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




                              {time}  1245
               GETTING ON WITH THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clinger). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Speaker, I am as frustrated as any Member, I think, on 
either side of the aisle with the impasse we are currently facing 
between the President and the congressional leadership.
  They have an old saying that when the elephants fight, the grass gets 
trampled. In this case, the people getting trampled are your Federal 
employees who have been out there every day doing the job that the 
President and the Congress have asked them to do. In no way should they 
be the ones to pay the price just because we in the Congress and the 
President cannot get our act together and get on with the business of 
governing.
  The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] talked earlier about H.R. 
2281, his No Budget, No Pay Act. I will join him in turning away any 
pay that I would ordinarily receive until Federal employees get paid as 
well. I think that is the example all of us in this body ought to take 
until we can get on with the job of governing this country.
  I would also like to address a couple of remarks that came from the 
other side about gross mismanagement of the congressional schedule and 
try to put it in some kind of perspective. Since 1977 over 57 
continuing resolutions have passed this body and gone on to the 
President. This will be the 10th time since 1980 that we have faced a 
shutdown and possible furloughs at the Federal level. The other side of 
the aisle has not been clean in attaching riders to continuing 
resolutions as well. So there is some precedent for where we are today. 
But the real issue is how do we get out of it. How do we work it out 
today so employees can get back to work and go on with the business of 
governing this country?
  I have a letter from the Speaker and the majority leader in the 
Senate giving their assurances to myself, the gentleman from Virginia 
[Mr. Wolf], the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella], and the 
entire body that the Federal employees will get paid in a later 
resolution should there be furloughs following the President's 
inability to sign this current continuing resolution. We have never 
before had that agreement up front from the congressional side. 
However, the payments could be delayed. But Federal employees will get 
paid.
  I would urge both sides to put aside their egos, to check their macho 
images and get on with the business of governing at this point, to step 
back a little bit, take a deep breath and recognize what we face as a 
country over the next month as we work toward a balanced budget.
  There are clearly differences on both sides of the aisle over the 
best way to achieve balancing the Federal budget over a 7-year period. 
But over 90 Members of the other side of the aisle and virtually 
everyone on this side of the aisle has agreed that this is the 
direction this country needs to move.
  The President himself when he was campaigning for election in 1992 
said that he would balance the Federal budget in 5 years. Now the issue 
is doing it in 7 years and trying to get it scored properly by the 
Congressional Budget Office.
  What should be the extent of the tax cuts? The President has his set, 
Congress has theirs. That ought to be negotiated. I do not think we 
ought to draw lines in the sand on that.
  What programs should be cut? There are honest differences of opinion 
and we need to sit across the table from each other and work these 
differences out. At the same time balancing the Federal budget remains 
paramount.
  We spend a significant amount of money in this country on interest on 
the national debt. In 1997 we will be spending more money for interest 
on the national debt than for all of national defense. My 13-year-old 
son can expect to pay over his lifetime about $130,000 in extra Federal 
taxes just to pay for interest on the national debt if he makes an 
average salary.
  How we get there, I think, has to be negotiable. The sooner we sit 
down and agree, the better. We can put a continuing resolution and a 
temporary budget ceiling in place if we can get the President's 
agreement to sit down and negotiate clearly that we just try to do this 
within 7 years.
  The 1996 campaign is going to come soon enough. Let us set aside the 
campaign for now. Instead of campaigning as many of us have over the 
last year, let us start governing for a little bit of time. The 
American people made a choice in 1992 to elect a Democratic President 
and they made a choice in 1994 to elect a Republican Congress.
  It is incumbent upon both of us, both sides, to act like grownups and 
get on and work with each other to get the job done. Let both sides 
negotiate their differences out and get on with the business of 
governing. That is my counsel today.

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