[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 136 (Friday, October 4, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6286-H6288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mullin). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) for 30 minutes.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of talk about ObamaCare, as
most people call it. It's just difficult after the hundreds of stories
we're getting from back home--not just me, but so many Members of
Congress. It's just hard to call it the ``Affordable Care Act'' when
we're hearing from so many that are saying, it's so very unaffordable.
It was interesting, so many members of the media were chomping at the
bit to find somebody who was able to get online and sign up for
ObamaCare successfully. They grabbed a young man, Chad Henderson. He
talked Thursday about his Internet experience, applying for insurance
through the Affordable Care Act, through the Web site. So he was kind
of a media icon.
Gee, this young 21-year-old kid, this young man from Georgia got
right on, and signed up for ObamaCare. Then we find the rest of the
story. So many were using his story. Oh, Chad Henderson. He got signed
up very easily.
But here's a story by Kate Harrison today, on Friday, that says:
A day after a 21-year-old Flintstone, Georgia, man became
the subject of national media attention--including a front
page Times Free Press story--for being one of the first
Americans to actually get through ObamaCare's glitchy Web
site and enroll for coverage, he acknowledged that he hadn't
completed that process.
Amidst the initial publicity, Chad Henderson was hailed by
supporters of the Affordable Care Act as an example of the
new system working and was attacked by those against the law
for buying into the plan and for being a volunteer for
Organized for Action, a nonprofit promoting President Barack
Obama's agenda.
Today, a libertarian magazine, Reason, called Henderson's
account into question after a conversation with Henderson's
father, who said that he and his son had not actually bought
a plan off of the ObamaCare site yet.
In an interview today with the Times Free Press, Chad
Henderson confirmed that he hadn't actually purchased a plan,
but he insisted he hadn't lied. He said the confusion was in
the wording.
``I never actually said I purchased a plan,'' he said. ``I
said that I submitted an application, and so I enrolled. I
haven't actually paid for a plan, though I found one that I
liked. I never meant to mislead anyone.''
When he first talked with the Times Free Press on Thursday,
Chad Henderson said he had ``picked'' a bronze plan from Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Georgia that had a premium between $175
and $200. He said that the specific plan fit into his budget,
though he wished it covered more.
In his initial tweet, Henderson said ``Enrolled in
#ObamaCare just now! Looking forward to having affordable
health care for the first time!''
Today, Henderson said he stood by those comments, but
repeated that he never specifically said he had purchased a
plan.
Then Ace of Spades apparently does a lot of online looking and comes
up with some interesting things. He posts this today:
Chad Henderson actually disclosed that he was a partisan
paid to post ``advocacy things'' on social media.
So who's the bad guy here? Chad Henderson was not coy about his
passionate support of Barack Obama or his volunteer (?) position with
OFA. And here he says, ``Something you should know about me,'' and then
discloses he's paid to post advocacy stuff.
And then it has an inset where the following is quoted from his
posting:
I'm often labeled ``the guy who always talks about
politics.'' And it normally has negative affects LOL. So I'm
here to clear things up. If you were to hang out with me one
night, you'll see I'm not that obsessed with politics at all.
Yes, I do post political stuff on here and other social
networking sites, but it's for good reason. For one, I think
it's good if people get some insight into the world they live
in. Secondly, I work for an organization that pays me
quarterly to post the political stuff as advocacy. So it's
kind of my job.
It's kind of the way it seems things go around here. You have people
with the Tea Party who seem to have one thing in common--they all pay
income tax. Different races, age, national origin. I've met people at
Tea Parties from countries all over the world, as I've been around the
country. They pay income tax. They want the government to be
responsible.
And as we've been out each day to the World War II Memorial, where
somebody in the administration thought it would be cute to make
veterans suffer, would create a good visual image of how much
suffering, since they knew 21 out of 21 stories by the mainstream media
would blame the Republicans, which they did. I thought, Wow, if they
will all blame the Republicans even though they appointed negotiators,
ask us to just negotiate, we wouldn't negotiate. We told them we
wouldn't negotiate because we knew the mainstream media would blame
everybody on the Republican side so we could do whatever we wanted. So
let's create as much pain in this country as we possibly can because
the mainstream media will help us ensure that the American people are
duped into believing Republicans are to blame.
