[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 143 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8941-H8942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Allard] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I would like to address the 
issue of a potential Government shutdown on October 1 and the 
appropriate funding level for any continuing resolution.
  The American people sent a clear message in November that they would 
no longer allow the Federal Government to amass increasing amounts of 
debt at the expense of their children and their grandchildren. They 
voiced their frustration at the increasing size and scope of the 
Federal Government. And they expressed a great deal of impatience and 
frustration with what they saw as broken promises and a failure to 
change business as usual in Washington, DC.
  It is my firm belief that the Republican party will stand or fall on 
our ability to deliver on our promises. The American people will reward 
us if we stand firm and deliver a balanced budget to them by 2002, and 
they will punish us if we fail.
  I am proud of the progress that we have made thus far to achieve a 
balanced budget. The budget plan that we approved in June will put us 
on a glidepath to the first balanced budget since 1969. The 
appropriations bills that the House has passed are in compliance with 
the budget resolution and are strong bills which will help to make the 
Government more efficient and less intrusive.
  But in spite of the impressive steps that we have taken to get our 
fiscal house in order, much more remains to be done. Although the House 
has passed all but one appropriations bill, we have only passed one 
conference report. Much more disturbing is the veto threat which hangs 
over most of the funding bills.
  Everyone has begun to realize that a continuing resolution will be 
necessary to keep parts of the Government from shutting down on October 
1. It is unlikely that we will complete action on all of the 
appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year.
  What funding levels could be contained in a continuing resolution? 
There are several alternatives. Traditionally, a continuing resolution 
assumes the lowest of the current year's level, the new House-approved 
level, or the new Senate-approved level. This has been known as the 
Michel rule. But Congress can specify any funding level and any mix.
  My fear is that unless we clarify the rules governing a continuing 
resolution, funding at 1995 levels will become the most attractive and 
least painful option for those who wish to preserve the status quo and 
block budget cuts.
  History has shown instances in which segments of the Government were 
funded by continuing resolutions for a significant part of the year 
because of fundamental disagreements between Congress and the White 
House. Indeed, each year of the Reagan administration, at least one 
segment of the Federal Government was funded by a continuing resolution 
for the whole fiscal year.
  We must make a continuing resolution an unpleasant alternative that 
will act as a catalyst for achieving our budgetary goals. Under no 
circumstances must a continuing resolution present proponents of the 
status quo with an easy way out.
  In August, I introduced H.R. 2197, the Allard continuing resolution 
reform act. The Allard rule specifically amends the Rules of the House 
to require that if an appropriation has not been enacted by October 1, 
then a continuing resolution would fund the Government at the lower of 
the House-recommended level and the Senate-recommended level, and in no 
case could funding exceed 95 percent of the prior year's level. This 
would mandate a minimum of 5 percent real cuts in any continuing 
resolution.
  The Allard rule is tough legislation. But it is the only reasonable 
solution. It will force opponents of change to the bargaining table. 
And it will force them to the table on our terms.
  If we fail to adopt continuing resolutions which meet the stringent 
Allard rule criteria, we risk losing the budget battle to those who 
favor continuing the status quo. And we risk betraying the American 
people who sent us to Washington to restore responsibility to the 
Federal Government.
  We must not pass on this opportunity to ensure fundamental change. I 
ask all 

[[Page H 8942]]
of my colleagues to support fiscal responsibility. I ask all of my 
colleagues to support the Allard rule.


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