[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 207 (Friday, December 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S19223-S19225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE FURLOUGH OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I have always been enormously proud of 
serving in the U.S. Senate, and am proud today of my ability to be here 
to represent my constituents and to make judgments on the part of this 
country in the public sector and on public policy issues. But there are 
days when one shakes their head and wonders, what on Earth is this 
institution, or the institution of Congress, doing or thinking? How can 
we look as foolish as we look sometimes when the mix of different 
viewpoints in the House and the Senate between conservatives and 
liberals produces a gridlock that then produces a bizarre Byzantine 
result.
  I am speaking today of the circumstance when about an hour or two 
ago, I was on the floor asking a question of the Republican whip. I 
just watched the other body vote for a resolution of adjournment, and 
they apparently have now left town and are having no further votes. 
There will be no additional rollcall votes in the Senate.
  We have a circumstance where there will be a continuing resolution, 
or a funding bill, coming over from the House that provides sufficient 
funding so that veterans checks that have been written and are now 
sitting in a warehouse somewhere in this metropolitan area, will be 
able to be delivered--late, however, but, nonetheless, delivered--and a 
number of other payments that are important will be made despite the 
fact that the continuing resolution has not been passed to provide 
funding for all of the Government's activities.
  So some things will get taken care of this afternoon, I assume, by a 
unanimous consent in the Senate to accept the limited funding 
resolution provided for by the U.S. House. But some things will not be 
taken care of. Let me describe what is left undone.
  Today, there are 270,000 Federal workers who stayed at home. They 
stayed at home yesterday and the day before. They are prevented from 
coming to work. The law prevents them from coming to work because there 
is no funding for them. And, in fact, those who want to come to work 
are told they cannot come to work. Two hundred and seventy thousand 
people are at home today who should be working.
  The Speaker of the House said they will be paid anyway as they were 
during previous shutdowns.
  In addition to the 270,000 who are not working, you have another 
500,000--one-half million--Federal workers who are working. All of 
these folks, nearly 800,000 people, get only one-half of a 

[[Page S19224]]
paycheck during their pay period. And if a continuing resolution is not 
enacted by January 3, they will get no pay during the next pay period 
because there is not enough money to do that. It has not been 
authorized by the Congress to do that.
  So what you have are nurses who work in veterans homes, prison 
guards, law enforcement officials, and others, some of whom make very 
little money, who during this pay period now before Christmas will 
receive half of a paycheck. And if something is not done within the 
next week and a half, on January 3 will receive zero.

  Some say, ``Well, we will restore that. We will make sure they all 
get their money.'' Is that much solace to one who works on relatively 
low income, trying to make the payments for heat, food, rent, and to 
buy Christmas presents?
  I hope those who sink their teeth into their turkey on Christmas day, 
and who serve in the Congress and who do not allow us to pass a clean 
continuing resolution in order to put people back to work to get the 
Government operating again, those folks who eat turkey on Christmas Day 
who prevented that from happening will think about the families that 
are disadvantaged by this.
  Think about the nurse at the veterans home who only gets half of a 
paycheck. I hope they will think a little bit about the prison guards 
who get half of a paycheck and think about the 270,000 people who have 
had to explain to their neighbors why they are not at work, which the 
Speaker of the House says they will get paid for anyway.
  Sometimes you just do not have the foggiest understanding why someone 
does something.
  How on Earth can anybody believe that any leverage is provided for 
anyone to say, ``Well, all right, if there is not a balanced budget 
resolution completed by this evening, Friday night, we will insist that 
the shutdown remain in effect''?
  Ted Koppel asked five Members of the other body the other evening on 
his program twice, and they could not answer this question: What 
leverage does it give you to tell 270,000 Federal workers, ``You cannot 
come to work, you stay home, and we will pay you''? What leverage is 
that? Is that not saying to the American taxpayers that we are going to 
penalize you in order to pay for work that is not done, we are going to 
do that so we have some leverage? Ted Koppel says, ``What leverage do 
you have?''
  The other day I said that it is sort of like having an argument with 
your uncle. ``All right, I am angry at my uncle. So I will walk across 
the street and punch my neighbor.''
  What on Earth are they talking about, penalizing the American 
taxpayer by telling 270,000 workers, ``You cannot come to work, you 
stay home, we insist on it, and we are going to demand that you be 
paid''?
  What is happening is that the House of Representatives has just 
adjourned, or passed an adjournment resolution. They are leaving. No 
more votes. This Senate is going to have no more record votes. We have 
270,000 people not working, and the Congress is not coming back--
probably not next week at all. Maybe the House comes back in the middle 
of the week.
  So is the assumption here that these 270,000 people who are not 
working are going to continue not working next week, or maybe the start 
of the week after? Is the assumption that the American taxpayer is 
going to keep paying them? Is the assumption that those 270,000 people 
and the other half million people do not matter because they only get a 
half a paycheck, and they probably will get no paycheck on January 3rd?
  Is not the assumption that the Federal workers, the half million 
people who are working today, do not matter very much and do not matter 
to anybody here if they only get a half a paycheck? Does it not matter 
if they have rent payments to make or food to buy or presents for their 
children? It does not matter, I guess.
  The questions I asked an hour or two ago were, are there conditions 
under which by the end of today somebody might start thinking a little 
bit and saying, ``Yes, OK, so we have this big fight going on. Let us 
at least let these people go back to work and make sure that they are 
working and that we pay them for working. Let us at least do that.''