So this was the game from the beginning. There were no paid veterans
out there from World War II to see the memorial that was constructed to
them. They were out there hoping to roll in their wheelchairs down the
granite open sidewalks, around the outdoor open air memorial that was
constructed in such a way it would never have to be closed, that it
could be open 24/7.
And I can tell you, I've been down there all hours of the day and
night--10 p.m., 10 a.m., 2 a.m., 4 a.m. And no, I don't drink. I just
go down there sometimes with folks to see the memorials that were
constructed for America. And most of the time, I don't see any park
rangers, no Park Service people.
But someone in this administration, some people in this
administration thought it would be really cute to put barricades up at
the World War II Memorial, the open air granite sidewalk, open 24/7
without guards most of the time, that would be cute. Because that would
really play well in the media.
Then we find out, as protesters came down there as we were getting
some more veterans in this week, Patrick Poole, a reporter, had his
camera going when he saw these protesters, these union protesters
coming, protesting supposedly because they're Federal workers who were
put out of a job and are out there protesting, demanding Republicans
get them back to work.
When one with a McDonald's employee shirt on was asked about--they
saw the McDonald's shirt, Patrick said, How much are you getting paid
to come protest? And he says into the camera, $15. Well, it took an
SEIU supervisor, who must have put the whole thing together, to come
running over eventually to explain, Oh, but he works as a franchisee in
a museum. He was not a Federal worker. He worked for McDonald's, and he
got paid $15 to go protest down where these World War II veterans in
wheelchairs were just trying to enjoy a moment which for so many of
them was very poignant, very emotional as they thought about their time
in the Atlantic, in the Pacific, fighting for freedom in lands so far
from home.
To some, it's a game. We heard the leak from the administration that,
Why would we bring this shutdown to an end in this Obama administration
when we're winning, as if it were a game.
[[Page H6287]]
People know that right here at this podium, I have criticized Speaker
John Boehner. Let me tell you, he had it right today when he said, This
is not a game. You're playing with people's lives. But apparently, it's
a game to some.
In the Organizing for America, the new-found ACORN that's gotten all
this money to support the President's agenda, they're organizing,
they're lobbying like crazy and, apparently, paying people to come
protest and create havoc where some World War II vets are just trying
to observe their memorial. It's not a game to them.
It's apparently a game to some in this administration who are not
satisfied to close the Normandy Cemetery. We heard from some from Texas
who had been scraping their money together because they knew the
patriarch of their family may not have long--certainly would not have
another chance in his life to go back to Normandy, where he fought,
where his friends died. They scraped together money and got him over
there only to find that whoever it is in this administration--and it
starts at the top, and it stops at the top--but whoever made the call
decided, let's inflict emotional pain and suffering not only on the
World War II vets--that will look good because the Republicans will be
blamed--but how about over in Normandy. People get clear! Oh, yes, that
will be great, won't it?
Because the mainstream media, they'll blame Republicans. And then
they'll be furious at them. And just like whoever it was in the
administration today that said, You know, why would we stop the
shutdown? We're winning. They think they're winning when Americans
travel before the end of their lives to see where they fought for
liberty and their friends died for liberty and their friends are buried
there. Some kind of game. This is not a game. These are people's lives.
Here's a report from Todd Starnes today entitled, ``Catholic Priests
in Military Face Arrest for Celebrating Mass'':
The U.S. military has furloughed as many as 50 Catholic
chaplains due to the partial suspension of government
services, banning them from celebrating weekend mass. At
least one chaplain was told that if he engaged in any
ministry activity, he would be subjected to disciplinary
action.
{time} 2030
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese said:
In very practical terms, it means Sunday mass won't be
offered. If someone has a baptism scheduled, it won't be
celebrated.
They were told they cannot function because those are contracted
services and since there's no funding, they can't do it even if they
volunteer.
John Schlageter, general counsel for the archdiocese, said any
furloughed priest volunteering their services could face big trouble.
He said:
During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to administer
on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do
so.
