[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6162-H6167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I am here on behalf of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus in our Special Order hour to talk specifically about
what is happening this week, or better yet what is not happening this
week, in Congress.
Mr. Speaker, it has been almost exactly 48 hours since the GOP
government shutdown in this country; 48 hours since 800,000 Federal
employees have been furloughed; 48 hours since our national parks have
been closed; 48 hours since the Small Business Administration is no
longer issuing new loans; 48 hours since the Centers for Disease
Control won't be able to monitor the influenza season coming up; 48
hours since the National Institutes of Health has essentially shut
down; and 48 hours since we are costing the U.S. economy $300 million a
day.
This isn't a number that the congressional Democrats or the
Progressive Caucus has come up with. This is coming right from an
article from Bloomberg News.
According to Bloomberg News:
A partial shutdown of the Federal Government will cost the
U.S. at least $300 million a day in lost economic output at
the start.
They go on further:
Government spending touches every aspect of the economy and
disruption of spending more than the direct loss of income
threatens to damage investor and business confidence in ways
that can seriously harm economic growth.
It goes on to explain two major reasons why we are going to have this
impact of $300 million a day. The first is the fact that we have the
furloughed workers:
Each day the shutdown drags on, the more Federal employees
will discount the possibility that they will go back to work
soon and they will pull back on their spending.
Specifically, one Federal employee is quoted saying:
The shutdown affects me greatly. I have a mortgage, and I'm
the sole provider for my two daughters, one of whom is in
college.
That is what we are doing right now to the U.S. economy by strangling
our Federal employees who serve this Nation so well. But also, consumer
confidence is directly impacted by this GOP shutdown of the government.
Again, from the article:
If a shutdown drags on, it would start to shake consumer
and business confidence more broadly, economists said.
Household spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
[[Page H6163]]
Further it says:
A shutdown will probably add to the budget deficit because
it is costly to stop and start programs.
Adding to our deficit, costing us $300 million a day, shutting down
essential services that people expect from our Federal Government.
We are 48 hours since we have entered this manufactured crisis over
the GOP having a tantrum over the Affordable Care Act and taking us all
hostage. But right now at this very moment we could stop this with one
single vote in the House of Representatives. One single vote can stop
the damage to our economy and the shutdown of the Federal Government.
There is a clean continuing resolution that has passed the Senate.
Does it have everything that I or the Congressional Progressive Caucus
wants? Absolutely not. In fact, they are still keeping in the number
that is being proposed by the Senate, the indiscriminate sequester cuts
between now and November 15.
But we are willing to compromise and accept something that many of us
have voted against in the past in order to bring our economy back in
this country. In fact, I think one thing hasn't been told very much.
When you look at the various budgets, once again, this Congress has not
passed a budget. This House has passed a budget, the Senate has passed
a budget, the President has introduced a budget, but this House
leadership has refused to appoint conferees for over 6 months to have a
national budget.
But what was the budget line that the House Republicans passed in
this House last spring--$967 billion? What did the President have in
his proposal--$1.2 billion? What did the Senate Democrats have--about
$1.06 billion?
What does this continuing resolution propose for a figure--$986
billion? That is over 90 percent of the way from the President's budget
to what the House Republicans wanted--only 2 percent from the number
they were looking at. Yet the House Republicans refused to budge and
pass a resolution that can end the government shutdown and fix this
economy.
So why do we have these reckless, irresponsible demands from the
tantrum-throwing, breath-holding, hostage-taking, Tea Partying wing of
the Republican Party? Well, they think it is a bad idea that millions
and millions more Americans should now have access to health care
through the Affordable Care Act.
We have voted not just once or twice to try to get rid of the
Affordable Care Act, but we have voted 46 times in this body--46 times
that they have held their breath and tried to remove the Affordable
Care Act. But the bottom line is this Congress voted for the law, the
President signed it into law, and the Supreme Court has upheld the law.
It is the law of the land no matter how much some people may not like
it, no matter how many times they have held their breath over this and
brought this Congress to a vote. It is the law of the land. But because
of that, they are willing and have shut down the U.S. Government--a
completely unacceptable answer to their issue.
