[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H12161-H12162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CONGRESS HAS FAILED IN ITS BUDGETARY MANDATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Brown] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, joining me for my 5 minutes is the 
gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson.
  Mr. Speaker, I received a telephone call Thursday from one of my 
constituents, one of my veterans, a disabled veteran, and he was very 
concerned as to whether or not his benefits would be cut or whether or 
not he would receive them on time.
  I am very upset that the Republican leadership in this House is 
upsetting my constituents. Can we discuss how we got to this point with 
this 104th Congress?
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me say to the 
gentlewoman from Florida that this is a plan that has been of long 
standing and of long coming. If we check back through the papers, on 
April 3, in the Washington Times, Mr. Gingrich boasted that the 
President will veto a number of things and then we will put them all on 
the debt ceiling, and then he will decide how big a crisis he wants.
  Now, that is April 3, back when he stated that the strategy was to 
create a titanic legislative standoff with President Clinton by adding 
vetoed bills to a must-pass legislation, increasing the national debt 
ceiling.
  I am not sure that that is anything that just started today or the 
last 24 or 48 hours. That has been the plan for a long time.
  Then June 5, in Time magazine, Mr. Gingrich was quoted as saying, 
``He can run the parts of the government,'' speaking of the President, 
``that are left after the Republican budget cuts or he can run no 
government. Which of the two of us do you think worries more about 
government not showing up?''
  Now, that is the message that Mr. Gingrich was sending to a number of 
senior citizens and to a number of children and working families, and 
that was in Time magazine June 5.
  Then, in the Washington Post on September 22, the stated, ``I do not 
care what the price is, I do not care if we have no Executive offices 
and no bonds for 30 days. Not this time.''
  I do not think that is responsible, but I am quoting that directly 
from these publications.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentlewoman 
from Texas that in August I conducted a series of town meetings, and in 
one of my meetings we had a joint discussion with another Member from 
Florida, and he indicated in the August meeting that they were prepared 
to shut this Government down if the President did not go along with 
their extreme agenda.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Well, I do think it is extreme 
when we decide that our senior citizens must pay, even against the 
American people's will, much more now for their premiums when it really 
is not necessary except to give that tax break that has been promised 
for the most wealthy people of the Nation.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. If we look at our history, the Congress has one 
duty, my understanding, and that is to pass the appropriation bills. 
Does the gentlewoman know when those bills are due?
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Well, of course the bills are due 
by midnight September 30, because the new fiscal year starts October 1. 
Clearly, that has not been done. Yet, the votes are here in this body 
for the Speaker to get his will, but they have not passed.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Does the gentlewoman recall that we had that 
hundred days and all that charade? And how many bills have we passed in 
the 104th as compared to our class, the 103d?
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I do not know, but I can tell my 
colleague there has been a lot of them. And we have had a lot more 
votes. We have worked a whole lot more hours and a lot longer days than 
we worked the session before, but we were completed with our business 
on time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. I think that this Congress has passed two 
appropriation bills, and my understanding is 

[[Page H 12162]]
that we have to pass 13. In fact, if we had done our work then, we 
would not be in this crisis mode tonight.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I think what the American people 
are reacting to is the extremism, the extremes which these bills 
contain, and that is why we are having such difficulty bringing them to 
finality. When we decide that our children need no protection in the 
water or in the food or the air, and our seniors or working families or 
any of the American people, that is extreme.

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