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




     FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ARE INNOCENT VICTIMS IN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] is recognized during 
morning business for 3 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS. Ms. Speaker, I have lost my voice but I have not lost my 
will here.
  Quite frankly, if the President had signed some of the appropriations 
bills on his desk last week, we could have kept the park system open 
and a number of other agencies. I think he was saying my way or no way. 
I think both sides need to get together and keep talking.
  What bothers me about this is that a month ago the President signed a 
resolution saying a balanced budget, 7 years, CBO numbers, and a month 
later he has not submitted any plan that does that. Hopefully, he will 
put that on the table, we can get both sides to pass a continuing 
resolution, and we can move ahead at that point and negotiate out the 
differences. And there are honest and sincere differences, but we need 
to move ahead. The American people are relying on us to do this. 
Certainly the markets are at this point.
  I wanted to bring up something else today, and that is the innocent 
victims of this whole thing, and that is the Federal employees. Federal 
workers today have been undergoing a lot of stress. They have been 
undergoing downsizing efforts by both the administration and this 
Congress. Benefit cuts. Many have been proposed that have not gone into 
effect, but some have in the agreements that have gone through as well. 
So they are undergoing downsizing, benefit cuts and now furloughs at 
Christmas time.
  The tragedy for these workers, who we are asking everyday to do more 
with less, is they cannot even, under Federal law, go get a second job. 
They cannot even work as a store department Santa Claus under Federal 
rules. So we furlough them, we do not let them have another job, and 
now we have Members saying, well, we cannot pay these people because 
they are not working. But they want to work, they want to be out doing 
the job that we have asked them to do, but the Federal law does not 
allow them.
  These people will miss their Christmas paychecks. And to suggest that 
they should not be paid, when it is no fault of their own and they are 
unintended victims of this, is outrageous.
  We have to recognize that if Government wants to attract the best and 
the brightest, and maintain these people in our Federal work force, so 
they can get the job done as we cut the budgets and ask people to do 
more with less, we have to bring their morale around and we have to 
incentivize them to do that, and we are not acting in a way to do this. 
If we were a private company and were undergoing downsizing, with the 
stress that we have, we would never threat our employees as we have 
done in this particular case.
  Of course, they should be paid, when this is all over and the 
resolution is done. It has happened every time before. For Members to 
suggest otherwise, and who say, well, it looks stupid to pay people for 
not working, it is not their fault they are not working. They want to 
be there. The only reason they are not is because we have not reached 
agreement with the President of the United States.
  We will never get good people to come back into Government to serve 
the Government. As President Kennedy said, ask not what your country 
can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. We will never get 
that spirit when we start treating workers in this shabby a manner.
  I would hope the President will put a balanced budget on the table, 
as he promised a month ago. It will not meet the priorities of the 
Members of my side, but we can pass a continuing resolution, work out 
our differences, get these people back to work, let them perform the 
functions of Government and give the American people a Christmas 
present of a balanced budget.

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