[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15270-H15271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE BUDGET IMPASSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coble). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, the American public must be very perplexed. 
In addition, of course, we know that they are very angry and, very 
frankly, a number of us that sit in this body are very angry.
  We began this session with the election of a new leadership. Speaker 
Gingrich annoiunced a new order, an order committed to revolutionary 
change. We have had, to some degree, a revolution. It is not, as so 
many revolutions are, not a pretty thing to watch.
  The Contract With America, which was the plan of this so-called 
revolution, talked about, in two of its first three items, 
responsibility, personal responsibility, and fiscal responsibility. 
Personal responsibility was urged on all Americans to do that which 
would make their lives better and, consequently, the lives of their 
families and their communities and their State and Nation better and 
more productive, more successful.

[[Page H15271]]

  We have been debating that contract for the last 11 months, and very 
frankly it has not gone very far. One of the reasons it has not gone 
very far is because the Republicans in the Senate could not agree with 
the Republicans in the House. Frankly, the Democrats have not been able 
to defeat or pass much on their own. We understand that, we are in the 
minority.
  Now we come to funding Government. Personal responsibility would say 
that each and every one of us ought to share the most efficient and 
effective operations of the people's Government; reduce it, change it, 
eliminate some activities, do all of that, but ensure that those 
activities that we support operate in an efficient and effective 
manner. The Republican leadership has failed miserably in that effort. 
Because of Democrats? No. In the first instance, when this fiscal year 
ended September 30, the Republican leadership had failed to pass any 
appropriations bills to fund Government. Not 1 of the 13.
  My colleague points out that perhaps we passed the legislative bill 
prior to the first of October, and that was, of course, vetoed because 
the President thought it unseemly that we take care of ourselves first 
before we took care of other people's business, and he made a good 
point.
  The Republicans passed a short-term CR that expired, and they had yet 
to pass the appropriation bills that the President would sign and, 
indeed, as of today have seven bills that have yet to be passed into 
law.
  Now, ladies and gentleman, we have come to a point where the 
President, President Clinton, the majority leader Bob Dole, and the 
Speaker, Newt Gingrich, sat down together at the White House last night 
and said, ``As reasonable people, let us work this out,'' and the 
reports I received this morning were that the Speaker thought that was 
a positive meeting. Senator Dole, the majority leader, thought that was 
a reasonable meeting. The President of the United States thought that 
that was a positive, productive meeting, and the three leaders came out 
and said, ``We think we have a construct to move forward.''
  And then what happened? The Republican freshmen apparently thought 
that was not enough. The Republican freshmen want a guarantee that the 
President would agree to certain things that he believes are not in the 
best interests of this country, cutting Medicare deeply, cutting 
Medicaid deeply, cutting education for young people, which he believes, 
and I share his views is an investment in the future of America, 
undermining programs that protect our environment.
  In point of fact, in the last legislation we passed to keep 
Government working, both parties agreed that that would be part of it. 
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the freshmen Republicans have demanded that 
Government shut down until the President gives up.
  That is not right.

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