[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10434-H10435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PREVENT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hancock). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas]

[[Page H10435]]

is recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, if you want to see a shutdown of Government 
occur again, then please ignore what I have to say for the next 5 
minutes. I have been struggling for a long time now to convince the 
Congress that we ought to engage in a proposal which would end the 
prospect of Government shutdown forever. We can do it very easily.
  Each of the proposals that I have offered to the Congress since 1989 
has encompassed this concept, Mr. Speaker, that if at the end of the 
fiscal year, which is now looming upon us again as September 30, the 
appropriations bills have not been passed, then automatically the next 
day those appropriations bills that have not been passed shall 
automatically be passed, by virtue of instant replay, by adopting last 
year's numbers. That would mean that never again would we ever have a 
Government shutdown.
  Now, what does this mean in practical terms? It means that the 
negotiators for the unfinished business of the Congress can continue to 
work on a full budget or to complete those appropriations bills, but in 
the meantime we would not have the chaos, unemployment, uncertainty, 
confusion, embarrassment and all the other negatives that accompany the 
shutdown of Government.

  I believe that President Clinton should have signed the 
appropriations bills last time around, which would have prevented the 
Government shutdown, but it did not happen that way. But if you passed 
my legislation, neither the President nor the Congress would be at 
sword's end to force a Government shutdown.
  Now, what happens if after the fiscal year is over and my bill comes 
into play and already there is a continuing appropriation, shall we 
say? That does not prevent even the establishment of a new temporary 
funding like a continuing resolution by the negotiators. So we have the 
best of all worlds. Nothing would be stopped by the proposal that I am 
setting forth here today. Only Government shutdown would be prevented.
  I remember and many of us do that in the winter of 1990, in December 
1990, as our young people, 500,000 strong, were amassing their strength 
in Saudi Arabia, poised to do battle to free Kuwait in Desert Shield, 
as it was then known, we had the embarrassment of the Government of the 
United States, the patrons of those valiant young people, the 
Government in back of those valiant youngsters, shut down here in 
Washington. They were in Saudi Arabia without a country. They 
technically had no Government back home because the Government had shut 
down.
  That was solved, fortunately, in time for Desert Storm, so we were a 
country when we effected the assault on Kuwait later on. But is that 
not a historical note that should bring shame on American citizens and 
especially on Members of Congress, that Government should shut down in 
the middle of hostilities?
  That is just one example. Add to that the chaos in which Federal 
employees were put, the impossibility of getting a passport, of having 
national parks shut down, 100 other ills that have been brought to the 
floor of the House in anecdote after anecdote by both Republicans and 
Democrats as they followed the effects of the Government shutdown.
  We have now introduced, I am ready to introduce the newest version, 
the latest version of my bill which we called the Government Shutdown 
Prevention Act. This one has several cosponsors. It follows the track 
of all the legislation that I have heretofore introduced. All of them, 
this one included, would prevent Government shutdown forever. I cannot 
say it enough. That is so important.
  This has the added feature of saying that when the appropriations 
cycle ends and there is no new appropriations, then it would revert to 
last year's lowest number or the House-passed version or the Senate-
passed version, and then you take only 75 percent of that. So 75 
percent of those levels would pass automatically into law, continuing 
the flow of Government and allowing the appropriators and the 
negotiators to deal with the continuing appropriations and the balance 
of the budget.
  I urge consideration by every Member of this legislation and invite 
their cosponsorship. Prevent Government shutdown.

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