[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 141 (Thursday, October 10, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6476-H6482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN THE GOLDEN STATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, today, I will be hosting a number of Members 
from my home State of California, a State in which the population is so 
diverse and in which the culture is so rich that it is often described 
as a microcosm of America.
  Every language, every nationality, every ethnicity is represented in 
the Golden State--a State that is the 12th-largest economy in the 
world. California's economy is so big that its GDP rivals that of some 
full-blown, industrialized nations, including those of Australia, 
Spain, Mexico, and South Korea. The economy in California is crucial to 
the national economy.
  I am here tonight with my colleagues to speak against the government 
shutdown that has been manufactured and orchestrated by the House 
Republicans--a shutdown that is harming the national economy, a 
shutdown that is harming the California economy and a shutdown that is 
harming the very communities that we represent.
  In my district, the 41st District, which represents Riverside, Moreno 
Valley, Perris, the largest employer is March Air Reserve Base, with 
8,500 people working at the base in some capacity. When the shutdown 
hit, 500 of these workers were affected by the furloughs. While 
Congress passed legislation allowing these employees to go back to 
work, roughly 1,000 National Guardsmen at the base still will not be 
able to drill this month and will not receive pay.
  It is not just our servicemembers who are hurt by this reckless 
shutdown. Low-income children in my district are suffering, too. The 
Riverside County Office of Education receives Federal funding through 
the Head Start program in order to provide childhood development 
services and to promote school readiness for children under the age of 
5. Because of this shutdown, the county is not able to draw down their 
grant money, jeopardizing these vital services for nearly 3,500 young 
children in my county.
  About an hour east of my district is Joshua Tree National Park, where 
92 park employees were given furlough notices. When the shutdown 
happened, park rangers were forced to notify campers that they had to 
vacate the park within 48 hours. There are 7,000 people a day who visit 
Joshua Tree National Park, and this shutdown is estimated to cost 
nearly $8,000 a day.
  Not just the park and its employees are going to suffer; local 
businesses will suffer as well. A cafe next to the park normally has a 
line out the door. The other day, the manager reported that the cafe 
made only $39. This is a small business, Mr. Speaker.
  We have to end this shutdown, not just for the furloughed public 
employees but for small businesses like that cafe.
  I am very pleased to be joined by several of my California 
colleagues, the first of whom is from southern California, the 
distinguished gentleman, Alan Lowenthal. He represents the cities of 
Long Beach, Garden Grove and Cypress. He sits on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources.
  I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California's 47th District.
  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you, Congressman Takano.

[[Page H6477]]

  Our economy, as you pointed out, is being held hostage by Speaker 
Boehner for his refusal to put forth a clean budget funding bill, what 
is called a ``continuing resolution,'' after we Democrats agreed to use 
his number. This is keeping us from really dealing with the real job of 
Congress also, which is to create jobs and to grow the economy.
  I've been talking to people in my district to get some specific 
examples of some of the impacts of this irresponsible shutdown. Then I 
would like to also talk about some of the personal experiences that 
people have called me and told me about.
  For example, in terms of one of my cities, the largest city in my 
district--the city of Long Beach--I will talk about the Small Business 
Administration, the SBA. In the 47th Congressional District, the SBA 
gives approximately $308,000 in loans per day. It has not given out one 
loan to small businesses in California's 47th Congressional District 
since the government was shut down.
  What about Women, Infants, and Children, the WIC program? In Long 
Beach alone, 25,000 women and children use WIC vouchers. That is to 
keep people from starving. That is to provide food. That funding runs 
out this month, and there is no other money to provide any funding for 
the WIC program.
  What about housing? There are 23,000 people in the city of Long 
Beach, and 6,600 housing units receive section 8 vouchers. They pay 
their rent once a month with these vouchers, and those apartments and 
those units get reimbursed by the government. There will be no payments 
to landlords in the city of Long Beach with section 8 vouchers.

