[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H141-H142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IMPASSE ON FEDERAL BUDGET AND GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ARE SEPARATE ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Nadler] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, we face today two separate controversies, 
two separate controversies that have been combined and confused, 
deliberately and improperly combined and confused.
  The first controversy is the impasse on the Federal budget. This 
impasse involves real and serious issues. The Republicans want to 
balance the budget and they want to make huge cuts in Medicare and in 
Medicaid in order to pay for a very large tax cut benefiting mostly the 
wealthiest Americans. Democrats, for the most part, want to balance the 
budget, but they want to do it while protecting Medicare and Medicaid, 
college loans, education, and the environment.
  These are serious differences and serious issues, and their outcome 
will determine the fundamental direction the country will take over the 
next few years, and these controversies deserve real and perhaps 
lengthy and extended debate. But this controversy should not lead to a 
shutdown of the Federal Government.

[[Page H142]]

  This is the second separate issue, the unnecessary, deliberate, 
unconscionable shutdown of the Federal Government with all the 
suffering and pain that that implies and that brings forth for 
Government employees, for private contractors, for private citizens in 
all walks of life that have been talked about on this floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, we have had over the years many budget disagreements 
between the Congress and the President. Many times appropriations bills 
were not completed and signed into law on time. This year, because of 
the unnecessary delay because we wasted the first 100 days of the year 
on the Republicans' contract on America, and we did not start working 
on the appropriations bills until April instead of in January, the 
situation was worse than usual. But these disagreements, failure to 
pass the appropriations bills on time, do not normally lead to an 
extended shutdown of the Federal Government.
  We are told by the Republicans that the President is responsible for 
the shutdown because he vetoed appropriations bills. Presidents Reagan 
and Bush vetoed appropriations bills. That did not cause extended 
shutdowns of the Federal Government. The normal method of avoiding a 
shutdown of the Federal Government is to pass a continuing resolution 
saying that every department of Government will continue operating on 
the same rate of funding as it did last year, or perhaps at 90 or 85 
percent or whatever is agreed upon indefinitely while the negotiations 
on next year's budget proceed.
  That is normally done. But the Republicans will not pass a continuing 
resolution, the normal method of keeping the Government in operation 
while the controversy over the new budget is determined. They will not 
pass it.
  The only reason for the Government shutdown is that the Republicans, 
led by Speaker Newt Gingrich, decided months ago that they would use 
the threat or the reality of a Government shutdown to attempt to 
blackmail the President into going along with budgetary solutions that 
he does not approve. This is wrong.
  Our Democratic system provides the proper means to work out policy 
and budget disagreements. The majority in Congress in both Houses 
passes a budget. The President signs it or he vetoes it, the various 
appropriations bills. Then there is an attempt to override. If they 
cannot override, they have further negotiations and eventually a 
compromise. If they cannot override the veto, if they cannot negotiate 
and come to a compromise, eventually they take it to the people. They 
say the President is unreasonable in his vetoes, let us get a new 
President; or the majority in Congress is unreasonable in its bills and 
let us get a new majority, and the American people make the ultimate 
decision. But while this is going on, the Government continues to 
operate on a continuing resolution.
  This year, the Republicans say, no, we cannot pass a continuing 
resolution because we do not trust the President. He does not keep his 
word. Obviously, I do not believe this to be true, but even if it were 
true, it is not material to this. The Republicans say they must keep 
the Federal Government shut down until the President keeps his word and 
produces a 7-year balanced budget according to CBO figures. And if he 
will not do that, they will not open the Government. They will make us 
all suffer. They will make the American people suffer.
  But the Federal Government is not a plaything or a possession of the 
President. The Federal Government does not belong to him. It belongs to 
the American people. Opening the Government is not a reward to the 
President for good conduct and closing it is not a punishment of the 
President for unacceptable conduct. Closing the Government, holding the 
people who need Government services, whether that be welfare checks or 
SSI or Medicare or passports, holding it closed is holding the American 
people hostage. It is not a legitimate negotiating tactic no matter 
what one thinks of the President's negotiating tactics. It is an abuse 
of power.
  Let us keep the two issues separate. Let us vote on a continuing 
resolution to reopen the Federal Government, and then let us work out 
the differences on a permanent budget.

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