Look, one thing we know for sure about the military, the Commander in
Chief is in charge. And I know there are a lot of distractions, but
somebody needs to get word to the Commander in Chief that his military
members are not going to be allowed to get to mass if they are Catholic
and their Catholic priest has been told that he can be arrested if he
shows up on post because the Commander in Chief can give an order and
that's gone, and every Catholic priest that wishes to volunteer that
has got clearance will be back on that post or base to provide mass.
For goodness sake, we have more suicides in our military now than at
any time in the history of the country. You might have thought that
would have been at Valley Forge. But, no, it's now and in this time in
this country's history. Good grief, Mr. President, let the Catholic
masses go. Rescind the order that you won't even let them volunteer
there. They are people that are serving this President, Mr. Speaker,
that deserve to have the comfort of their spiritual ministers.
My friends here, I respect and I really do, I appreciated their
comments because as they've indicated they're freshmen and they are
new. They talked about the Democrats and they talked about to get
budget conferees. Wow, after all these years, the Senate finally passes
an unrealistic budget, after the President waited longer than any other
time and violated the law to get a budget out, and he put it out at a
time when it was past time to be helpful. We are way beyond budgets at
this time.
The Federal Government in this country is in a new year fiscally, so
budgets are not what does it now. Now we are into appropriations; and
before the shutdown we had a bill that after three compromises were
offered, we said, okay, here's our negotiators, all you have to do,
Harry Reid, appoint negotiators and we can have this done by morning
and the people in the country won't even have to know. At least send
negotiators. And as we have found out today, the administration does
not want to end the shutdown because they believe they are winning this
game while real people are suffering.
I heard my friend, my heart went out to Joshua, a military member who
was in the military for 5 years, 1 year longer than I served, and he
couldn't find a job, and now he's told his benefits are about to end at
the end of the month if the government is still shut down. He can't
find a job, and he may have to apply for food stamps.
Well, I would think my Democratic colleagues would come and say, you
know what, ObamaCare clearly has done damage, just as the economists
have said it would, and it has, and businesses have repeatedly told us
it was going to create havoc in the workplace, and it has. And we have
ongoing reports of businesses, because of ObamaCare, having to lay off
full-time employees and put them to part-time so that they can continue
to be competitive and stay in business. And some have said even doing
that because of ObamaCare, they are going to be crushed. They may not
make the year in business. So, yes, our hearts go out to Joshua. Let's
at least stop ObamaCare for a year. It isn't working, and it has got
people not working, and it is costing people more than they ever
dreamed it would cost.
Here's another from one of my constituents:
I just ran quotes for one of my insurance clients in
Marshall, a family of four. I was shocked when their premiums
were not lower than their current rate. President Obama said
insurance rates would go down $2,500 per year in one of his
many speeches in the past. I have to quote one of my heroes
and one of your fellow Congressmen who said ``You lie.''
Please note a $2,121.12 increase for this family if they
change their insurance to an approved ObamaCare plan for
2014.
So that's about a $4,600 swing wrong from what the President said.
This says:
I did not attend Harvard, but I can add and subtract. This
family's current cost is $706 per month. The new and improved
government-approved plan is $882.76 per month, and this is
the lowest price for this family.
He goes on. It's a lengthy letter. He's obviously upset for clients
who are not going to keep the same insurance at the same rate. We have
heard from so many who have lost their doctor, lost their insurance.
Here's another. This one has quotes from a letter he got.
``Dear Paul.'' It has his full name. He's another one of my
constituents.
Thank you for trusting Anthem with your health plan. We
recently sent you a letter explaining how you can continue
your coverage with us. If you've already chosen to change
your policy effective date and extend your coverage through
December 1, 2014, then we'd like to thank you for your
continued patronage. You can disregard the message below.
However, if you have not decided on your health plan for the
coming year, you need to know that your current plan is being
discontinued. Starting January 1, 2014, we're no longer able
to offer or renew your plan because it doesn't meet the
requirements of the new health care reform laws. Your new
plan, Anthem Core DirectAccess, is available at $224.25 per
month.
Paul says:
I currently have a plan that costs me $65 a month, and I
have a $5,000 deductible. It just covers me. The new plan
with the same benefits is 3.45 times what I am currently
paying.