                              {time}  1445

  But that is just kind of the overview. What about some of the 
specifics?
  Over 20 years ago, a dear friend of mine opened a card shop right 
near our house in part of the revitalization. I don't want to mention 
his name, but he opens this shop in the city, works very well, part of 
the revitalization.
  About a year and a half ago, he hurts his leg, goes to the hospital, 
and finds out that he has, unfortunately, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. 
This past December, he loses his business because he can no longer 
operate, and today he lies in his living room almost totally paralyzed 
and barely able to breath on oxygen.
  His partner of 24 years--he and his partner adopted a child 19 years 
ago, who is now 19--his partner is employed by the Department of 
Defense. He was furloughed. So my dear friend and his partner do not 
know how they are going to pay their mortgage as he lies in his living 
room gasping for air. This is not the America that we know.
  I have another constituent who is a young lieutenant in a local 
police agency, local law enforcement agency. After 2 years of applying 
and going through all the applications to enter the Federal Bureau of 
Investigations, an 11-week training program here in Washington, 211 of 
the most selected and highly chosen people throughout 48 States and 24 
nations arrived last Monday and Tuesday--they closed down the FBI 
training facility. All the instructors were furloughed. He will lose 
his opportunity, the one opportunity to move forward that he had, 
because we and the Speaker will not bring up--this Congress cannot act, 
and the Speaker will not bring up a clean funding bill.
  I will close by bringing up one other email that I received:

       Currently, an exempt Federal employee working but not being 
     paid, I will be defaulting on my mortgage, unable to pay 
     several obligations. However, stay strong in your resolve. Do 
     not succumb to extortion. We, the people, are suffering. Your 
     colleagues are clueless and, apparently, heartless as well. 
     Please remind them who they work for--we, the people. I am a 
     civil servant. So are Congressmen and Congresswomen. It is 
     time for a wake-up call in the Capitol.

  Mr. TAKANO. Thank you, Mr. Lowenthal. I appreciate it. I know you 
have to run on to a committee, and good luck.
  Next, I now yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), my 
friend and colleague from the Second District, a great leader in the 
environment, somebody who, in the California Legislature, authored some 
landmark bills that have improved the environment. He is also among one 
of the most progressive Members of this body. I sit with him in the 
Progressive Caucus. Representative Jared Huffman of California's Second 
District, which includes the cities of Crescent City, Fort Bragg, San 
Rafael, and other cities. He sits on the Budget Committee as well as 
the Committee on Natural Resources.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. I want to thank my friend from inland southern 
California very much for including me in this Special Order hour.
  There are so many ways in which this Republican government shutdown 
is hurting the people of California, hurting the people of my district. 
But I just wanted to speak for a few minutes about some very particular 
ways in my district that people are feeling the pain.
  The Second District of California is an amazing place. I am honored 
to represent it. One of the things that makes it special are the 
abundant public lands. We have protected coasts, parks, recreation 
areas, forests, and wilderness areas. These public lands are essential 
to our region's tourism, recreation, and resource economy.
  The north coast's tourism economy is a big deal. It creates $3.5 
billion in annual tourism spending, more than 42,000 jobs, and nearly 
$225 million in local and State tax revenue. Visitors from all over 
America--and, in fact, all over the world--come to our public lands. 
Thanks to the Republican shutdown, much of that economic activity is 
grinding to a halt.
  The Point Reyes National Seashore is closed. In 2011, this seashore 
received 2.1 million visitors and brought in $93.3 million in economic 
activity to the area. The shutdown is starting to impact small business 
owners in and around the park in West Marin. These are folks who 
subsist on the tourism dollars that this world-famous seashore and 
working landscape attracts.
  Nearby, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area is also closed. That 
collection of lands welcomes 14.5 million visitors a year. The spending 
on an annual basis is nearly $300 million for the region because of 
that visitation. The commissaries and vendors right now are shut down. 
They aren't purchasing the locally-sourced food that they serve. They 
are further hurting the Marin and Sonoma County farms and dairies 
because of that shutdown.
  Tourism is one of the most important drivers of Mendocino County's 
economy further to the north. It pumps in $314 million directly to that 
county's economy. That was in the year 2011. Seventy-four percent of 
the visitors to the county come to the public lands--lands that are now 
closed.
  What about California's redwood coast further north in Humboldt 
County? You guessed it: Redwood National Park is being forced to turn 
away visitors.
  Yet, in response to the shutdown, this House has spent the last week 
voting on Band-Aid bills that attempt to pit one part of government or 
one program against all the others. This is a surreal proposition: the 
idea that our economy is hemorrhaging more than $300 million a day 
because of this political stunt and our GOP majority offers these Band-
Aid bills that aren't going to end it. The Senate is not going to take 
up and approve these bills, and the President has made it clear that he 
would veto them even if they did. So this is not going to solve the 
problem; but that, unfortunately, is how we have been spending our 
time.
  These are not honest attempts to restore funding for our public 
lands. They wouldn't begin to undo the damage that this shutdown is 
doing to our resources and our recreational industries. The House 
majority is pursuing a cynical PR strategy. It is creating Hollywood 
storefronts rather than seriously trying to reopen our government.
  Even if these piecemeal bills were to pass, let's not pretend that it 
would solve the problem. To give you just one example, one of the Band-
Aid bills that we debated and voted on over the last week pretended to 
reopen our parks, and yet it would not reopen--it completely ignores, 
in fact--the 2.4 million acres of National Forest Service land. There 
are many other examples of park and recreation areas and public lands 
that would have been left behind and still subject to the government 
shutdown.
  In my congressional district, we have major Forest Service lands and 
a Forest Service presence. Many people in