There is the compromise solution I have talked about. A clean
continuing resolution has already passed the Senate. With a simple vote
of this body, Mr. Speaker, a simple vote of this body, it would go
directly to the President and be signed into law. No other delays. Not
the delay tactics we have seen for the last 2 days with a bunch of
votes that meant nothing in this body. With one vote we end the
government shutdown.
Mr. Speaker, take ``yes'' for an answer. We are willing to compromise
and do this. We demand a vote. We demand a vote and an opportunity in
this House to end the government shutdown. But for some reason Speaker
Boehner will not bring this bill to a vote. We tried today, and through
parliamentary procedures they blocked us from having the ability to
take that vote.
Well, do you know why they won't schedule this for a vote? Because
they know if they brought it to the body it would pass, and the Tea
Party wing of the Republican Party, as small as sometimes it is, would
lose.
Here is the bottom line. I know that people as they watch this whole
debate--and you hear from everyone--are confused. Who is saying what
and what is the real truth on this? The bottom line is the facts don't
change. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Despite 46
times to repeal it, it is still the law of the land. With a government
shutdown, it is still being continued today as the law of the land.
All we are doing in this hostage-taking is hurting our economy and
hurting the people of this country through a government shutdown.
{time} 2000
So, when people are confused, I have to admit that I'm confused. I'm
one of the new people around here. When I look at this, as I've told
people recently, I feel like I serve in the Nation's largest
kindergarten, only this kindergarten has control of the checkbook and
our nuclear arsenal.
It's scary to think that this body refuses to end the government
shutdown through a simple vote on a clean continuing resolution; but
what's even more confusing, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that it's not just
the Democrats who are willing to compromise, but there are now 18
Republicans who have said they are willing to vote for a clean
continuing resolution, that they are willing to end the government
shutdown. There is a 17-vote margin on the Republican side, and more
than enough people have said they will vote for a continuing resolution
should they be able to. Let me just go through each and every one of
these.
Representative Scott Rigell tweeted out from the State of Virginia
twice on this subject. First, he tweeted out:
We fought the good fight. Time for a clean continuing
resolution.
That was on October 1. On October 2:
Pain to our military and economy is real. A shutdown
doesn't advance our goals.
This is from a Republican Member who serves on the Budget Committee,
which I serve on, who knows the real impact that we are having on the
economy. So that is one Republican saying, Mr. Speaker, we demand a
vote.
Then there is Florida Representative Bill Young, who serves on the
Appropriations Committee, a very important committee that understands
government funding. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he is ready to
vote for a clean funding bill:
The politics should be over. It's time to legislate.
Mr. Speaker, that's two Republicans willing to pass a clean
continuing resolution.
Then there is Representative Charlie Dent from the State of
Pennsylvania, who also serves on that all important Appropriations
Committee. Back on September 29, in the Huffington Post, he said:
I am prepared to vote for a clean continuing resolution.
The hourglass is nearly empty, and it's time to get on with
the business of funding the government and come back to fight
another day.
Mr. Speaker, that is three Republicans who disagree with being held
hostage by the Tea Party wing of your party.
Then, from California, there is Representative Nunes, who serves on
the Ways and Means Committee, another committee that deals directly
with our country's finances. This is coming from a Twitter from a
reporter from the Huffington Post:
Representative Devin Nunes says he'll vote for the latest
GOP plan, but will support a clean continuing resolution if
it comes down to it.
This is four Republican Members, Mr. Speaker, who disagree with the
GOP's hostage-taking by the Tea Party wing of your party.
Then, from the State of Minnesota, there is Representative Erik
Paulsen, who also serves on the Ways and Means Committee, who had told
a local TV reporter in Minnesota, FROM KARE-TV, channel 11, and they
tweeted out, saying:
Representative Erik Paulsen tells me he's willing to break
with GOP leadership and vote for a clean resolution if given
the chance.
That's five Republicans, Mr. Speaker, who are going back home and
telling people that they would vote for a clean resolution if you would
give them a chance.
