: "it is time for speaker Polisi and her caucus to stop shortchanging border security. Let's get serious about finding a solution that will keep American safe and put an end to the partial shutdown."
Other Republicans like State Senator Rick Jones says their constituents want security too.
"I purposefully bring the topic up, just to hear what people think. They're concerned about border security. They want secure borders. They want to know that our country is safe. They want to know that we don't have terrorists coming in. Nobody's talking about the government shutdown because they don't feel it here in Mid-Michigan," he said.
Rep. Slotkin said that she too wants safer borders. Her and other politicians think the two need to come to a compromise soon.
"I don't think its that complicated because both sides are talking about border security. I care deeply about border security, I worked my whole life to prevent homeland attacks. I think this whole idea that we need a wall from sea to shining sea is impractical and a political holdover and not a practical hold on border security, but as far as I'm concerned, there is the essence of a deal there. If both sides get in a room, kick out the cameras and get something done," she said.
Both Rep. Slotkin and Rep. Walberg are refusing their paychecks until the shutdown is over.