[[Page H6478]]

businesses rely on our national forests being open for business. Just 
this week, I got word that a salvage logging operation in the Shasta-
Trinity National Forest is at risk of being shut down because of where 
we are with this Republican government shutdown. This is a salvage 
logging operation in the wake of a serious fire that we have seen. It 
is a consensus project to harvest trees, to avoid public hazards, to do 
something that is good for the forest, good for the local economy, and 
it is at risk of not happening because of this political stunt. This is 
causing real economic damage and potentially real fire safety damage to 
the communities that I represent.

  So let's stop posturing. Let's stop the PR stunts. Let's stop the 
Hollywood storefronts. Stop deflecting, stop insulting the intelligence 
of the American people. Let's have an up or down vote to reopen our 
public lands and, indeed, to reopen our government.
  Mr. TAKANO. Thank you, Mr. Huffman. If you want to--care to stay just 
a few minutes to have a little back-and-forth.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. I would.
  Mr. TAKANO. We come from different parts of our great State of 
California. I know we both share a deep love for our State. I have been 
to your district, to Sonoma and the great forests that you have in your 
district. It is a terrible thing to see, just as California is coming 
out of this recession--I don't know about you, but I visited a number 
of these businesses during the congressional break, during the work 
period, during August and early September, and there were so many 
hopeful stories about people saying, We have gotten through this hump, 
we have gotten through the worst of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 recession. 
There was even talk that real estate in my area of the State, which was 
hit hard, was coming back. I told all these folks I am so glad to hear 
these wonderful stories.
  I just hope that we don't, in Washington, end up, through any 
unnecessary actions, irresponsible and reckless actions, set back the 
gains that we have made. I don't know about you, but in my district, 
certainly, I can see how shutting down the government and threatening 
to not raise the debt ceiling would have just tremendous adverse 
consequences on the twelfth largest economy in the world.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. There is no doubt about it. I think you are exactly 
right. Of course, prior to my election in Congress, I spent 6 years in 
the California Legislature, where we had our own fiscal crises and, 
yes, at times the government practically shut down. We worked through 
it. We found compromise.
  You are absolutely right, Congressman. California is on the verge of 
a tremendous comeback. Jobs are coming in; investment is coming into 
our State. Things are really beginning to happen in a great way in the 
State of California after a tough period.
  Just as it seems we are getting started, along comes this Federal 
Government shutdown with so many impacts to our economy. The debates 
that we have here in Washington don't even scratch the surface of how 
this is hurting people and undermining consumer confidence and setting 
us back in places like California, where we have the potential to do 
enormous things in terms of research and so many other ways we 
contribute to the national economy.
  Mr. TAKANO. Thank you so much for coming down to speak about how this 
shutdown, this GOP-imposed shutdown, manufactured shutdown, and how 
this threat to not raise the debt limit is jeopardizing our entire 
Nation. But we in California are a tremendous engine behind the whole 
big picture of the economic mind of our country. An economy which 
represents 12 percent of the global economy is nothing to be cavalier 
about.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Absolutely. As we talk about this incredible economic 
damage and risk that politicians are taking with our economy, what I am 
hearing from my district is how incredulous people are because there is 
such an obvious and simple solution and way forward.
  Let's have an up-or-down vote on whether we should continue this 
government shutdown or end it, and even end it, at least temporarily, 
on Republican budget numbers. That seems so eminently reasonable and 
sensible. In fact, it was the deal that one House struck and advanced 
out of that House with bipartisan action. Yet here we are in the House 
of Representatives with a small faction rejecting that deal, holding 
the entire country's economy potentially hostage for political reasons. 
It is just something my constituents can't understand.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman.
  Now, I would like to recognize the distinguished gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Negrete McLeod), a Representative from a neighboring 
district, California's 35th District. I have known Congresswoman Gloria 
Negrete McLeod, gosh, more than 20 years, when we both began our 
careers as community college trustees. It is such a great honor to 
serve alongside her and sit in this Chamber sometimes when we are 
voting. She sits on the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, on which I also sit. We are both committed to the 
huge veterans population that we have in the inland empire of the 
region of California that we both represent in inland southern 
California.
  Mrs. NEGRETE McLEOD. Thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, with each day that passes that the Nation is in 
government shutdown, we put the very livelihood of Americans and the 
economy in uncertainty: like the over 3,800 Federal employees who live 
in the 35th Congressional District, these are all hardworking men and 
women in the Federal Government workforce; like the constituent who 
wrote us asking why death benefits for veterans were not being paid 
out; like the dairy owner that called this very morning and wanted to 
know why they had not received money that was owed to them from the 
Federal Government.

