[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6107-H6108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE TIME HAS COME FOR REASON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, the time has come for reason. No longer can 
we afford to allow a small segment of this Congress to drive the 
debate. It's not just the tail wagging the dog, it is the tip of the 
dog's tail wagging the entire body politic.

[[Page H6108]]

  The time has come for those in the middle to come together and take 
back the wheel from those intent on crashing this Congress into a 
ditch.
  As I stand here today, the government of the United States is 
shuttered, shut down by nothing more than brinksmanship.
  Small business loans are not being processed. The Centers for Disease 
Control flu prevention program is being halted, and the National 
Institutes of Health is no longer accepting kids into a cancer research 
program. Some food safety operations have ceased, and cleanup at 600 
toxic waste sites has been suspended.
  It wasn't always this way though. There was a time when we had 
regular order. There was a time when budgets were proposed, funding 
levels and priorities were debated, differences were hashed out, and 
bills were passed to fund the government.
  And even when regular order broke down, we were always able to at 
least pass a continuing resolution to continue funding the government. 
Not this time.
  This time, an effort to repeal a law that was passed by both houses, 
signed by the President, approved by the Supreme Court, has shanghaied 
all Federal spending.
  Many across the aisle acknowledge how harmful and irresponsible such 
a plan is. Senator McCain said, ``In the United States Senate, we will 
not repeal or defund ObamaCare. And to think we can is not rational.''
  Budget Chairman Paul Ryan said, ``We have to stay on the right side 
of public opinion. Shutting down the government puts us on the wrong 
side.''
  My colleague, Senator Kirk said, ``Let's not shut down the government 
just because you don't get everything you want.''
  The list goes on and on. Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, Bruce Josten of 
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many more all oppose efforts to shut 
the Federal Government. Yet, we continue down this dangerous path.
  When I first came to this Congress, Congressman Kirk, now Senator 
Kirk, told me that everything that gets done here gets done in the 
middle. Now is the time for the reasonable middle to come together and 
reject the strategy that says, ``If I can't win, I'll just kick the 
ball in the woods.''
  Sorry, Seth.
  Not only is shutting down the government harmful to my constituents, 
businesses, and the economy, it doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't 
address the budget deficit.
  If we really want to get our fiscal house in order, let's fund the 
government and bring back a balanced, big, bipartisan deficit deal to 
the floor. We did it before and we can do it again.
  I, along with only 37 colleagues, voted for the Cooper-LaTourette 
budget, which mirrored the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles plan.
  Where were those so concerned with the debt then?
  If the fiscal watchdogs on the other side of the aisle really want to 
solve our budget woes, let's get together on a big budget deal, and 
let's do it now, because every day we waste in this useless limbo land 
is one less day we have to address the very real and very harmful 
problems facing this country.
  We have got to pass comprehensive immigration reform, a farm bill, an 
infrastructure funding bill, a reauthorization of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act, reasonable gun reforms, tax reform, and 
numerous other much-needed legislation.
  But without doing the basic work of Congress, like passing a budget, 
we can't address the real issues facing us. As long as we continue to 
look in the rearview mirror at a law passed 3 years ago, approved by 
the Supreme Court, we will fail to navigate the real obstacles before 
us.
  We need to keep our eyes on the road, and come together to solve the 
real challenges that lie ahead.

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