[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 132 (Monday, September 30, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GOV'T SHUTDOWN

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 2013

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, let's cut through the static and stop 
throwing around terms like CR, shutdown and numbers like 988 and 1058.
  Let's get to the crux of what's happening here tonight.
  Congress has two basic jobs: Passing a budget; and Paying its bills.
  The Republican Congress, right now, is refusing to do either. They're 
refusing to do our most basic duties and putting the American economy 
at risk in the process.
  Here's what failure to keep the government running means for average 
Americans.
  Tomorrow, Americans will continue to pay their taxes--same rates, 
same costs.
  But tomorrow, Americans will get far less in return.
  Tomorrow, the backlog at the VA will get worse; as Veterans 
Administration claims workers are furloughed.
  Tomorrow, our troops will have to keep fighting on the frontlines in 
Afghanistan, but they will no longer get paid for their service.
  Tomorrow, loans to American small businesses will stop.
  Yes, Americans will pay their taxes tomorrow. They will do the right 
thing.
  Yet we won't honor the taxpayers who sent us here by doing the most 
basic jobs we were entrusted to do.
  If Americans still have to pay their taxes, we should still do our 
jobs.
  The Republican House is holding hostage: benefits for our veterans, 
pay for our military, aid for American small businesses--all in the 
name of denying access to health insurance for hardworking Americans.
  Let's do the right thing for those hardworking Americans--let's do 
our jobs and keep government running.

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