                              {time}  1500

  These are just a few of the cases that are going on in my district; 
and while progress has been made in the Nation's economic recovery from 
the greatest recession since the last depression, the Federal 
Government's shutdown hampers that very recovery. The shutdown sends a 
bad message to the business community, that government is unreliable.
  The 35th District's constituents are not being helped by the Small 
Business Administration because of the shutdown. The SBA is currently 
approving zero general small business, real estate, and equipment 
loans. This hurts the economic development of California's 35th 
Congressional District.
  Last year, the SBA approved almost $500,000 a day in small business, 
real estate, and equipment loans in my district. This money enabled job 
growth and benefited the community by spurring economic development in 
the region. This equates to more than $1 billion not currently being 
lent to small businesses across the country in 1 month. Businesses in 
my district, the State, and across the Nation are losing money every 
day because of the government shutdown. We should be helping businesses 
start up and grow. We should be doing everything we can to grow jobs 
and grow our economy. Congress should not be an impediment that slows 
prosperity in America.
  Without a solution to the Federal Government shutdown, low-income 
women and children will suffer without programs that Congress fought 
hard to secure. Federally funded programs like the Women, Infants, and 
Children program, commonly known as WIC, is at risk of having its 
funding diminished under a government shutdown. WIC provides nutrition 
education and healthy foods, enabling families to make lifelong healthy 
eating and lifestyle choices.
  In California alone, 1.5 million low-income women and children will 
be impacted should Congress not act to end this shutdown. This is at a 
time when 27 percent of California's children are considered to be food 
insecure, children lacking access to enough food or nutritionally 
adequate food.
  Letting a government shutdown occur when children's nutrition is at 
risk is irresponsible. Let us be part of the solution and end political 
gamesmanship that hurts average Americans. Let us feed America's hungry 
children. Let us get businesses back to business and help America 
prosper.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank my friend and colleague, the gentlelady from 
California's 35th Congressional District, Gloria Negrete McLeod.

