[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H164-H165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COMPROMISE AND DISCUSSION WILL LEAD TO BALANCED BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bartlett of Maryland). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice 
Johnson, is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 
yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. As I 
was saying before my time expired, Cynthia Snyder is a Republican. But 
that is not her major activity. She is a member of the board of 
directors of United We Stand. United We Stand, of course, is the 
organization that Ross Perot founded. He raised the budget issue to 
central concern of this country. I think he performed a service in 
doing so.
  Cynthia Snyder is a concerned citizen in my district. Yes, she is a 
Republican, and she is with United We Stand. But let me read one 
paragraph of the letter she sent to the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Livingston], not to me, but she sent me a copy of it.
  She said,

       Why can't Congress get on with their statutory and 
     constitutional mandates to fund the government, instead of 
     holding government employees and the public hostage to their 
     own 7-year budget proposals? Most of us know we must curtail 
     spending and many of us worked hard to elect deficit hawks, 
     but does adding millions per day to the deficit by keeping 
     the government shut down help in any way do that?

  She concludes, as I said, by saying,

       Besides, I am a Republican, and you are hurting Republican 
     chances of election to high offices by your amateurish 
     behavior.

  Bob Dole, the majority leader, leading candidate for President of the 
United States in the Republican Party, said that what we are doing does 
not make sense. He said as previous speakers said, ``Enough is 
enough.''
  I represent 56,000 Federal employees. They are not responsible for 
incurring the deficit, and they do not have the power to sit in this 
body to reduce the deficit. What they try to do is carry out the 
responsibilities given to them by the executive and legislative 
branches of Government.
  Mr. Speaker, we have held them hostage. We have put families at risk. 
We have shut down portions of Government, stamped our feet and said, 
``Mr. President, if you do not do it our way, we will do it no way.'' 
Mr. Speaker, that has never before happened in history. Not since 1789 
to 1994 has any group with the power to do so, but with the 
responsibility not to, shut down the Government for 20 days.
  Have we had shutdowns before? Yes, but not until 1981, 1982, and then 
it was for hours, then a half a day, then 1 day over the Columbus Day 
holiday, the 3-day weekend. But what happened? President Reagan was 
President and President Bush was President during one or more of those 
shutdowns. There was a Democratic Congress. When the President would 
not agree with what we wanted, the Democratic Congress accommodated the 
President, because that is the constitutional system. If we cannot 
override a veto, we either need to compromise or not take the action. 
That is what our Framers contemplated. That is the appropriate way to 
operate a democracy.
  Speaker Gingrich said earlier this year, ``I will cooperate, but I 
will not 

[[Page H165]]
compromise.'' My friends, in a democracy I do not know how we come 
together to make policy without compromising. Not compromising our 
principles, but agreeing that there are different ways to do things, 
different ways to accomplish objectives, and know that in good faith, 
Americans acting through their elected representatives could reach 
those ends. Not stamp their feet. Not point a gun at the President's 
head and say, If you don't do it my way, I shut down the Government.
  Bob Dole said, ``I don't see any sense in what we've been doing.'' 
America sees no sense in what we have been doing.

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