[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 133 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS RESOLUTION, 2014

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, September 28, 2013

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this reckless 
plan to shut down the Federal Government. House Republicans are playing 
games with people's lives--with hundreds of thousands of federal 
employees and with the people around the country who depend on the 
services they provide. And they are doing this in order to prevent 
millions of Americans from signing up for more affordable health care.
  My colleagues know that this legislation cannot pass the Senate, and 
that the President will not sign it. That is why they have offered 
legislation to ensure that our military personnel and the Defense 
Department civilians who support their work will continue to get paid 
even in the event of a government shutdown. And while I support that 
measure, I would expand it to include all federal employees, whose work 
is no less essential to the operations of our government and, in many 
cases, to our national security. This bill ignores those federal 
employees who protect our borders, care for our wounded service 
members, work to discover treatments and cures for diseases, and 
provide vital services that touch virtually every American family. They 
should not be pawns in this political game, and should not go without 
pay because the Congress cannot do its job.
  I urge the Speaker to bring up a clean continuing resolution without 
extraneous and unrelated poison pills so that we can avoid this 
shutdown and keep the government working for the American people.

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