[[Page H6479]]

  Now I yield to a true champion of small business. She sits on the 
Small Business Committee, as well as the Judiciary Committee. 
Representative Judy Chu has been a friend of mine in California. I know 
her from various roles we have played in California governance. She 
represents California's 27th District, which includes Pasadena, 
Rosemead, Monterey Park, and many other communities. I yield to the 
gentlelady.
  Ms. CHU. I thank Congressman Takano.
  Last week, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers all 
across the country got a notice from the Federal Office of Justice 
Programs that as of last Friday, thanks to this Republican shutdown, 
they will not be able to draw down the funds they normally rely on and 
may have to stop operating.
  The shelters in my district showed me the notice, and it gave us all 
chills. They would be forced to shut their doors, leaving abused 
victims and children with nowhere else to turn.
  Just yesterday, I was in a Judiciary hearing in which an advocate 
said that their agency had just seen a young girl who was beaten, 
tortured, and raped for 5 hours. If these centers are not open, where 
is a girl like this to go?
  As a former rape crisis counselor, I know firsthand the damage that 
domestic violence and sexual assault causes. We can't just leave these 
victims to fend for themselves, vulnerable to their abusers at the most 
critical times of their lives. That is why agencies in my district, 
like YWCA Wangs Haven House, the San Gabriel Valley Center, Asian 
Women's Center, and House of Ruth, exist, to help victims get their 
lives together.
  This GOP shutdown is beyond shameful; it is disgusting. Enough 
already. It is time to end the shutdown. It is time to let us vote.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the very distinguished ranking 
member of the Committee on Financial Services. I have known 
Representative Maxine Waters also for a number of years, more than I 
care to even sort of count. She represents California's 43rd District, 
which includes south Los Angeles, Hawthorne, and Inglewood.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Takano for organizing 
this very special Special Order so that we can talk about what is 
happening with our great State of California.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to once again call for an end to this 
unnecessary government shutdown and talk about the significant 
consequences it is having for the people of my district, California's 
43rd.
  The recession hit the people of my district hard. Delinquencies, 
foreclosures, and job losses crippled our economy and our 
neighborhoods. Five years later, we are just beginning to emerge from 
these hard times.
  But the irresponsibility of the Republican Party has threatened our 
fragile recovery. Their strategy, planned and financed by extremists 
like the Koch brothers, Heritage Action, and the Club For Growth, is to 
hold the American people and the economy hostage in order to push an 
extremist ideology.
  Their desire to eliminate the Affordable Care Act is misguided, 
wrong, and harmful to the American people. The Affordable Care Act is 
the law of the land. It has been validated by the reelection of 
President Obama and supported by the Supreme Court of the United States 
of America. It is settled law, and we should not be threatening 
American jobs and the American economy to repeal it.

