[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15550-H15551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ONE TRAGEDY AFTER ANOTHER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I awakened this morning, as many 
Americans did, absolutely riveted and saddened by hearing about the 
great airline tragedy that had happened in Colombia. I think every one 
of us identifies with that and thinks of what a horror this is during 
the holiday period, and we all send great condolences to the families. 
There is just nothing anyone can say.

[[Page H15551]]

  And the news got worse. Here we are in this body where all of our pay 
is being taken care of, where we have just voted a recess until January 
3, and the next bit of news made me feel terrible, because to deal with 
this awful crash they called on Americans, Americans representing this 
great flag of ours in Colombia who had been furloughed, who had been 
furloughed in our Embassy during the shutdown. They called them out of 
being furloughed to send them to the crash scene, which is in an area 
that is not secure, there are all sorts of guerrillas around there. 
They risked their lives, even though they are furloughed, coming back 
on, to go search for these crash victims, hoping to find someone alive, 
and to start doing all of the grisly work that we just shudder as we 
even imagine it. Then, of course, when they are done, because of the 
inaction of this body, they can go back to being furloughed.
  Now, is that the vision this Congress has for how we treat people who 
deal with taxpayers and our problems all over this world? Do we just 
call them when we need them and then furlough them all of the rest of 
the time? I do not think so.
  I must say, I am terribly saddened to see us in this mode right now 
where we are going to go have Christmas and we are going to get our 
pay. We now hear that Medicaid checks probably are not going to go out 
to most states to people who really need them for their children; that 
Aid to Families With Dependent Children is not going to get out in 
time, because that has all been shut down, and we can go on and on and 
on. I have students calling from Colorado saying that they are trying 
to make plans for their next term in college, but they cannot get in to 
get their loans. Small businesses needing money to get through the 
season, they cannot get in. I mean we could go on and on.
  How can we take off and leave this Government shut down? It has never 
been shut down for more than 48 hours before. How can anybody think 
this is a great idea? Only Scrooge could go along with this. This is 
Scrooge. Yes, let Tiny Tim suffer. Who cares if he does not get his 
medical checks? Let people go without food. Let Federal employees who 
have given their life, who are always willing to come out, whether it 
is in the Colombian mountains or whatever, too bad.

  Mr. Speaker, I think this is a horrendous way to treat people, and I 
am ashamed. If there was ever a week where I must say I felt good about 
my retirement, this has been one. It is like I do not want to be a part 
of this body.
  But then I got to thinking, how did we get here? First we have had 
this hassle that the gentlewoman from Connecticut was talking about, 
that we might not even bring the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct thing. Hopefully we are going to do that tomorrow. It is on the 
schedule now; I hope we see it. Because I think the taint in this place 
about people selling their offices and all of that is really awful. So 
hopefully we get that behind us before we go home.
  Then I came across a profile in the New Yorker of the Speaker in 
which I suddenly began to understand what has happened in this body to 
split us apart like this. In this profile of the Speaker, they are 
talking about how GOPAC, the Speaker's PAC, sent all of this 
information to Republican candidates, many of whom are now Members of 
this body, and here are some of the things that they said you should do 
if you wanted to speak like Newt. That is the quote: ``So if you want 
to speak like Newt about Democrats, you are to call Democrats sick, 
traders, corrupt, bizarre, cheaters, stealers; that they are devouring 
the taxpayers; that they are self-serving; that they are criminal.''
  Well, no wonder we have some extremists here. No wonder. I mean, how 
could you call people those names and then sit down and deal with them 
decently?
  Now, I must say, until I read this article I had no ideal this went 
on. GOPAC did not send me any tapes. But if that is how the Speaker is 
speaking about us as Democrats, what a great tragedy this is, and it 
certainly is not in the Christmas or the holiday or the human spirit or 
the great spirit of this country.

                          ____________________