[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H127-H128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SHUTDOWN HURTING AMERICAN PRIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, I wake up in the mornings and sometimes wonder 
what world I am in, because I realize I am going to go to work, and 
actually I have the privilege of still going to work, many Federal 
employees do not, that I am going to work, but I am going to go to work 
under these conditions: That I am working in a country that has been 
shut down partially for 20 days; where the Centers for Disease Control 
is not able to respond effectively; where the Environmental Protection 
Agency is not able to respond to safe drinking water complaints; where 
children are soon going to be ushered out of Head Start programs.
  That is bad enough. I then realize there are thousands of workers 
capable of fulfilling those functions who are not going to fulfill 
those functions, but apparently are going to be paid for doing it. The 
issue is not whether or not they are going to be paid; the issue, of 
course, is why are they not working? They should be working.
  So, Mr. Speaker, is this some Third World country we are talking 
about? No, this is the United States of America. You remember the 
America of ``Send in the Marines,'' ``Wherever you go, you shall be 
safe''? Remember the America, where you hold up the silver dollar and 
the eagle is always strong, and the flag flies free and proud? That is 
our America.
  Why is this America being treated now to this kind of situation? All 
of us ought to be gravely concerned about this. I hear a lot about how 
it is necessary to shut this Government down partially to get a 
balanced budget. While this Government is being shut down in that 
perhaps laudatory goal, at the same time a lot of other budgets are 
being significantly unbalanced. 

[[Page H128]]
Yes, the Federal employee, such as the person being evicted in my 
district today.
  But it goes beyond that. It goes to the small businesses that will 
not be getting their Small Business Administration loan guarantees. It 
goes to the vendors; it goes to Federal services; it goes to the 
business person who is trying to get abroad to sell products for his or 
her company, which brings dollars and jobs back to this country.

                              {time}  1430

  And so those are the budgets that are being unbalanced. Thousands, 
perhaps millions across this country every day. And when do we hear 
about those?
  I hear a lot about how because many of us voted to sustain the 
President's veto, in effect not approving the Interior appropriations 
bill a little while ago, or Commerce, State, Justice yesterday, that 
somehow that shut the Government down.
  It is interesting, because 9 of the appropriation bills that run this 
government, 9 of the 13, were not to the President's desk by October 1, 
which is the beginning of the financial year. Some of them did not get 
there for months, but even then, does a veto, a Presidential veto mean 
somehow the Government is shut down?
  I have had the privilege of serving in this Congress now through 
President Reagan and President Bush, as well as President Clinton. 
Basically, in all that time under the House leadership, and it was a 
Democratic leadership except for, of course, the present one, in no 
time during that period did this Government ever shut down because the 
House leadership said to President Reagan, with whom there was 
great differences, or said to President Bush, we are going to shut this 
entire Government down because you have vetoed an appropriations bill. 
We keep the Government moving in an orderly fashion.

  Never, never have I seen this kind of situation. In fact, I challenge 
anyone to find a 20-day shutdown. Congratulations. I consider it the 
legislative Heisman Trophy for bringing a government to its knees.
  Now, what is the impact that goes beyond the Federal budget? Let us 
talk for a second. Forty million dollars a day of payroll to workers 
who are not being able to do their jobs. That is the first loss to the 
taxpayers. The last 4-day shutdown in November cost this Government, 
cost the taxpayer, $700 million for 4 days in payroll as well as lost 
revenues.
  It means that half the Head Start children in this country soon will 
not be able to attend that program. Who pays for that? What is the loss 
to those children?
  It means the Centers for Disease Control cannot respond to flu 
outbreaks. It means, for instance, that in the State Department, where 
just during the last shutdown an anguished father contacted me about 
his children in Russia who needed visas to get their adopted children 
out. There is no one there to service them all across the globe.
  They are talking now in Vietnam about dunning our representative 
there $1,600 for electricity or water. We are buying utilities on 
credit cards in some of our embassies.
  Meals on Wheels. Very important in rural West Virginia, but across 
the country as well. The only contact many senior citizens have with 
the outside world endangered.
  SBA is now unable to make $40 million a day in loan guarantees. How 
many small businesses are there? About 260 a day, actually, that need 
that money to either meet their line of credit, to start that new 
product, or to hire a couple of extra people.
  Export licenses from the Department of Commerce are backed up. 
Billions of dollars of lost opportunities. Those are American jobs, 
jobs exporting abroad, not able to do it.
  Got a problem with your water? Concerned about it? Do not call the 
EPA, you will only get voice mail. The EPA. We are not able to respond 
to basic environmental concerns? The fact is negotiators need to 
negotiate and Federal Government workers need to work.

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