[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ON THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to express my deep 
concerns about the brinkmanship that has brought us to a government 
shutdown.
  I think it is absolutely crucial that we keep our faith with Federal 
employees. Using them as pawns in a political game by sending them home 
without pay is the ultimate breach of the Government's faith with these 
hard working people. This is the crowning achievement in the 
Republicans' relentless string of attacks on Federal employees. The 
motto of these attacks has been promises made, promises broken.
  Well, Mr. President, my motto is that promises made should be 
promises kept. That is why Senator Sarbanes and I have introduced 
legislation to protect Federal employee pay and benefits during a 
government shutdown. Our legislation will ensure that Federal employees 
in Maryland and across the Nation will be able to make their mortgage 
payments, put food on the table, and provide for their families.
  A shutdown of the Federal Government, no matter how short, would 
disrupt the lives of thousands of Federal employees and their families. 
In my state of Maryland alone, there are more than 280,000 Federal 
employees. Sending them home would cost Maryland millions of dollars 
per day.
  And let us take a close look at who we are talking about sending 
home. We are talking about some of the most dedicated and hardest 
working people in out Nation. Federal employees have devoted their 
careers and lives to public service, and they help make America a 
better and safer place. They are the people that keep our Social 
Security system up and running; do the essential research on disease at 
the National Institutes of Health; and help ensure public health and 
safety. They are the people that keep Maryland and America on time with 
public transportation.
  Whenever the subject of deficit reduction comes up, the first people 
to take a hit are Federal employees. Over the last several years they 
have been the target of unending attacks. Downsizing, RIF's, diet 
COLA's, and the threat of furloughs have damaged morale at nearly every 
Federal agency.
  At the same time, employees have been asked to do more with less. I 
am proud to say that they have accepted this challenge with 
extraordinary dedication. It is easy to see the results. Just look at 
the excellent work that is being done at any Federal agency in 
Maryland. The crucial advancements in science at Goddard Space Flight 
Center and the incredible research on disease at the National 
Institutes of Health are two examples.
  I do not want to go back to these dedicated Federal employees and 
tell them ``While you people at Goddard do the research that will bring 
us into the 21st century, and while you people at NIH launch your 
assault on deadly diseases, we are going to launch our own assault on 
your jobs, your pensions and your benefits.''
  These assaults must stop. We cannot continue to denigrate and 
downgrade Federal employees and at the same time expect government to 
work better. We cannot shut down the Government and then expect the 
same high level of dedication from Federal employees that we have now.
  Our Federal employees have a contract with their Government. I urge 
my colleagues to work to ensure that this contract is honored and 
Federal jobs and benefits are not put in jeopardy.

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