  Mr. Speaker, veterans in my district are being harmed by the 
shutdown. If this unnecessary stalemate does not end by November 1, the 
Veterans Affairs Department will not be able to issue checks to more 
than 5 million beneficiaries. This is unacceptable.
  In addition, small businesses in my district are being severely 
harmed. The Small Business Administration's lending program has been 
stopped, and the process to obtain government contracts has also been 
halted. In 2012, the SBA approved over $366,000 in small business, real 
estate, and equipment loans every day in my district. Each day this 
senseless shutdown continues, hundreds of thousands of dollars in 
economic development all across my district is being undermined.
  In Torrance, Inglewood, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Los Angeles 
itself, retail stores, restaurants, and small businesses are hurting 
because of the shutdown. Prominent business groups in my district, such 
as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Torrance Chamber of 
Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, California Manufacturers and 
Technology Association, and 14 other local chambers of commerce across 
the State have all said that the impacts of a shutdown could be harmful 
and disruptive to their businesses.
  The Republican Party likes to talk about how much they support small 
businesses, but when extremist billionaires like the Koch brothers 
start throwing their money around, Republicans tell small business 
owners, You are on your own.
  The Head Start program, which has put thousands of children on a 
solid path to a well-rounded education, has effectively closed services 
in many States and regions across the country. California is no 
exception. I am outraged that our Nation's children are suffering the 
consequences of these Republican games. The Republican sequester 
already cut 57,000 children from Head Start. This program is a crucial 
lifeline in my district, combating poverty and making our communities 
safer, better places to live. We need to restore it today.
  Finally, I want to discuss the shutdown's serious impact on 
California's fledgling housing market. My district's housing market is 
finally finding its footing after years of instability. The Republican 
shutdown is throwing a massive wrench in that process. A prolonged 
shutdown will cause tremendous harm to home buyers seeking to close on 
mortgage loans. These delays are detrimental to all home buyers, but 
particularly those who are buying for the first time.
  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will mark the first paycheck many affected 
employees will miss as a result of the shutdown. These are hardships 
many in my district cannot afford. Each day this senseless shutdown 
continues risks further irreparable damage to my district's economy, 
families, and businesses. It must end now.
  Just yesterday, we heard more bad news for our State. Governor Jerry 
Brown announced that he will soon be forced to make the difficult 
decision of whether the State will pay for the continued operation of 
Federal programs used by millions of Californians. These include 
programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 
subsidized school meals, and nutrition assistance for pregnant women 
and infants, all of which could be interrupted in November.
  I urge my Republican colleagues to stop using the American people and 
the American economy as pawns in this debate. It is time for the 
Republican Party to end this ridiculous game and open the government 
today.
  I thank Congressman Takano for organizing this very important Special 
Order.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentlelady for participating. We both love 
our State. It is such an honor to serve with you in this body.
  I now yield to the distinguished gentleman who represents 
California's 29th District. He sits on the Committee on Natural 
Resources, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the 
Committee on the Budget, Representative Tony Cardenas, who was also 
formerly of the California State Legislature. His district includes the 
cities of Van Nuys, North Hollywood, and other areas of the San 
Fernando Valley.
  Mr. CARDENAS. I thank my colleague for yielding me this time, and 
thank you for putting this opportunity together, Congressman Takano.
  It is a great opportunity to speak here today. I would like to speak 
to what this is costing my district, and this is just a microcosm of 
what this Republican shutdown is costing all districts in America, all 
communities in the United States of America.

[[Page H6480]]

  Recently, some of my colleagues here in the House have chosen to harm 
America, harm American families, seniors, veterans, and businesses 
across the country. They have refused to do their job of providing a 
budget for America, a budget which would simply pay our Nation's bills. 
Ladies and gentlemen, this is something every family in America has to 
do. We must pass a reasonable budget. We must reopen our government. 
Every day we sit on the sidelines, American families and businesses are 
losing. They are suffering. There is $300 million in economic loss 
every day. That is $300 million a day, poof, gone.
  When I am at home talking to the people I am proud to represent, 
their number one concern is creating well-paying American jobs. This 
Republican shutdown demonstrates how out of touch the party is with the 
needs of working-class families who are focused on feeding their 
families and making ends meet. This Republican shutdown hurts America.
  In my district alone, the shutdown has stalled the completion of a 
major project for the Mission City Community Network, a health network 
that provides medical, dental, and mental health services. Once 
construction is completed--eventually--they will be able to help 10,000 
patients a year going forward. However, this program is stalled because 
Republicans refuse to allow a vote on a budget.
  Congress needs to stop the fighting and should focus on growing our 
economy. The uncertainty about how long the shutdown will last is 
crippling our economy. The possibility of defaulting on America's bills 
is having a serious and negative impact on our position as the greatest 
country in the world.

