MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin visited the eastern panhandle Friday morning to speak on the partial government shutdown with those who are impacted the most.
Manchin held a roundtable discussion at Shepherd University’s Martinsburg center with several federal employees in attendance.
The meeting was one in a series Manchin has hosted around the state since the shutdown began weeks ago. He says the message from the people affected is starting to get more heated.
“You can tell its getting more intense,” said Manchin. “It’s getting more personal. It’s taking affect on many people just trying to buy gas for their car and buying groceries. It’s putting a strain on a lot of people.”
The main issue in talks for ending the shutdown has been President Trump’s proposal for a wall at the southern U.S. border. Manchin told those in attendance that the discussion surrounding immigration is bigger than just a border wall.
“Border security is needed but its more than just a structure, a steel barrier, or wall, or whatever you want to call it,” said Manchin. “It takes an awful lot more than that. It takes more agents. It takes technology. It takes sensors. It takes x-ray machines. It takes also immigration reform.”
As the shutdown enters its fourth week, federal workers in the Panhandle have been faced with some tough decisions. Demetrios Steroubakis works at the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Center in Falling Waters. He says the shutdown is hurting a lot of businesses.
“We can’t get the commercial fisherman licenses to work, to operate their vessels. Tug boats. Vessels that go aboard and carry American goods,” said Steroubakis. “We can’t lift a finger because of the partial government shutdown.”
Manchin said he wants to work with the Trump administration towards a solution and that the American people deserves better from their government.