[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H161-H162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             EXTREMISTS ARE DRIVING THE AGENDA IN THE HOUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bartlett of Maryland). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Engel] is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have a chart over here dated December 29, 
1995, ``Pay to the Order of Federal Employee.'' A Federal employee in 
my district who works at the Bronx Veterans Administration Medical 
Center in my district received a paycheck for $1.51 for her 40 hours of 
work. $1.51. All the deductions were taken out, but her full salary was 
not there because of the Government shutdown.
  Let me tell you what $1.51 can buy you in New York City, in Bronx, 
New York, where I live. It can buy you a subway token. That costs 
$1.50. That can get you to work, and then you have a whole penny left 
over to spend as you see fit. This is the result of the House 
Republican Government shutdown. It is signed ``U.S. House of 
Representatives Extremists,'' because that is what is happening. 
Extremists are driving the agenda. And it is for ``Don't spend it all 
in one place.''
  What is happening in our country today, Mr. Speaker, is a disgrace 
and a sham. Make no mistake about it. The Republicans have shut the 
Government down. The House Republicans have shut the Government down. 
The House Republican leadership has shut the Government down by not 
permitting a vote on this floor to open the Government.
  We tried yesterday. We could not get it on the floor, and we were 
ruled out of order. So if we are so concerned about the veterans and we 
are so concerned about the seniors and we are so concerned about the 
American public that is not getting its benefits, we have the ability 
to open the Government by passing a clean continuing resolution. That 
is what are have to do. They did it in the other House. Both 
Republicans and Democrats did it in the 

[[Page H162]]
other House. But the House Republicans here will not allow it to come 
to the floor.
  That would open the Government immediately. This is what has always 
been done in the past when there has been a dispute between the 
President and the Congress. Both Houses pass a continuing resolution to 
keep the Government open while negotiations are going on. It has always 
been done.
  We have had a series of Republican Presidents and Democratic 
Congresses. This has never been done for so long a period of time, 
because a continuing resolution was passed. This is part of a 
calculated strategy to try to bring the President to his knees and to 
bring the country to its knees so that they can push through their 
radical, extreme agenda.
  What is this radical, extreme agenda? It is slashing Medicaid, 
slashing Medicare, harming the environment, slashing education, all to 
give a tax break for the rich. That to me is a disgrace. A tax break 
for the rich, but let us hurt the senior citizens of this country. Let 
us hurt the children of this country. Let us hurt our environment, and 
let us add taxes on working families to give a tax break to the rich.
  That is the extreme Republican agenda. A colleague before said there 
is a saying, ``You can fool some of the people some of the time, but 
you cannot fool all the people all the time.'' Well, in the last 
election, some of the people were fooled some of the time, but when 
they voted for Republicans they did not know they were voting for this 
extreme agenda.
  The Contract for America did not say hurt senior citizens by cutting 
their Medicare and cutting their Medicaid and hurting our kids by 
cutting education and killing the environment. It did not say that. But 
the hand has been played, and the extreme agenda is here.

  Make no mistake about it, we could reopen the Government tomorrow and 
the American people would not suffer, if the Republicans in this House 
who are in the majority would vote to reopen the Government, would vote 
for a continuing resolution.
  Now, the reason we need this continuing resolution is because they 
did not do their job to begin with. They did not pass the budget bills 
and send them to the President on time. That is why the Government has 
been shut down. They say well, you know, the President vetoed some of 
these bills. It is his prerogative as the Chief Executive to veto the 
bills. This is the way the Constitution says things are supposed to 
happen. This has always happened in this country. The President vetoes, 
we come back and try to override the veto or we pass another bill.
  But this is part of a calculated plan to push forward an extreme 
agenda, and it will not work. One has nothing to do with the other. The 
balanced budget has nothing to do with this Government shutdown. It is 
two separate issues which the Republicans are linking.
  So make no mistake about it, this is not about a balanced budget. 
This is about shutting the Government down.
  I say to my Republican colleagues, please join us in voting for a 
clean continuing resolution to open the Government once again while 
negotiations are going on. The only people who are suffering are the 
American people, and they ought not to suffer anymore.

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