Then, from the State of Virginia, there is Representative Frank Wolf,
who serves on the Appropriations Committee. His aide told the Hill
newspaper that he would support a clean continuing resolution. In a
statement
[[Page H6164]]
on the House floor on Tuesday, Wolf said:
This is bad for America. It is bad for America. Enough is
enough. It's time to be leaders. It's time to govern. Open up
the government.
Six people. Those aren't the words of the members of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus. These are Members of the Republican
Party. If you give them a chance and demand a vote, we will be able to
pass that. That's six Members.
What about Representative Jim Gerlach from Pennsylvania? Again, he
serves on the Ways and Means Committee. He put out a press release, and
this is directly from the press release:
Jim Gerlach said Wednesday that he would vote in favor of a
so-called ``clean budget bill'' that funds the Federal
Government at current spending levels.
That's seven, Mr. Speaker.
Then Representative Lou Barletta, from the State of Pennsylvania,
according to the Bethlehem Morning Call, said he would:
. . . absolutely vote for a clean bill to avert a
government shutdown.
I think that's eight Members, Mr. Speaker, on your side who are
willing to join the Democrats and be adults and get our job done.
The ninth adult is Representative Leonard Lance from New Jersey. His
chief of staff told the Huffington Post:
. . . that he had told a constituent on Wednesday that
Lance has voted for clean government funding bills in the
past ``and would not oppose doing so again should one be
brought to the floor.''
Eight. Let me make sure I'm right. Let me count through these, Mr.
Speaker. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. I'm
sorry. That's nine Members.
Here is No. 10. He is Representative John Runyan from New Jersey. He
joined with other moderate Republicans in calling for the House to vote
on a clean, short-term funding bill that would reopen the government,
which is according to the Burlington County Times.
Ten of your Members are telling reporters in their districts that
they want the opportunity. Don't make them not be able to tell the
truth in their districts if they want to vote for a clean resolution.
We can end this government shutdown. That's 10.
Here is No. 11, Representative Frank LoBiondo from New Jersey. He
called the situation ``unacceptable''--his word. He told The Press of
Atlantic City:
. . . that he was in favor of ``whatever gets a successful
conclusion to this'' and a ``clean'' continuing resolution,
which does not include the postponement of the Affordable
Care Act ``as one of those options.''
That was No. 11. Let's get you a 12th vote, Mr. Speaker. It's a 12th
vote from Representative Mike Fitzpatrick from Bucks County in the
State of Pennsylvania. He issued a statement to the Philadelphia
Inquirer, saying:
He supports a spending bill at current funding levels, and
aides said that he would back that approach if it were
presented for a vote.
No. 12, Mr. Speaker. I believe that's No. 12.
No. 13. We'll call it ``lucky 13'' in this case. Representative Mike
Simpson from Idaho--again, serving on the Appropriations Committee--
told a Roll Call reporter Tuesday night:
I'd vote for a clean continuing resolution because I don't
think this is a strategy that works.
Mr. Speaker, 13 Members of the Republican Party disagree with the
Republican Party on the strategy to hold our country hostage and ruin
our economy.
No. 14, Representative Pat Meehan from Pennsylvania, according to a
press release he put out, said:
At this point, I believe it's time for the House to vote
for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to
the table and negotiate a responsible compromise.
No. 14, Mr. Speaker. This is No. 14, who wants to cooperate and give
us 6 weeks to work out a compromise between the two Houses so that we
can have what should be a budget in this country.
No. 15 is Representative Michael Grimm of New York. In a statement
released by his office on Monday, the New York Republican argued that
demanding ideological purity is ``not looking at the big picture.'' An
aide of his told the Huffington Post that he supports a clean
continuing resolution.
I am sorry to do this again, but I'm going to have to make sure I've
got the count right, Mr. Speaker. One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Members of your party.
No. 16 is Representative Peter King. I think he was one of the first
Members to do this. He said he thinks that House Republicans would
prefer to avoid a shutdown, and he said he will only vote for a clean
continuing resolution to fund the government, according to the National
Review Online. He is No. 16.
No. 17 is Representative Randy Forbes out of the State of Virginia,
who told the Virginian-Pilot that he supports the 6-week clean funding
bill that passed in the Senate:
Unfortunately, for us, this is not a game. This is real
lives of people.