He's pretty upset so I won't read everything he says. But he says:
My wife and I now have to make rather large sacrifices to
raise the extra $1,908 so we can keep a plan that is already
mediocre.
I won't read the rest of that. He's pretty upset.
We got another insight into the strategy. Here's a story from Wesley
Pruden:
The games politicians play: Barack Obama is having a lot of
fun using the government shutdown to squeeze the public in
imaginative ways. The point of the shutdown game is to see
who can squeeze hardest, make the
[[Page H6288]]
most pious speech and listen for the applause. It is a
variation on the grade school ritual of ``you show me yours,
I'll show you mine.''
President Obama is not a bad poker player, but the man with
all the chips always starts with the advantage and he gets
all of the aces. He has closed Washington down as tight as he
dares, emphasizing the trivial and the petty in making life
as inconvenient as he can for the greatest number. It's all
in a noble cause, of course. Access to most memorials is
limited and often in curious ways. The Lincoln Memorial is
easy to reach, with the streets around it remaining open. But
the Martin Luther King Memorial is made difficult to reach,
relegating it, you might say, to the back of the bus. Not
very nice.
The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim
and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount
Vernon where the plantation home of George Washington is a
favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the
new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World
War II, but the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is
privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The
ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national
memorial. The Feds closed access to the parking lots this
week even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount
Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and
they're only here to help. ``It's a cheap way to deal with
the situation,'' an angry Park Service rangers says of the
harassment. ``We've been told to make life as difficult for
people as we can. Its disgusting.''
So for somebody here in Washington at least who is giving park
rangers orders to make life as difficult as possible, it is a game.
There was a time in America when we had a President, we had Congress
Members who would encourage people in this country that there was
always a way to make something happen. And the volunteer spirit across
this land made us the envy of the world because people volunteered. We
could do anything. And yet people around Washington have seen just what
the park ranger said. They've been told make things as difficult as
possible. So here is a playground in Washington, D.C., that never has a
Federal officer there supervising it I'm told by people whose children
play their constantly, but they found a need to go lock it up and
somebody spent a bunch of money all over this town printing up new
things to emphasize not just closed, I'm sure they have plenty of
closed signs they could use, oh, no, we have to print up all new signs
that say because of the Federal Government shutdown, this National Park
Service facility is closed. And they're putting it in places that isn't
even National Park Service facilities.
Well, they're following their orders. They're making life as
difficult as they can for as many as they can.
Here's another: ``Because of the Federal Government shutdown, all
national parks are closed,'' and this one is at the World War II
Memorial. See the wide open sidewalks. They're made of granite. They're
not going to hurt them. I can tell you, there are enough veterans,
there are enough people, those of us who have served, we're not going
to let people deface this. Yes, it is possible somebody could sneak
down there in the night and do that. And I can tell you they could
sneak down there and do it at night even with the barricades. So the
only people that barricades like this stop are people like our World
War II veterans in wheelchairs because somebody has given the order,
the disgusting order, to make life as difficult as possible for as many
people as possible, maybe they'll blame, they will surely blame the
Republicans, even though we're the ones who refused to even appoint
negotiators to negotiate, as called for in the Constitution, the law,
and the rules of the House and the rules of the Senate. I didn't like
the idea of appointing conferees. It was basically a capitulation. All
right, all right, you didn't like our compromises, here's our people to
compromise. You don't have to worry, I wasn't one of those that Speaker
Boehner appointed, and you wouldn't even appoint people to come sit
down and talk about it.
Instead, rushing around all over the place, shutting places like the
Moore Park, the Moore family farm that has been around since George
Washington days in the 1700s. It hasn't taken a Federal dime since
1980.
{time} 2045
They sent park rangers over to Virginia Tuesday to run the McLean
Chamber of Commerce out of the farm, costing the farm money, costing
the Chamber all kinds of headaches as they tried to relocate, for no
reason other than what we have learned is someone gave the order to
make life as difficult as you can.
So this farm that really gets a lot of business in fall--this is
their prime time--the director says they have lost $20,000 because they
rented barricades to put up to block a park that doesn't get a dime of
Federal money.
People all over the country are finding the same thing. And it's time
it stopped. This is not a game. Let's help Americans for a change.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________