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




      THE EFFECTS OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Moran] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, there is no good reason why 260,000 Federal 
employees should be shut out of their jobs, particularly at 
Christmastime. This is unprecedented to punish Federal employees 
because they chose to be civil servants. But that is what this body is 
doing. And to do it at Christmastime, when virtually all of these 
Federal employees have children, have been looking forward to 
Christmas, would like to be out shopping after they finish work each 
day, but they cannot. They do not know whether they will be paid.
  They are aware of the press conference that the Speaker had where he 
alluded to the fact that a great many Republican Members of this body, 
particularly freshman, are opposed to reimbursing Federal employees for 
this period of time when they have been locked out of their jobs. 
Imagine the strain, imagine the anxiety, imagine the sadness on the 
part of their children when they see the toll this is taking on their 
parents.
  I have been told by teachers, by one of the principals, in fact, of 
an elementary school in my district where a lot of Federal employees 
send their children, that their children are not acting like this is 
Christmas. Normally, you have pageants and children jumping up and down 
and squealing with laughter and looking forward in anticipation of 
Santa Claus. But we have stolen their Christmas from them this year, 
because their parents cannot afford to go out and buy presents. Their 
parents have no reason to be happy. Their parents do not know what is 
going to happen to them, because it is in our hands.
  We control what this Christmas will be like for these thousands of 
Federal employees. And it is wrong. It does not have any reason to be 
tied to a 7-year balanced budget.
  You know, you look back at history, when we have had conflicts 
between the majority in the Congress and the executive branch, when 
President Reagan had a conflict with the Democratic Congress in 1987, 
we went the whole year on a continuing resolution. President Reagan 
never thought of sending Federal employees home and punishing them and 
locking them out of their job just because he could not agree with the 
Congress. Certainly, the Democratic Congress never for a moment thought 
that they would punish Federal employees like that.
  In 1988 we had the same situation, a continuing resolution all year. 
And now we cannot even get a continuing resolution for the 3 days of 
Christmas, for this Christmas weekend. We cannot even get this 
continuing resolution to let Federal employees function and to open up 
the Government.

                              {time}  1645

  Why? Because certain Members on the Republican side of the aisle are 
saying ``It is our way or no way.'' They just passed a resolution, I am 
told it was unanimous, I cannot believe it was unanimous because there 
are good people on the Republican side of the aisle, to say that there 
will not be a continuing resolution unless the President agrees to the 
entire 7-year balanced budget. It is wrong, it has got to stop, and the 
American people have to got to say no, this is not what we want from 
our Government.

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