[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                GRIDLOCK

  (Mrs. SEASTRAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. SEASTRAND. Mr. Speaker, when I was elected to this great body 
just 3 short months ago, I made a commitment to my constituents to 
fight diligently for the ideas that I believe in and to be just as 
unrelenting in my fight against those ideas that are not good for my 
district, my State, and our country.
  But I must say that I find the behavior by some Members on the other 
side of the aisle a bit bizarre. They fight to stall legislation that 
they eventually vote to pass.
  I have maintained that gridlock is not necessarily a bad situation. 
If you oppose something, try to defeat it with every weapon at your 
disposal. But when a group purposely stalls a bill simply for partisan 
gain, that is pretense without principle. Some of the antics on the 
other side of the aisle make you wonder who is devising their strategy.
  We are working for real change. We kept our promises by passing the 
balanced budget amendment last week and are working this week to pass 
the unfunded mandates bill that will stop the Federal Government from 
not only passing the buck, but passing the bill to our States and 
localities.
  Mr. Speaker, we should stop the delaying tactics. The American people 
want us to end the bickering and go on about the people's business.


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