[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FRESHMEN NOT READY TO LEAD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Waters] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor this afternoon to 
express my very, very deep concerns about what is happening here in 
Washington, DC. It is absolutely amazing. This is the most 
extraordinary occurrence that I or anybody else could possibly witness 
at this time.
  We have right here in the Congress of the United States a group of 
Members, elected by the people, being led by the newest Members of 
Congress, the freshmen; being led by the newest group with the least 
experience, who have decided to shut down Government. They have decided 
they do not care whether or not children are hurt, families are hurt; 
they do not care whether or not Social Security claims can be 
processed; whether or not our prisons are secured with employees who 
are working there who should be paid. They do not care about any of 
that.
  They have come here not understanding the seriousness of their 
actions, and they have decided to try and hold this Congress hostage to 
their demands. It is a kind of immature action; nobody expects 
policymakers to respond in this manner.

  One could ask, well, what has happened in the past? What happens when 
there are disagreements? What happens when you get to the point where 
the Government has run out of money and you have not resolved your 
differences? Well, I want you to know, until this Congress, it has 
always been worked out.
  Even under Ronald Reagan, when there were serious differences between 
Republicans and Democrats, they had to hammer it out. They had to work 
it out. Nobody took their tent and closed it up and ran home and said, 
I do not care what happens. I do not care whether the services of 
Government are carried out or not. I do not want to play anymore.
  Well, I want to tell you, I am utterly stunned and surprised that we 
have this group of new Members leading some of the more seasoned 
Members with this kind of catastrophe. It is unheard of. What are the 
people thinking out there, aside from those who are not getting paid, 
where the services are not getting delivered?
  You must understand that the people are paying taxes. Nobody has 
stopped the people's taxes while this madness is going on. But what are 
they paying for? Many of them are not getting the services that the 
taxes should be buying them.
  I wonder about my Republican friends who claim they are concerned 
about the best use of the taxpayers' money. I am concerned that they 
are doing two things, maybe more: No. 1, they are having people work, 
they are having people work, some of whom I suppose will get paid 
sometime later on. We do not know. But many of them are being asked to 
work without knowing whether or not they are going to get paid.
  Some of them have been disadvantaged already. They have gotten 
partial paychecks. I am concerned about that. I am also concerned about 
the attitudes, this extremism.
  Do you know what Pete Wilson said the other day when he was asked for 
some help? Pete Wilson, the Governor up in California, up in this 
county called Mariposa, where they depend on the tourism trade because 
of Yosemite, they said they had a state of emergency because their 
economy has fallen apart because of what these young Republican Members 
are doing; and so they asked Pete Wilson for some help.
  Pete Wilson turned them down, said the State of California could not 
help them; but then he had some advice for them. The Governor of the 
State of California, Pete Wilson, said, go break the locks on the 
gates. Let them in, he said. Defy the law. Commit a criminal act, he 
said.
  Irresponsible leadership, but of course, Newt Gingrich and others 
have said, they do not care if they close Government down. All of this 
irrational leadership.
  Mr. Mica was just on the floor and he talked about Head Start, and it 
was obvious he knew very little about Head Start and how it really 
works. I know a lot about Head Start, and I know why it is important.
  Let me just wrap up by saying that the leadership and what is going 
on on the Republican side of the aisle is absolutely unconscionable. 
They are devastating lives. I think the people understand what is going 
on.

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