[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 18, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DeLay). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas] 
is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I hope that I will lay less blame on the 
opposition than we heard from the previous speaker on the particular 
issue that he was addressing, because I want to talk about something 
that affects all of us and on which we can all participate to bring a 
good government result.
  When I came to the Congress in 1983, I learned very quickly that this 
Congress, the Congress of the United States, then and now, is very 
faulty in meeting its budgetary deadlines. September 30 comes and the 
next fiscal year begins the next day, on October 1. Yet, on almost 
every occasion since I came to Congress, we have failed to meet that 
deadline. What does that result?
  One thing that happens almost universally is that we enter into a 
period of temporary appropriations to keep the Government going pending 
the final budgetary result, and so those continuing resolutions, the 
temporary funding, takes us to our next step, another deadline, and 
then we fail to meet that one and we go into more temporary funding and 
the full budget is put off sometimes for a period of a year.
  That is bad fiscal management under laws which we, the Congress, have 
passed to govern ourselves in the business of good government. What 
happened then is that we actually shut down the Government eight times 
since I have been a Member of Congress. I do not know how many times 
before that. The Government actually shut down about eight times.
  Being desperate to try to bring about an end to this shutdown 
business, I went before the Democrat-controlled Rules Committee of that 
era, in 1989 or 1990, and offered a piece of legislation which would 
end Government shutdowns forever. How does it work? If on September 30, 
the end of the fiscal year, we have learned that we have not passed a 
budget timely and before the deadline that would come midnight that 
day, my bill would call for an instant replay the next day of last 
year's budget, thus averting the Government shutdown, continuing the 
effect of Government throughout a period, never depriving the Congress 
from getting down to business and passing a new budget, but in the 
meantime we would have an ongoing budget, albeit at last year's 
figures, until such time as the budget negotiations can produce a final 
budget.
  Well, the Democrat-controlled Committee on Rules slapped me down time 
after time after time, from 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. 
Finally in 1995 I felt that we were going to have a great opportunity 
here because now the Republicans on the Committee on Rules would be 
controlling the agenda. So I went before the Republican-controlled 
Rules Committee for the purpose of introducing my legislation and 
getting approval for full floor debate. And what happened? I was 
knocked down by my fellow Republicans in this endeavor.
  The reason that has been advanced is that adoption of my legislation 
would rob the appropriators of the leverage that they see at their 
disposal of bringing about a certain kind of result and pressure to 
suit the appropriations process, which is so murky to me that it does 
not survive close scrutiny. So I am imploring my colleagues to take a 
fresh look at the legislation which I have offered.
  By the way, the Senate, the other body, has adopted in principle the 
idea behind my bill and they invited me over to a press conference, did 
those Senators who prefer this kind of legislation, and we had a joint 
result of an acceptance in principle of the prevent shutdown 
legislation. They are going to try to include it in the supplemental 
appropriations which are forthcoming in the next month or so.
  On our side, on the House side, Congressman Istook and Congressman 
McIntosh recently issued a letter in which they support the principle 
which I have outlined in my legislation. We do not have to stick with 
the percentages of money figures that we are talking about, but the 
principle of preventing Government shutdown by a transition piece of 
legislation that would carry us into a new fiscal year without any 
shutdown of Government, still leaving the Congress the opportunity to 
present and pass a new budget.
  The other encouragement that I have received is from individual 
Members of the House and of the Senate who have sought ways and means 
to try to get this before the Congress of the United States, both in 
the House and the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many off-beltway groups who deal with the 
Government that also support my legislation.

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