That's No. 17.
Finally, No. 18 that is officially out there, Mr. Speaker, is
Representative Rob Wittman of Virginia:
I voted to avoid a government shutdown at every
opportunity, to continue government funding, and although I
have not had an opportunity to do so to this point, I would
support a clean continuing resolution to get our government
back up and running.
He put that in an email that he shared with Post Politics.
That's 18. You have a 17-seat margin on the Republican side, Mr.
Speaker, and 18 people on your side of the aisle will join the
responsible adults on this side of the aisle. Call us back tonight, and
tomorrow we will end this crisis and not cost our economy $300 million.
Mr. Speaker, I have a bonus for you. I think there is a 19th person
who is on the cusp of saying the same thing--from my own State,
Representative Reid Ribble. He is someone I am working with. He and I
have a bill together right now to try to get a budget process every 2
years because we think it might be a better way to actually get this
country back on track.
According to the Pierce Herald County paper in Wisconsin, here is
what he said:
Two wrongs don't make a right.
Then this is a quote from WHBY radio 1150 AM in Wisconsin:
A Republican from northeast Wisconsin says it's harmful and
embarrassing that lawmakers couldn't reach a deal to avoid a
government shutdown. Congressman Reid Ribble of Sherwood says
he is encouraging his colleagues to send short-term spending
proposals to a conference committee so Members of the House
and Senate can work out a compromise. Ribble says he is
meeting with the House Speaker today to discuss their
strategy and what they're going to offer. He says he is
optimistic that the shutdown won't last long and that they
can at least agree to a short-term solution.
Mr. Speaker, in the coming hours, more of your Members are going to
stand up and get the keys back from the Tea Party wing of your party.
Before you have to call a tow truck to pull this country out of a
ditch, get the keys back. Demand a vote. Give us a vote on a clean
continuing resolution, and we can end this right now.
I am joined by another member of our Progressive Caucus, another
freshman member who brings good common sense and a good educational
sense as a former teacher to this body. It is my opportunity to yield
some time to my colleague, Representative Mark Takano from the great
State of California.
Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin.
I rise today to object to this government shutdown that has been
orchestrated and carried out by the House Republicans and the Tea
Party.
Before I came to Congress, yes, as the gentleman has said, I worked
for over 20 years as a high school teacher; and I have to say, during
these last few days, I've begun to wonder if my students in Riverside
County had a better understanding of how our government works and how
it should function than the House Republicans.
It is 46 times that the House Republicans have voted to repeal or to
defund the Affordable Care Act. They are doing this as if they believe
the majority in the Senate, which fought to create the Affordable Care
Act, would vote for its repeal. They are doing this as if they believe
the President would actually sign legislation reversing his crowning
achievement. That's not how our government works. There are three
branches of government in this country, and any high school senior can
tell you that the only way a bill can become a law is if it is passed
by the House, passed by the Senate, and signed into law by the
President.
[[Page H6165]]
So now the Republican Party has resorted to hurting everyday
Americans by forcing the government to shut down and furloughing
hundreds of thousands of workers so they can get what they want. It is
18 times the Senate attempted to send negotiators to the House to get
an agreement on a budget; and now, because of the House Republican
delay tactics, we have run out of time and have passed the date to keep
the government open. They have taken this moment of crisis to exercise
political leverage in the most irresponsible manner.
I can appreciate my Republican colleagues' passions and their world
views on government, but their passions are misplaced, ill-timed, and
inappropriate. They want to display those passions and undo a law at a
time when Americans will be harmed by their tactics. What makes
Americans so angry is when they see Members of Congress so eager to
hurt our country to achieve their political ends.
Let's say that our positions were flipped, that the Republicans had
the Senate and the Presidency and the Democrats had the House. What if
the Democrats said, Well, we don't want a government shutdown, but
unless the Senate passes and the President signs immigration reform
into law, that's what we will do? Or how about if we were to say, We
are against furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers, but unless
the Senate passes and the President signs an assault weapons ban, we
will do just that?
{time} 2015
You know, we could say unless the Senate passes and the President
signs into law, the option will be to shut down the government.
