[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H15274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS SHOULD REFLECT REALITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Coble] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I will say to my friend from Illinois, before 
he leaves the floor, he is one of the most gentle, one of the kindest 
persons on this floor. And oftentimes when a Member comes to the mike 
on the floor, Mr. Speaker, it is an advantage to follow someone who is 
not very popular and who is a scoundrel. I have the unlucky draw today 
to follow the most gentle Member of the House, but I do that 
nonetheless.
  Mr. Speaker, I did not plan to speak today. As the Speaker knows, I 
have been in the Chair for the past 3 hours and I have had the benefit 
of listening to discussions on both sides of the aisle.
  My friend from Missouri, Mr. Volkmer, says what a benefit, and it has 
been beneficial. Not surprisingly, both sides are subjective, as I am. 
I am guilty of that. But I want to try to add some balance to this in 
my brief 5 minutes.
  One of my friends who sits here to my left now conveniently 
remembered some of the bad fiscal times under President Reagan. But as 
was mentioned subsequent to his speech, he conveniently forgot about 
the fiscal chaos that occurred in the Carter years. Well, this is only 
natural, I think. I think it is convenient for Democrats to remember 
the bad for Republicans, and the Republicans to remember the bad for 
the Democrats. That is only natural, and that is part of the nature of 
the beast, but I think when we do it so consistently then we are 
seeking out a balance that we need to retrieve and bring it back into 
the realm of discussion.
  When I was last home, Mr. Speaker, a woman came to me, one of my 
constituents, and she said answer a question for me. She said, as best 
I remember the last time the Government was shut down, prior to this 
last time, she said it was in 1991. And I think it was, indeed, in 
1991. And she said to me, the spin from the media then was that 
President Bush shut down the Government. And she said, even I blamed 
him. But she said, now, virtually no one from the media is pointing an 
accusatory finger to the President. They are saying Newt Gingrich or 
the majority Republican Congress has shut it down.
  I am wondering, and I do not want to sound paranoid, Mr. Speaker, but 
I am wondering, is it convenient to blame a President when he happens 
to be a Republican and to exonerate a Congress when it happens to be 
controlled by the Democrats? I am afraid that is the spin that we are 
taking. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
  Many people today have blamed the Congress for veterans not receiving 
their checks, if they, in fact, do not receive their checks. President 
Clinton had every opportunity to sign the appropriations bill into law 
this week and those checks would have been forthcoming. I cannot for 
the life of me figure why that would be the fault of the Congress.
  Am I missing something, America? As my friend from Ohio says: Wake 
up, Congress.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. COBLE. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask the gentleman that very 
question, if I had missed something.
  Correct me if I am wrong, is it not true that the President vetoed 
three appropriations bills, and that had he signed them, the Government 
would be up and running again today, right now?
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I know of two. It may 
well be three. Two comes to my mind. Is it three?
  Mr. HOKE. The third was vetoed.
  Mr. COBLE. So it is three. So my friends and the viewers who are 
watching C-SPAN now, let us come back into reality here and let us add 
balance to this discussion.
  Mr. Speaker, as is obvious, I am not prepared, because I am doing 
this impromptu, but I am grateful for having had this time and I yield 
back the balance of my time.

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