  It does not make much sense to penalize the American taxpayer for our 
stubbornness or intransigence. I guess it is an easy thing to say that 
if we cannot reach an agreement, we will penalize the American 
taxpayer. It hardly makes any sense to me. I guess I do not understand 
exactly what is at work.
  I watched the proceedings of the other body about an hour ago. I saw 
an enormous amount of anger, people standing on the floor of the House 
shouting at each other--I mean literally shouting on both sides. I 
understand. But, you know, this anger, in my judgment, is aimed in the 
wrong direction. So, Members of Congress are angry? So what do we do? 
We say to the American people, ``We will get you. What we will do is we 
will tell 270,000 people not to come to work, and we will still pay 
them.'' That is quite a way to manifest your anger.
  Can you imagine a city council in this country, they are sitting 
around the table in their small town in the city council chamber and 
they say, ``Boy, we cannot agree. We are having a heck of a fight here. 
We just cannot agree. So do you know what we will do? What we are going 
to do is we are going to tell all of the city workers to stay home. `Do 
not come to work.' We want to keep paying them, but say to all city 
workers, `We cannot agree, so you sit at home and we will pay you for 
doing nothing.' '' Can you imagine how long the residents of that city 
would take to tell the city council members to take a hike?
  I just hope all of those in Congress who decided to prevent us from 
passing a clean appropriations bill to put these people back to work 
and to stop this goofy shutdown, I hope that they will find a disguise 
of some sort, because, frankly, if the people who decided we are not 
going to have Government up and operating but we will pay 270,000 
people for doing nothing and we are going to tell these lower income 
paid Federal workers you get a half pay-check and will probably get no 
paycheck January 3, I hope nobody recognizes them because I think 
somebody is going to give them a piece of their mind when they get back 
home.
  I suppose some of them will say, well, I hope the piece of their mind 
that we get would be stand firm for a balanced budget.
  Well, so stand firm. Let us all stand firm for a balanced budget. Let 
us fight for a balanced budget in the right way. Let us balance the 
budget the right way, protecting priorities.
  But should we, because we cannot agree yet on the specific recipe for 
balancing the budget, decide to continue a Government shutdown? I 
understand why people are angry with Congress. This is a decision that 
makes no good sense for anybody. It gives no advantage for Republicans 
or Democrats or conservatives or liberals. It provides only 
disadvantage for the American taxpayer and for the Federal workers who 
are the pawns--270,000 of whom will stay home and still get paid and a 
half a million of whom will get a half a paycheck despite the fact that 
they worked the full pay period.
  Now, Mr. President, let me ask for one additional minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. The Senate is still in session today. And I do not know 
whether the House is yet out of session. They have said they will have 
no votes. I still hope and I would still ask everyone who serves in 
this Congress to think a little bit. Just think a little bit. Does this 
make any sense at all or is this not totally and completely irrational? 
Is this the way to end the year in 1995? Is this the spirit of charity? 
Is this the Christmas spirit? Is this the spirit of compromise to say 
we are going to use Federal workers as the pawns and say to the 
American taxpayer, you pay the bill?
  I tell you, Mr. President, if the House and the Senate adjourn and 
quit and say here is the condition under which we quit--a Government 
shutdown--paying people for not working and for those who work deciding 
they are not going to get the pay for which they worked, the American 
people have every right to say, what on Earth are you people thinking 
of? Could you not begin thinking like the rest of the American people 
and think through this and do the logical, rational thing? 

[[Page S19225]]

  I just hope that by the end of today the leaders and other Members of 
Congress will step aside and agree to a clean CR to keep this 
Government up and operating. Let us start doing what the American 
people expect us to do.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I am tempted to offer unanimous consent 
for a clean CR, but I shall not do that. I hope that it will be done by 
someone and not objected to in the next couple of hours, and with that 
I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. COCHRAN). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SANTORUM. I ask unanimous consent that I be able to speak for 15 
minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Thank you, Mr. President.

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