[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H16944-H16945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LET US BRING A DEAL TO THE PRESIDENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Ford] is recognized 
during morning business for 2 minutes.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I too want to rise and say that the American 
people are very much concerned about what is going on and why the 
Government might have to shut down at 12 o'clock tonight, less than 12 
hours from now.
  It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that we as legislators here in this 
Congress ought to be about the business of maintaining this Government. 
We have heard speakers before talking about well, why is it that we 
cannot come to some type of agreement with the administration from the 
Congress?
  I say it is now 12:40 p.m. here in the Nation's Capitol, and I do not 
know where the Speaker is right now, but we ought to be about the 
business, since the President has vetoed these two measures, in making 
sure that we send a clean CR to the President, because we do not need 
these things in the debt ceiling and in the CR to make sure that the 
Government would operate and run smoothly until such time that the 
reconciliation is worked out among the conferees and we send the 
President a real deal to his desk.
  We have gone through the budget process. The Republican leadership is 
now some 6 weeks behind with the budget. They were due in by September 
30, and when we cannot complete our business, yes, we send a CR to the 
President. Why is it that we are sending to the President this increase 
in the Medicare premiums when we have the Medicare bill and the 
reconciliation budget that is going to go to the President soon?
  It is our responsibility to say to the American people and to the 
markets that this Government will not shut down and the Speaker ought 
to make his way back to the House of Representatives and let us send 
something to the President in a CR and a debt 

[[Page H 16945]]
limit, so that we can have the Government in operation at midnight 
tonight and Federal employees on their job and doing their jobs 
tomorrow.
  It is the intent of this House, at least the Democrats of this House, 
to send something to the President that he will sign and something that 
will keep this Government open and not costing the taxpayers additional 
dollars because of the irresponsibility of the leadership of this 
House.

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