By Glynn Wilson –

On Day 27 of Trump’s government shutdown, U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama held a conference call with reporters on Thursday and compared the failing negotiations to a “hostage crisis.”

He said his colleagues in the Senate are more than willing to debate and fund border security measures, but only “if we can settle down and get the government open and not do it as part of a hostage negotiation. That’s what we’ve got here. It’s a hostage crisis more than anything else. We cannot let the government be shut down over a political issue like this.”

When I asked if he’s having any conversations with the new bipartisan group of rank and file Senators the national press is now calling the Shutdown Gang about the real national security threats facing the country because of the shutdown, not just Trump’s border wall, he said yes and everybody in Washington is concerned about it.

“When the government is shut down, it leaves us vulnerable on any number of fronts,” he said, including cybersecurity and threats to ports.

There are even border security agents who are not on the job due to the shutdown, some on furlough and others working without pay, he said. If the president was truly concerned about border security, he would reopen the government and pay those workers protecting the borders and government computer systems.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents charged with protecting airports are working without pay, and there is talk of a sick day walkout at the airports if the president and Congress can’t find a way to compromise and get the government reopened and pay federal workers.

Senator Jones said this too could create an opening for terror threats.

Members of the Coast Guard are not working or working without pay, he said, the agency that catches most of the illegal drugs being smuggled into the country.

“That all puts so much strain and stress on the country as a whole,” he said. “Yes, cyber is part of that. That is part of a broader security threat from any number of sources who might want to take advantage of us.”

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Shutdown Frustration

At the outset of the media conference call, Senator Jones expressed his frustration with the shutdown.

“I’m telling you I can’t begin to express the frustration of being here in the third shutdown since I’ve been in office, the frustration of where we are today and how entrenched everybody has been,” he said. “I’ve been trying to have conversations on both sides of the aisle on how to break through the impasse. I’m still hopeful that Republicans will have some success in talking to the president in encouraging him to reopen the government immediately, knowing that there are a number of people here who want to talk about border security, happy to talk about border security if we can get this government open and running.”

There’s been a letter circulating from the Senate Shutdown Gang, he said, made up of Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio along with Democrats Doug Jones of Alabama, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, Christopher Coons of Delaware, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

“Unfortunately, we have just not gotten enough Republican signatures yet,” Jones said.

The Senate held a bipartisan vote on Dec. 19 last year and passed a continuing resolution to fund the government, he reminded everyone, but it was rejected by the president who decided to make a show of shutting the government down to grandstand on the issue of funding his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

He said if the Republicans in the Senate and the president would reconsider that, “it would give us time to talk.”

“Every day the shutdown drags on I’m hearing from folks in Alabama struggling to pay their bills, on why they’re having to forego a paycheck, why they’re being held hostage over this debate on border security. And to be honest I am frustrated as well,” he said. “We all agree we need stronger border security. But first we need to reopen the government. Closing the government over a policy disagreement is a slippery slope. We need to put folks back to work and pay them. Then we can have a conversation in good faith about how we best secure our borders and keep communities safe.”

He indicated he’s going to keep talking to Senators in the Democratic caucus as well as the other side of the aisle to find a common ground solution.

“But until the president decides he’s going to come to the table to discuss that, I don’t know if we will get very much progress,” he said. “It’s a very simple process right now. We open the government for a period of time and give everybody the green light to discuss the issues … to hear the plans. We have yet to hear plans.”

He said things need to get back into a regular order process, in which a supplemental appropriation comes to a committee.

“Let the Homeland Security Secretary come to the committee and talk about how are we going to spend this money,” he said. “I think that is the way to do this.”

Meeting Planned in Huntsville

Right after the conference call, his staff issued an announcement about a constituent meeting to be held at the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday, January 19. The event will be open to the public and the media. Space is limited, so constituents are encouraged to arrive when the doors open at 2 p.m. Seats will be first come, first serve.

Senator Jones said the shutdown is effecting the entire Huntsville community now because of all the government workers being off. Food banks and churches are getting involved, he said, and there have been protests.

He said everyone in Washington is frustrated with the government shutdown.

“It should have been prevented,” he said.

“Get this government up and running and let’s sit down to continue to discuss the plans for the border security that we all know is necessary and that we would like,” he recently said on the Senate floor.

State of the Union

When asked about House Seaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to delay the president’s State of the Union address, he said: “I don’t like that idea.”

He said he has been willing to criticize the president for not respecting the institutions of government, but he is not in favor of canceling or delaying the State of the Union address.

“We have to go forward,” he said. “Frankly I get a little frustrated with the State of the Union to begin with because it has become such a side show to some extent. But it is still the State of the Union and in my opinion we should go ahead and go forward with it.”

Trade War

When asked if anything is being accomplished on Trump’s trade war or the tariff issue, he said not now, since “everyone is so focused on the shutdown. The Commerce Department is not working. So the problem here is we have a double whammy.”

Farmers got hit on the tariff and trade issue, so the administration came up with $12 billion as a short term “band-aid” fix.

“The problem is only about half of that has been given out and now the Agriculture Department is shutdown,” he said. “So farmers that did not receive that money are in a pickle. They can’t get their loans … or even apply for that money.”

The plans for spring and summer planting are going on now, he said. “So it’s a double whammy for them.”

The third round of talks with China on trade are on hold now too, also due to the shutdown, when everyone is “worried about airports … the high seas and borders being safe.”

Working with Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, Jones has re-introduced the Automotive Jobs Act, which would delay President Trump’s proposed 25-percent tariff on imported cars, trucks and auto parts. It failed to gain passage in the Senate or the House last year.

“There’s no question that the auto industry is not a national security threat,” Jones said.

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