I know our friends on the other side of the aisle would never allow
such tactics to stand. Now the House Republicans are trying a piecemeal
approach, attempting to fund the government one agency at a time. This
is no way to run a government either. This is just legislative public
relations. This is Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans reacting
to the bad headlines they've received in the last few days. The press
has been criticizing this shutdown for how it's harmed our veterans.
What's the answer for the Republicans? Introduce a bill that funds
only veterans programs. The press has exposed the tragedy of this
shutdown, ending clinical trials for kids with cancer. What's their
solution? Introduce a bill that funds only clinical trials.
The press has shown how insulting it is to our Greatest Generation
when they have been locked out of the Washington, D.C., World War II
Memorial. What do Republicans do? Introduce a bill that funds only
parks and monuments. This is not governing. This is damage control.
The actions by the House Republicans are absurd and reprehensible.
The House Republicans are pitting American against American for
political gain. Do they think that a veteran would want his benefits at
the expense of his grandchild's education? Do they think that poor
children should go to sleep hungry so the national park in their
district can open?
One-half of one House of Congress of one branch of government should
not get to make such outrageous demands. To make things worse, there
are reasonable Republicans, as the gentleman from Wisconsin has just
demonstrated, Republicans who know this is wrong, Republicans that have
stopped me in the hall and told me how Ted Cruz has put them into a
political conundrum. Even Grover Norquist has said Ted Cruz has
``pushed House Republicans into traffic and wandered away.''
Eighteen House Republicans have publicly stated they would support a
clean CR. Let's end the GOP shutdown. Let's bring sanity back to
Congress and pass a clean CR that will put Americans back to work and
restore funding to the countless programs that they rely on.
Mr. POCAN. If I could ask a question of the gentleman. You mentioned
that the Senate 18 times has tried to find a resolution to having a
budget in this country. There are a number of us who serve on the
Budget Committee, including Representative Jeffries from New York
State, who is going to speak in a little bit, who for 6 months have
been asking for the Republican leadership to appoint conferees so that
we could actually do exactly that. Do you remember when the Republicans
finally proposed a conference committee?
Mr. TAKANO. The gentleman is going to have to help me. I'm not aware
of when this happened.
Mr. POCAN. I believe it was between 11:40 and 15 minutes to midnight
on the deadline before we had to shut down government.
Mr. TAKANO. Was that literally the 11th hour, 59th minute before
they--that's right. I do remember this now because I was here that time
of night. I do remember that because we were wondering what the
Republican Caucus was going to do next, and the last thing of the
evening on Saturday was to propose a conference.
Look, the Senate Democrats passed a budget after much complaining by
the House Republicans that the Senate had not passed a budget, and I
believe this was way back in the spring.
Mr. POCAN. March 23.
Mr. TAKANO. We had plenty of time to try and hash all of this out,
but let's remember the original pretext for this shutdown. What I kept
hearing from our Republican colleagues was they wanted to delay the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act. That seemed to be the crux
of their objectives.
Mr. POCAN. In the last 48 hours, how many votes have we had on the
Affordable Care Act?
Mr. TAKANO. The last 48 hours, we've voted on a lot of things since
then. As I pointed out in my remarks, every headline that looks bad for
them, they come up with a bill, and they try to fund that headline
away.
Again, they're embarrassing votes for many people on our side, having
to answer, Why are you voting against the National Institutes of
Health? Why are you voting against veterans? Of course we're not voting
against them. We're saying that you can't pit one group of Americans
against another group of Americans, and that there are literally many
Americans who depend on many of the programs. When people really
understand what our government does for them and when it's taken away,
then it comes home.
Mr. POCAN. Thank you so much, Representative Takano. You did a great
job pointing out every time a press release came out and they realized
one of the impacts of shutting down the government, they tried to put a
little chewing gum in the crack in the dam rather than actually
addressing the problem. They've done that multiple times. They have
done it through what we call around here ``gotcha votes'' to try to
make a point, but they have not provide the solution we need, which is
what we're demanding and 18 Members on the other side are demanding,
which is a vote on a clean continuing resolution so that government can
continue.
