[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page H2355]]



               AMENDMENT TO PREVENT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS

  (Mr. GEKAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, the support for the Gekas shutdown prevention 
amendment is growing every minute. It is a simple proposition, one that 
says that if at the end of a budget period no budget has been 
negotiated, then there will be an instant replay of last year's budget. 
Thus we would prevent Government shutdowns that caused so much havoc in 
the last several years. The most recent level of support has come from 
the Citizens Against Government Waste who sent me a letter just 
yesterday which says, among other things, ``For too long Americans have 
watched the Congress and the President wrangle over the annual 
appropriations process to keep the Government running. Your Government 
shutdown prevention amendment would eliminate the absurd politics that 
lead to temporary shutdowns of the Federal Government.''
  Mr. Speaker, we have had 53 continuing resolutions, temporary funding 
measures, in the last 15 years. We have had eight Government shutdowns, 
the worst of which were the last two. Let us prevent it this time by 
adopting the Gekas amendment to the supplemental appropriations.

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