[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15092-H15093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0930
 REPUBLICANS SHUT DOWN GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET THEIR OWN WAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 

[[Page H15093]]
  12, 1995, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone] is recognized 
during morning business for 2 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to follow up on what my colleague 
from the other side, from Wisconsin, said before. He talked about 
differences over the budget and the numbers over the budget, but the 
problem is that while we are arguing over these budget differences, 
whether it is the numbers or the priorities, the Government should 
remain open.
  It is the Republicans, it is Speaker Gingrich who wants to shut the 
Government down because he cannot get his way in terms of what he 
thinks the budget should be all about. That is not fair. That is the 
reason the Government was shut down 2 weeks ago, because Speaker 
Gingrich and the Republican leadership did not get their own way.
  Now, everyone knows that the majority in this House and in the Senate 
is the only body or the only group that can bring up a continuing 
resolution to keep up. The Speaker, last Friday, the Speaker yesterday, 
and so far I have heard nothing today about bringing up a continuing 
resolution so that this Government can continue to operate. That is 
what is causing the crisis. That is what is making everyone around the 
country so aggravated.
  That is the reason, I believe also, why we had the problem with the 
stock market yesterday, because while we are discussing and negotiating 
this budget, the Government should not be shut down. The Republicans 
should not make this into a crisis situation by shutting down the 
Government.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we have major differences over the priorities here. 
We have differences over the numbers, we have differences over the 
priorities. The Democrats have been saying all along that Medicare must 
be preserved, Medicaid must be preserved, that the Republicans are 
giving huge tax breaks primarily to wealthy Americans and to 
corporations and that money for those tax breaks should be put back 
into the budget so that Medicare and Medicaid, the environment and 
education programs remain solvent. That is what I think the goal should 
be.
  The President has been articulating all weekend the fact that he 
cannot accept the Republican priorities because he feels very strongly, 
and he is right, that Medicare, Medicaid, the environment and education 
must be preserved. So far the Republican leadership has not come up 
with anything, not put anything on the table that would preserve those 
priorities, and, in the meantime, they tell us all we are going to shut 
the Government down because we do not get our own way.

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