[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H16943-H16944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GROSS MISMANAGEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Speaker, America is aware of the fact that if 
Congress does not take immediate action at midnight tonight, the 
Federal Government will shut down. How did we reach this point?
  First, we have seen gross mismanagement of the congressional schedule 
this year in the House of Representatives. In the first 100 days with 
the so-called Contract With America, Speaker Gingrich and the 
Republicans insisted on considering 31 bills on an emergency basis, 
many of them without committee hearing. As a result of 100 days of 
action and activity on the floor of the House, 31 different bills were 
called; 3 have been signed into law.
  Because of our dedication of time to that Contract With America, we 
have fallen behind in our responsibility to pass appropriation bills. 
The budget resolution was a month late; the appropriations bills which 
keep the Government running were supposed to be presented, all 13 of 
them, to the President by October 1--2, 2 of the 13 have made it.
  So now we are considering what we call a continuing resolution, a 
spending bill to keep us in business, and along comes the Republican 
leadership and Mr. Gingrich, and instead of sending a bill to the 
President just to keep the Government running while we do the rest of 
our business on Capitol Hill, he insists on this paragraph.
  This is the reason the Government is shutting down. Mr. Gingrich 
insists that in order to keep the Government running, he wants to 
include these nine lines, which increase Medicare premiums on senior 
citizens as of January 1 by 25 percent. What does this have to do with 
keeping the Government running? Little or nothing. But it is part of 
the political egoism which we are seeing as part of this crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a solution to this problem and the solution is 
very simple. It is H.R. 2281. It does not even take up two pages. It is 
a bill I introduced in the House and Senator Barbara Boxer introduced 
into the Senate. It is very simple. It simply states, no budget, no 
pay.
  It basically says to Members of Congress, if you cannot keep 
Government in operation, if you want America to default on its national 
debt, why should you be paid? You have failed in your responsibility as 
Members of Congress elected to this body. How can the train crew that 
caused the train wreck ask to be paid while the passengers are 
suffering? How can Speaker Gingrich and Members of Congress send 
800,000 Federal employees home tomorrow without pay and continue to 
draw their own paychecks?
  The failure of the Republican leadership to pass appropriations bills 
required by law or to produce an honest continuing resolution is a 
complete abdication of responsibility. Penalizing Federal employees and 
the American people by shutting down the Government is a shameful 
political ego trip. If the Government shuts down, so should 
congressional paychecks.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I will be following the provisions of H.R. 2281: no 
budget, no pay. I will be returning my pay while the Government is shut 
down.
  Perhaps if Speaker Gingrich and his leaders tasted the bitter 
medicine of a government shutdown personally, they might be willing to 
help this country get well.
  I urge every one of my colleagues and every American who is sick and 
tired of this political gamesmanship to call Speaker Newt Gingrich in 
Washington and demand that no budget, no pay, H.R. 2181 be voted on on 
an emergency basis. Senator Barbara Boxer and I are joining in a letter 
to the Speaker today to urge that this be brought before the House.
  We are going to spend the whole day on a series of suspension bills 
which are unimportant. They are innocuous and unnecessary. We ought to 
bring up no budget, no pay, and perhaps avert this Government crisis.

[[Page H 16944]]

  Mr. Speaker, it is time for some of the Republican leaders in 
Congress to put their money where their over-active political mouths 
have been.

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