Mr. TAKANO. I don't know if you spoke about this earlier, but in just
this past series of votes, there was what is called in technical
language here in the House, a motion to recommit, otherwise known as an
MTR. The Democrats used that opportunity to propose a motion to
recommit, which was essentially that motion. We were trying to bring to
the floor a clean CR, the exact Senate language for the continuing
resolution.
The number that we would have funded the government at would have
been at the Republican's own number. It's a number that many of us feel
is too low. I bet you most of our caucuses would've supported it. But
what happened? There was a motion on the Republican side to table our
motion. Why table it? Why were they scared? They were scared to bring
it to the floor. Instead of a procedural motion that the Republicans
could have voted ``no'' on, they would have been faced with voting up
or down and those 18 Members would have had to make a decision to go
against what they publicly stated. They could have done that today.
They had an opportunity today, and let it be said right now that we
missed an opportunity to fund this government and to move on. It passed
away today. All I can say is this motion to table was nothing less
than, I think, a motion out of fear. Fear of what? That there would be
a reasonable majority that would come together.
I asked earlier today a question that was rhetorical. I asked as a
point of information, Who is the Speaker of this House? Is it John
Boehner or is it Ted Cruz? In order to get to this vote, we
[[Page H6166]]
have to take this Congress back from a phantom Speaker because I can't
believe that--you read out the names of 18 people who are willing to go
on record publicly. How many do you and I suspect of Republicans that
privately feel these things, but are too afraid to move forward because
of this phantom Speaker?
Mr. POCAN. Absolutely. Thank you again for your leadership,
Representative Takano. I appreciate it.
Completely from the other coast, we have another freshman Member who
is a strong member of our Progressive Caucus and a former legislator
from the State of New York and now a Representative in Congress in the
State of New York. It's my pleasure to yield some time to
Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin, the
badger State, for yielding me some time, for your tremendous leadership
in anchoring this Progressive Caucus Special Order week after week
after week, carrying forward in such a powerful and compelling way the
Progressive message to the Americans out there who we represent. It's
such a powerful vehicle to use the House floor, to speak in such
eloquent, genuine ways about the challenges that we confront here in
the United States Congress.
Over the last few weeks, what we've witnessed, I think, can be
characterized as both the theater of the absurd and a Shakespearean
tragedy. Let me deal with the Shakespearean tragedy aspect of this.
We are in the midst of a government shutdown right now that is
unnecessarily forcing pain on the American people. It's a shutdown that
was manufactured by the House GOP that has resulted in a situation
where Americans all across this country have now been put in jeopardy.
That's a tragedy of epic proportions. Children have been put in
jeopardy. Tens of thousands of them have been shut out from the Head
Start program. Families have been put in jeopardy. More than 800,000
individuals were kicked out of work unnecessarily. As time marches on,
faced with the uncertainty as it relates to how they pay their bills,
put food on their table, clothing on their backs, pay off the mortgage,
more than 800,000 hardworking Americans are collateral damage as a
result of a reckless, irresponsible, mean-spirited behavior.
Veterans have been unnecessarily put into harm's way. Children
looking for hope and dealing with the cancer that has afflicted them
are unable to participate in clinical trials at the National Institutes
of Health. Seniors, who otherwise would benefit from the Meals on
Wheels program--it's insult to injury. It's bad enough you're trying to
cut $39 billion from the SNAP program, but then you've got to inflict
additional pain, as a result of the government shutdown, on seniors who
rely on the Meals on Wheels program to eat and deal with their
nutritional needs.
The other problem that's amazing to me is that you've put in jeopardy
expectant mothers who are now unable to receive the nutritional
assistance that would be available to them in the absence of a
government shutdown. This is a Shakespearean tragedy inflicted upon us
by an out-of-control House majority.
Let me deal for a moment or so with the theater-of-the-absurd aspect
of this. I asked on the floor of the House of Representatives today,
Who's in charge? My distinguished freshman colleague from California
just referenced this point. Who is in charge of the House of
Representatives? Is it the Speaker who's in charge at this moment? Is
it the Heritage Foundation? Is it Tea Party extremists? Is it the
junior Senator from Texas, who for the last week, before he
disappeared, was barking out orders over on the other side of the
Capitol and then Members in the House of Representatives were following
those orders in lockstep, executing this extreme agenda that has led us
to a shutdown of the United States Government?
