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




                        REOPENING THE GOVERNMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Foley] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to get this Government back 
working. You know, we have a lot of debate and a lot of rhetoric up 
here about a balanced budget. Yes, that, indeed, is one of my most 
important goals as a Member of the 104th Congress, to get a balanced 
budget, but I do not take any pride in doing it when we are talking 
about workers who work for this Government, who come to work to serve 
our veterans, who come to work to serve every average American in this 
country, and some Members of Congress act as if their jobs do not 
matter, as if they should not be paid, and we will keep this thing shut 
down until we get the President to blink.
  Ladies and gentlemen, we know the President has had a chance to 
produce a budget for us that shows deficits from 1996 of $196 to $209 
billion in the year 2005. That is Congressional Budget Office numbers 
that suggest we will never get to under the prior 10-year budget plan 
for deficit reduction during the Clinton presidency or anyone who 
follows.
  The bottom line is: Why are we holding employees hostage of 
Government? There are people that have mortgage payments to pay, there 
are people that have to feet their families. So I think it is 
appropriate that, as we are standing on this floor tonight, Members of 
the Republican Conference are coming up with a strategy hopefully to 
reopen and put those people back to work.
  I have a veterans' hospital in my location, and that veterans' 
hospital has people that have served this Nation in times of peace and 
in times of war that are desperately needing medical attention. Those 
very fine people that work at that facility deserve pay.
  But the overriding, most important issue that remains with this 
Member of Congress is that the President does genuinely come forward 
with a proposal to balance the budget. We can disagree on spending. I 
am for getting rid of the B-2 bomber. I am for doing some things 
differently in this Congress and not spending money on pork and waste. 
I will put more money to Medicare to help our senior citizens.
  But we have got to develop a strategy that balances the budget, and 
we cannot talk in fiction and we have got to deal with reality.

                              {time}  1930

  Let me just read a couple of letters I have got from people around 
the country.
  James Lister, from Simpsonville, SC, writes:

       Dear Mr. Foley, It is amazing what a few courageous men and 
     women with a dedicated leader can accomplish. There are 
     literally millions and millions of Americans who are standing 
     with you and what you are doing to cut the size of government 
     and bring the spending down.
       The media is pouring on its worst. We know it is because 
     you are effective.
       For our sake, don't stop talking, don't cave in and don't 
     let up the pressure on for a real balanced budget.
       Our warmest wishes for you and your family for a joyous 
     Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

  Margaret Hurt, from California, writes:

       The freshman class are the best thing that has come to D.C. 
     in a long time.
       With you guys and Newt and Rush Limbaugh I feel that the 
     good old U.S.A. is getting a real break.
       Hang in there. With your enthusiasm and diligence coupled 
     with an openness to the truth, we are going to be all right!
       I watched you tonight in C-SPAN, Dec. 19, and just love all 
     of you. Keep in touch with the ``people''! We love it!
       Tell Newt we love him, and pass the card around, please.
  Donald Boelter; from Burbank, CA, writes:

       Dear Congressman Foley: It was very encouraging to watch on 
     C-SPAN the group of Freshmen express their views on how best 
     to bring government back to the people.
       To once again give the people the right to decide how their 
     money is spent, how their lives will be regulated and the 
     return of responsibility into their lives.
       As a young 71 year old, I saw in the gathered faces the 
     same eagerness and resolve to face the problems that confront 
     America today as in the resolve of American troops during the 
     days of Bastogne.
       Your's is no less a battle. Ever greater than that of 51 
     years ago and consequences to our beloved Nation immense.
       On this Christmas eve I give thanks for all of the Freshman 
     class and their efforts to bring back common sense to our 
     Government.
       God Bless You and Yours.

  Rick Schendel, from Michigan writes:

       Mr. Mark Foley, I am a voter from Macomb county in 
     southeast Michigan and I writing to thank you for keeping up 
     the fight for fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately my 
     Representative is Minority Whip and the chances of him being 
     in favor of a balanced budget are nil. This letter might not 
     mean much but I thought you should know than there are a lot 
     of people out here that agree with your ideas. No one wants 
     to hurt the elderly or throw people out on the streets, but a 
     seven year plan to balance the budget should be relatively 
     easy and painless to achieve. We are counting on you and your 
     colleagues to take charge of this fight. Get us a good, fair 
     plan with teeth in it so three or four years from now we 
     aren't faced with another budget crisis. Again, I would like 
     to thank you for your efforts on behalf of our generation and 
     future generations. Keep up the good work.

  Those are letters from around the country. Let me read to you one 
thing, ``Ten Cannots,'' originally attributed to Lincoln but which were 
done by Rev. William Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister.

       You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
       You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
       You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
       You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage 
     payer.
       You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
       You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your 
     income.
       You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class 
     hatred.
       You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
       You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's 
     initiative and independence.
       You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they 
     could and should do for themselves.

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