[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H1463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         NO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I voted for a 2-week compromise 
to keep our government's most vital programs running while we negotiate 
an agreement to cut the deficit without hurting our fragile economic 
recovery. Why? Because a government shutdown would profoundly hurt all 
Americans, and we need time to work together to avoid that.
  Fifteen years ago, a hyperpartisan Congress shut down our national 
government for ideological reasons and furloughed over 8,500 jobs in my 
hometown of St. Louis. And just this morning, the St. Louis Post 
Dispatch reported that a shutdown could put as many as 38,000 people 
out of work in our region.
  Let's have a serious and spirited debate about cutting redtape and 
duplication and finding common sense solutions. Let's focus on the 
priorities of the American people: creating jobs and cutting the 
deficit. We should do so by looking at three principles. Will it create 
jobs? Will it help the middle class and working Americans and our 
retirees? And finally, will it lower the deficit?
  I hope my colleagues will join me in passing a funding resolution 
that meets these essential goals. Our constituents deserve no less.

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