The other side of the aisle, my good friends, they're going to say,
Well, what are you talking about an extreme agenda? We just have a
disagreement as it relates to the Affordable Care Act, and you guys on
the other side of the aisle, the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
he doesn't want to compromise. Compromise on what? The Affordable Care
Act is the law of the land. It was passed by a duly elected Congress in
2010. The Supreme Court of the United States of America declared it
constitutional in 2012 in an opinion written by Chief Justice John
Roberts, someone who was nominated to the bench by George W. Bush.
{time} 2030
And then a few months later, in November, the President of the United
States was reelected in an electoral college landslide with a
difference of more than 5 million votes, reaffirming the Affordable
Care Act, which was his signature legislative achievement.
What exactly do you want us to compromise on when October 1 was the
day that enrollment first began? You claim it to be a train wreck. The
train hasn't even left the station yet. But in advance of this
government shutdown, you sent a series of ransom notes over to this
side of the aisle. I mean, this really is shocking behavior. It was a
series of ransom notes. If you don't do what we want to you do, we're
going to shut down the government.
Let's go through the ransom notes that were sent over. First you
said, Defund the Affordable Care Act; and then that didn't work. And
then you said, We want to delay the Affordable Care Act for a year; and
that didn't work. And then you said, We are going to deny the ability
for contraception coverage; and that didn't work. And then you said,
We're going to repeal the medical device tax; and that didn't work. And
then you said, Well, let's delay the individual mandate for a year; and
that didn't work. And then finally, out of desperation, you said, Well,
we're going to jam up our own congressional employees in what
effectively amounts to a misrepresentation, because you weren't trying
to take away a subsidy. You were trying to take away an employer
contribution that is available to the overwhelming majority of
Americans whose employers provide health care. A series of ransom notes
that were summarily rejected by a courageous Senate majority.
And when you finally realized the futility of those demands included
in each of those legislative ransom notes that you sent over to the
other side, at the 11th hour, in the height of hypocrisy, you said,
Let's go to conference.
Go to conference? As my good friend, the distinguished Congressman
from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) pointed out, we've been asking for regular
order since the spring of this year.
Now, regular order involves the following process:
The House passes a budget, the Senate passes a budget, both of which
occurred earlier this year. And then at that point, the two sides
appoint conferees to sit down at the negotiating table and try to work
out the differences. That's the regular order that you've been
screaming about for the last 4 years. And earlier this spring, you
finally had an opportunity to bring it about. Senator Harry Reid was
prepared to move forward. Even Mitch McConnell seemed like he was ready
to move forward. And individual Republican Senators said that it was
absurdity for the House Republicans to have been demanding conference
committees over the last several years, and finally they get an
opportunity to do it, and nothing's forthcoming from the other side of
the aisle here in the United States House.
Why is that the case? Well, I think we've now figured it out. Because
you knew that the demands that you would make--because you are
following the script from the junior Senator from Texas and others--
would have been so extreme at a conference committee that it would have
just been a futile legislative exercise, and you did not want that to
be exposed to the American people. I think that's one of the only
conclusions that we can draw at this moment, with the benefit of
hindsight, as to why in the world a conference committee was never
appointed, even though that's something that you had been demanding, my
good friends on the other side of the aisle, for the previous few
years. So the American people aren't going to be fooled by these 11th-
hour gimmicks--conference committee.
What we need to do at this point is just pass a clean continuing
resolution that, if it were to come to the floor of the United States
House of Representatives, would have bipartisan support
[[Page H6167]]
from Democrats and from Republicans, many of whom were mentioned
earlier today by the distinguished Congressman from the Badger State
(Mr. Pocan), and we could get beyond this shutdown, this Shakespearean
tragedy, which is very painful for hardworking Americans, and go off
and do the business of the American people. That's what needs to
happen.
