[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2109-S2110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, my colleague has talked about the 
disease in Washington, but I want to talk about another disease that 
seems to be running rampant in the House Republican caucus, and that is 
hypocrisy. Hypocrisy. The reason I say that is they say one thing and 
they mean another. They say one thing and they deceive the American 
public.
  Ordinarily, I would not comment on the behavior or the tribal mores 
of the House Republican caucus, but they have had a field day on TV 
ridiculing the Senate, ridiculing the Democratic Senate, essentially 
doing a lot of name calling. I am not doing name calling. I am going to 
do fact describing.
  The reason I call it hypocrisy is this: What they say they want to 
do, which is reduce government spending, they do not. They only do it 
on particular groups of people.
  The other is something called the consequences of the shutdown. Let 
me say this: They want to cut spending, but they are unwilling to cut 
their own pay. Sure, I am for a government that is more frugal. I am 
for cuts. But I am not for their cuts. What they propose is reckless 
and radical, and when they do not get their own way, they say: Cut it 
or shut it.
  However, I take this position: If there is a government shutdown, I 
do not think Members of Congress should be paid. If there is a 
government shutdown and we tell dedicated Federal employees that they 
are not going to get paid, that they are nonessential, the fact that we 
could not stop a shutdown shows we are not essential. I believe if 
there is a shutdown, Members of Congress should not get paid. I not 
only want to express that as a sentiment, I did that backing Senator 
Barbara Boxer's bill which passed the Senate that said if there is a 
shutdown, Members of Congress do not get paid.

  What did the House Republicans do? They passed a bill, I will not go 
through the details, but on this relevant section they said Members of 
Congress and the President do not get paid. But guess what. They allow 
for retroactive payment. The Senate bill does not do that. So they 
would be the only ones in a shutdown who can come back and pick up that 
little paycheck they have stuck in a corner. Talk about hypocrisy. That 
is called bait and switch. It ought to be under some kind of consumer 
protection law.
  Even the title of their bill is wrong. Their bill is called the 
Government Shutdown Prevention Act. Their bill doesn't stop a shutdown. 
It doesn't even help with the sitdown. What is a sitdown? We would come 
to the table as grownup Americans, and we would try to arrive at how to 
pass a continuing resolution to fund the government that recognizes not 
only debt but that there are certain aspects of the government programs 
we need to be able to fund.
  My constituents were outraged when Wall Street executives got 
hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses. They should be outraged 
when, as Members of Congress, we are going to get paid when they do 
not.
  Here is what I don't get. My home State is the home of the National 
Institutes of Health. Right now I have thousands of people working as a 
team to find the cure for Alzheimer's, for AIDS, for autism, for 
cancer. We race for the cure, and we should, but we are going to tell 
those researchers they are nonessential.
  Right now there are thousands of Federal employees processing the 
claims of Social Security, making sure someone who is disabled 
qualifies for their benefit. They are going to be told they are 
nonessential.
  Let me tell you, on any given day, if somebody, in whatever town they 
live, goes to their Social Security office and finds it shuttered and 
they cannot apply for a benefit for which they believe they are 
eligible, I think they would rather shut us down than that Social 
Security office be shut down.
  Ask anybody in the United States of America who they think is more 
essential, Members of Congress or the researchers working on a cure for 
cancer or those people working to defend our borders. I could give 
example after example; you know where they are.
  It is very clear people know they depend, for the functioning of the 
Federal Government, on a civil service that is honest, that has 
integrity, counseling us to make sure we keep government doors open 
while we negotiate the numbers. Numbers do matter. I am ready to come 
to the table. I believe all Democrats are ready to come to the table. 
But we will not come to the table to engage in meaningless discussions 
and pursuing a way that is reckless.
  I will discuss about the recklessness more, but I want everybody to 
understand Democrats in the Senate passed a bill that said if there is 
a shutdown, we don't get paid, no way, no day, and no backpay. So no 
way, no backpay. The House, in the meantime, did this sham scam that 
says: Yes, we will pretend we are not getting paid, but we are going to 
pick up a backpayment.
  I don't get these guys. They want to take away Medicare and turn it 
into a voucher program, but they are sure happy picking up government 
health care. They love getting federally subsidized health care. They 
want to take away other people's pensions, but they sure like getting 
their Federal employee pensions. I am going to put an end to the 
hypocrisy, and I am going to put an end to the CR dangling.
  I think we need to come to the table and pass a responsible budget 
that recognizes we are in a frugal era and we need to make sure the 
American people know we are on their side. At the same time, the 
American people need to know that many of us are willing to say if a 
shutdown comes and Federal employees get no pay and contractors get no 
pay, we get no pay and no backpay.
  I will have more to say about this as this week unfolds, but before I 
sit down, please, lets sit down rather than shut down.

[[Page S2110]]

  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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