[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 8, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COME TO THE BARGAINING TABLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Benishek) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, why are we here today in the middle of the 
government shutdown? The answer, frankly, is that the Senate refuses to 
come to the table to negotiate.
  The House has passed four different measures that would have kept the 
government open. The Senate has ignored them all.
  Before the government shut down, the House passed a bill which would 
keep the government open and defund the President's health care law. 
Well, it is probable that the Senate wasn't going to support that, but 
I was thinking at least we would be able to get documentation as to 
whether there would be some Democrat support for that.
  That having failed, we passed a second measure to keep the government 
open and simply delay the President's health care law by 1 year. After 
all, the President himself had delayed portions of the law.
  Obviously, that didn't play with the Senate.
  So then we passed another piece of legislation which would have 
funded the government and would have funded the President's health care 
law, but simply would have made the law fairer for all Americans.
  The President changed the law by executive order--a procedure of 
questionable legality--but he changed the law, giving large employers a 
1-year delay in the employer mandate. In other words, employers were 
required to offer insurance or face a fine. The President, by executive 
order, changed the law to delay that for 1 year. We asked simply to 
give the individual the same prerogative that the President gave large 
employers: delay the requirement to buy insurance for 1 year without 
having to pay a fine.
  We also asked that Congress, the President, and the Vice President be 
treated the same as all other Americans. The President changed the law 
by executive order--a procedure of questionable legality--saying that 
Congress would get a different deal in the exchanges than the average 
individual. When I went home to my district in August and did 12 town 
hall meetings, there was universal disgust for that rule.
  So in our proposal to the Senate, we said, We'll fund the government, 
but simply change the rule concerning Congress so that Congress is 
treated the same as every American. Let's change the law so that the 
individual is treated the same as a large employer. I don't see how 
that's holding a gun to anyone's head. That is simply fairness for the 
American people.
  And that was rejected by the Senate.
  Then we simply asked the Senate to come to the table. Well, if this 
proposal, which just makes the law equitable for every American, is 
unacceptable to you, would you please come to the table and let's talk 
about what is acceptable to you. Let's sit down and negotiate.
  Mr. Reagan presided over his terms in office with a Democrat-
controlled House, and yet he worked with Mr. O'Neill and got 
significant legislation done. Mr. Clinton worked with a Republican 
House and got significant legislation done and made real progress with 
welfare reform and many other issues in the Clinton Presidency, but 
they worked across the aisle. They worked with a House of different 
parties and got things done.
  Now we have a President who says, I'm not going to negotiate. We have 
a leader in the Senate who says, I'm not going to negotiate.
  Each part of our government has a role to play--the executive, the 
Senate, the House. Frankly, in the whole history of the Republic, we've 
never had a situation where the President says, I'm not going to 
negotiate, or where one House says to the other House, We're not going 
to negotiate. This is, frankly, unbelievable. It's a step in our 
government which I don't think the American people want.
  This is not about the President's health care law. This is about the 
function of our government and how each section of the government deals 
with each other. I think the American people want it to go in the 
traditional fashion, where the House, the Senate and the President work 
together to find a solution.
  When the Senate refuses to pass legislation and won't even consider 
talking to us, that's not right. We in the House have passed 
legislation to fund FEMA, to fund our national parks, to fund WIC, to 
fund our veterans, to fund the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, 
and the National Guard. By the end of tomorrow, we'll have funded more 
than half the government in this House, and yet the Senate won't take 
any of that up and won't even negotiate with us. We even made sure that 
furloughed employees will be paid.
  The Obama administration has given exceptions to their allies, Big 
Business, and some unions. Why shouldn't the American people be given 
the same kind of treatment?
  The administration and the Senate should come to the bargaining table 
today and end this shutdown.

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