[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 136 (Friday, October 4, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FIND A BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chairman, our House Republicans remain committed to a 
bipartisan solution to reopen the Federal Government for the American 
people. And we continue to act in good faith to find an agreement with 
Senate Democrats to do just that. But to build a bipartisan compromise, 
the Senate needs to come to the table so we can work through our policy 
differences.
  My colleague from Maryland gave a quote from one of our colleagues. 
But he neglected to mention that Senator Harry Reid said, ``Why would 
we pass bills to keep the NIH operating and help children with 
cancer?'' We've offered such a bill. And guess what? One hundred 
seventy-one Democrats voted against pediatric cancer research. One 
hundred seventy-two Democrats voted against funding the national parks. 
One hundred sixty-four Democrats voted against funding veterans 
benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, that doesn't sound like people who want to get the 
government back open. Harry Reid said, ``Why would we want to do a 
piecemeal approach?'' Well, we all know, and the American people know, 
that the way we pass appropriations bills here, and the way we have the 
government running, is by passing individual bills. We have 12 
different bills that we normally pass. The House has passed five and 
sent them to the Senate, and the Senate has acted on none of them. So 
now we are doing it the way it's supposed to be done, under regular 
order. We are bringing the bills to the floor and passing them. And yet 
the Senate will not act on them.
  What about the barriers at the memorials, Mr. Chairman? Isn't it a 
shame that barriers have been put up at our outdoor memorials that have 
never had barriers put up before? They are always open 24-7, 365 days a 
year. Why deny World War II veterans the opportunity to get into their 
own memorial? How petty is that, Mr. Chairman?
  Make no mistake, House Republicans want to reopen government and stop 
shutdown policies before they cause any more pain. But if the Senate 
will not meet with us to build a bipartisan solution to end the 
government shutdown, we'll continue to take the lead to fix problems 
for the American people.
  We want a fair government. And on those two things, an open 
government and a fair government, Democrats and Republicans should 
agree. But there are a few hang-ups. Shouldn't principles of fairness 
apply to ObamaCare? My colleagues in the House and I say yes. Big 
Business and other well-connected groups are getting a 1-year delay 
from ObamaCare, courtesy of the President, to prepare for its drastic 
changes, brace for its higher costs, and study up on its mountains of 
regulation.
  American families and small businesses who apparently don't have the 
same pull with the White House aren't going to get the same treatment. 
And further, many are losing the health care they like and would prefer 
to keep, or are having to find insurance through ObamaCare exchanges 
without any help from their employers. That isn't right. At the very 
minimum, these Americans deserve to have the same delay big businesses 
have to prepare for ObamaCare's drastic changes, brace for its higher 
costs, and study up on its mountain of regulations.
  Mr. Chairman, we remain committed to a bipartisan solution to reopen 
the Federal Government. And that's where we need to go. But rather than 
building off of common ground and fixing those problems for the 
American people, the President and the Senate are reflexively saying 
no. Preserving problems as leverage is wrong.
  Help us do the right thing for the American people. Help us end the 
shutdown and ensure fairness under ObamaCare. It's time for the Senate 
to join us at the negotiating table and achieve fairness for all.

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