I hope reasonable minds can come together. You can stop following the
marching orders of outside agitators--who've got no interest in
governing and are only concerned about 2016 and other ambitions that
these individuals may harbor--and do the responsible thing so we can
move this country forward.
Mr. POCAN. Thank you so much, Representative Jeffries, for very
clearly explaining to the country the situation and what's unfolded in
these final days and final hours before the government shut down.
You know, there is no question that people on this side of the aisle
are willing to compromise. We're compromising to a number that is
nearly identical to what the Republicans have proposed so that we can,
for the next 6 weeks, figure out our finances.
You and I both serve on the Budget Committee. You know we've been
trying for--how long was it, Representative, again? How long were we
fighting for this?
Mr. JEFFRIES. Since March or April of this year.
And, Congressman, you raise an interesting point. I think this is
important to clarify for the American people. Our friends on the other
side of the aisle have said, Well, we want a changed set of law. We
want to defund, destroy, or delay the Affordable Care Act. Inherently
outrageous. Well, let's just put that aside for the moment.
The Senate majority and those on our side of the aisle in the House
of Representatives as well as the President, have already compromised,
as you pointed out. The number that we feel is appropriate to fund the
government and do what's right for the American people is $1.058
trillion. That's the number that we feel is appropriate. The number
that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like to see the
government funded at is $986 billion. That's a significant difference.
However, in order to move the country forward, the Senate majority,
the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the President of the
United States have all agreed to move forward with a continuing
resolution, not at our number, $1.058 trillion, but at the House
majority number, which is substantially less, $986 billion. Our good
friends on the other side of the aisle don't know when to take ``yes''
for an answer.
As the Democratic whip pointed out earlier this week, we've already
compromised and accepted the sequestration cuts for the purpose of
keeping the government open and negotiating over the next 6 weeks as to
what the appropriate number is. So that is political spin that you
hear, those who sent over the ransom notes, accusing others of an
unwillingness to compromise when we've already compromised on the
number in the continuing resolution.
Mr. POCAN. Well, again, thank you, Representative Jeffries, so much
for explaining to the American people exactly what has happened and
transpired in the last few days and why it's so important that we
demand a vote and get a vote on a clean continuing resolution.
I would like to close with a letter that I received from a
constituent in my district, and I just want to read the parts of the
letter I think that are especially relevant. This is from a woman who
has a business in the Baraboo, Wisconsin, area. This is a quote from
what she wrote:
I'm the owner of a small business environmental laboratory
which provides jobs to 29 people in the Baraboo area.
Approximately 60 percent of our work is under direct contract
or is a subcontract on EPA--Environmental Protection Agency--
Department of Defense, and USGS, Forest Service, and NOAA
projects.
This shutdown means that, one, many of our upcoming
projects may be canceled or delayed in a month that was going
to finally make a financial success of my business, and two,
we don't know when we will receive payment on approximately
$300,000 of outstanding invoices, meaning, I don't know how
we'll make our payroll or pay our vendors.
We may be small, but my company brings in close to $2
million a year into Wisconsin from across the country and
have just added three new employees. If an agreement on the
budget isn't reached right away, my little contribution to
the economic recovery will be reversed, or even worse. Please
help find a way out of this mess.
Mr. Speaker, please, for the sake of this small business owner in
Baraboo, Wisconsin, for the sake of the pregnant low-income woman in
Madison, Wisconsin, for the sake of the Federal employees and the
civilian employees on our military bases, for the sake of all the
people who are affected by this government shutdown that the
Republicans have forced upon this country, listen to your own Members.
You don't have to listen to the Democrats. Listen to the 18 Members and
growing on your side who have said this strategy is a failure. It's
time to pass a clean continuing resolution.
If you listen to your Members, a majority of this House--you are not
the speaker of the Tea Party. You are not the speaker from the Office
of Senator Ted Cruz. You are the Speaker of the entire House of
Representatives. And now a majority of this House is demanding a vote,
that we pass a clean continuing resolution at your numbers. You won.
Let's get this country opened, and let's help the economy bounce back
to where it needs to be.
Mr. Speaker, with that, from the Progressive Caucus of Congress, I
yield back the balance of my time.
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