in the washington gridlock. he says the politics are just plain unamerican. >> why did the federal government spend money to erect barricades to keep people out of mt. vernon? why did the federal government spend money to erect barricades to keep people out of mt. rushmore? look, our veterans should be above politics. enough games. >> let's have a real conversation about our veterans and what this partial government shutdown means to them. veterans and their families could pay a much higher price. according to the va, if the shutdown drags on, it will not be able to send out more than 5 million benefit checks november 1st. that includes disability and pension payment force veterans and special benefits for their families n all, those checks add up to $6 billion in payments. it's that loss of financial