                              {time}  1515

  It is important for the government to provide stability and security 
for the people and businesses in our country, and the world is watching 
us.
  This shutdown has sent 800,000 Americans home, telling them don't go 
to work. For example, in my district, I have a Federal building where 
hundreds of Americans work every single day serving my community. I 
went to that building just a few days ago, and it is closed down. The 
only person that I found working there now is one security guard.
  American families cannot afford to wait on Republicans who are 
holding the Nation's economy hostage. For example, even children are 
affected. Head Start programs in my district are wondering how long 
they are going to be able to keep their doors open before they turn 
those children away. Every time we say that those 800,000 people are 
not going to work, those government workers, just ask the corner 
grocery store, the restaurants how they feel about this shutdown. It is 
affecting everybody, public and private businesses alike.
  I want to bring to your attention that it was just reported to me 
that the districts around Los Angeles, including the one that I 
represent, that every day the average amount of money that is lent to 
small businesses is $360,000 in loans a day from the Small Business 
Administration. That is more than $7.5 million per month. Last year in 
our district, more than $84 million in loans were approved. That is the 
equivalent of 2,400 new jobs last year. That is good government at 
work. However, now that the Republican shutdown is in full force and in 
place, zero dollars are being lent out through the SBA in my district. 
That means zero new jobs every single day that the Republican shutdown 
is in place.
  I am very proud to say that I grew up in a family where my mother and 
father made ends meet to raise us 11 American citizens, and I am very 
proud that they raised us in a nice, clean, good environment. I have 
brothers and sisters who have gone to college to get their doctorate 
degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees; and I am very proud to 
say I worked with my engineering degree for a while, but then I decided 
to strike out on my own and run my own business. I know what it is like 
when a business is trying to grow. And when you don't have access to 
capital, you don't grow; if you don't grow, you don't create new jobs.
  I just wanted to make sure that people understand what it means when 
the Federal SBA stops lending money. When they stop lending money, new 
jobs stop in communities throughout America.
  House Republicans must allow us to do the one thing Americans want 
more than anything else from our Congress, and that is to let us pay 
our bills, let us act responsibly, and let us put Americans back to 
work. It is simply that, ladies and gentlemen.
  Let's get back to work in this Congress. Let's get this government 
back to work. Let's reinvigorate an economy that was barely starting to 
get back on its feet but has been shut down.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman.
  I now yield to my friend and colleague, Representative Mike Honda, 
from the 17th District. I know you, Mr. Honda, have been a former 
school principal. You have been in local government as a county 
supervisor, I think, of Santa Clara County. You have served in this 
body, I think, since 1996. It is an honor to serve with you, and I know 
we both love our great State of California. We are very anxious and sad 
over the potential impacts that both the government shutdown and this 
threat to not raise the debt ceiling will have on this fragile recovery 
that we are now, I think, beginning to see evidence of.
  Mr. HONDA. I want to thank you, my friend, for this opportunity and 
this dialogue.
  It is a shame that we don't have the same dialogue across the aisle, 
but our rules prohibit us from being able to create that dialogue and 
debate in front of this country. As a result, we have this moment in 
time where we are able to share as members of the California 
delegation, but also as members of this Democratic Caucus.
  We are here today, on day 10, of the Republican government shutdown 
that has cost over $3 billion in lost economic activity so far. And 
because of the compounding nature of the economic effects, it is 
estimated that over a month's time, the economy will be drained of $50 
billion.
  Almost 1 million people should be working today, and they are not. 
When our government is forced to shut down, it hurts our economy, 
closes essential services for low-income families, and disrupts the 
lives of real people in all of our districts, regardless of where we 
represent. Important government services that benefit all of us are 
suspended.
  In my district, I have heard from young people that were furloughed, 
the young employees of the NASA Ames facility. They are wondering how 
they are going to be able to make rent to stay in their homes or to 
make ends meet.
  The investigators that were working on finding the underlying causes 
of the Asiana crash and coming up with ways to make air travel safer, 
we sent home.
  I have also heard from those who are waiting to hear back on their 
Social Security benefits appeals. Because the appeals office is closed, 
they will not hear back on their cases until this shutdown is over, 
which means they have less means to make ends meet.
  There is no reason this should be happening. All of this pain is 
absolutely and completely unnecessary. We do have the bipartisan votes, 
however, to end this shutdown today if the Speaker would allow a clean 
vote. That might be the most frustrating part of all of this.
  Actually, it is the most frustrating part of all of this, that we 
have the votes here on both sides of the aisle if the Speaker allows us 
to vote. I am not sure what it is that he is afraid of, but if he let 
that go and let us vote and let the people vote, then we may be able to 
reflect the desires and the reflections of what people are feeling in 
this country.
  Speaker Boehner and the Republican majority in the House refuse to do 
their job, and I think they really do believe they are doing their job. 
I pray that they see and understand that there is real human suffering 
and economic suffering that comes as a direct result of these 
irresponsible political tactics, both on the government-wide shutdown 
and on the debt limit.
  For House Democrats, this is not a game. On the debt ceiling, the 
full faith and credit of the United States should never be in jeopardy. 
That is our position, and that is the position of economists and 
business leaders, and that should be the attitude of this Congress.
  Warren Buffett called the debt limit a nuclear bomb. Goldman Sachs 
CEO Lloyd Blankfein said:


[[Page H6481]]


       Economic damage associated with default or near default 
     will be severe and have serious consequences for the recovery 
     of the U.S. and global economy.

  Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said:

       There is no debate that the seriousness of the U.S. not 
     paying its debts is the most serious thing we have.

  The president of the American Bankers Association and former 
Republican Governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating, said a default would 
cost ``hundreds of billions of dollars,'' and even the slightest impact 
on interest rates ``would cascade throughout the economy.''

  This government shutdown and the looming threat of an unprecedented 
government default are doing significant harm to our economy. The only 
ones that can't see that are Speaker Boehner and the Tea Party 
Republicans.
  House Democrats have started the process on forcing a vote on a clean 
CR to reopen the government and will soon do the same with a vote on 
the debt limit. Americans want a vote. A reasonable majority in 
Congress want this vote. Speaker Boehner can call this vote today. But 
since he won't, we will try to force a vote as soon as House rules 
allow.
  Let's not go 1 more day without a functioning government. Let's stop 
these games, reopen the government, start the process of ending this 
manufactured crisis, lift this cloud from over our economy, and have 
the vote that Americans have been waiting for. Let us vote, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Mr. TAKANO. Thank you, Congressman Honda.
  I know that before you became a Member of Congress, you had 
experience as a county supervisor, and I know that counties are often 
the fiscal agents for major programs, like our nutrition programs, the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Women, Infants, and 
Children nutrition programs. I understand that the stimulus funds that 
we are supplementing, some of these assistance programs--let me try to 
translate this into ordinary everyday language.
  We are talking about food stamps. We are talking about people being 
able to buy food in order to have the basic necessity of eating. I 
don't know about your district, but in my district, I know that during 
the height of the recession, we saw people who were middle class 
families for the first time having to access these programs. As I say, 
we are still not fully out of this recession. It is a fragile recovery.
  The other effect that these assistance programs had is that they 
serve as a kind of stimulus to the local economy. People on these 
assistance programs have to spend the money locally, at local 
supermarkets. It injects some stimulus effect on the local economies. 
My understanding is that, come November 1, we are going to see a 
significant reduction in those programs because we have not been 
attending to reauthorizing the legislation that funds these programs. 
We have grave doubt as to what is going to happen to the 47 million 
people who rely on SNAP.
  Mr. HONDA. That is true.
  Mr. Takano, as you know, I represent a majority of the area that is 
commonly called ``Silicon Valley.'' We were doing relatively well with 
the shutdown; however, government contracts, entrepreneurship are going 
to be affected, and that trickles down throughout the system, including 
what we call the ``supply chains,'' where other companies throughout 
this country, in other parts of the State are affected also. This is 
almost like an arithmetic kind of extension of this impact when--I 
guess Warren Buffett said it best, that it is a nuclear bomb, because 
it just continues to spread its impact throughout our country and our 
economy.
  Mr. TAKANO. Isn't it true in Silicon Valley--let's kind of talk about 
that for a moment--there has been a resurgence of investment, that we 
are seeing our California budget sort of recovering with additional 
revenues because your area of the State is helping to lead the 
recovery?
  There are two different subject matters here: the government 
shutdown, and also this issue of the debt ceiling being raised. We have 
seen on the Hong Kong markets the short-term debt or the premium that 
they are charging for this uncertainty about our debt ceiling being 
raised. In other words, interest rates are likely to raise. Raising 
capital is going to be a problem.
  Do you have any thoughts on what that is going to be doing to our 
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs?
  Mr. HONDA. It is a dampening effect. I think people are less likely 
to invest, even though there is a great faith in the kinds of 
activities we have in Silicon Valley. I think those who have the 
resources to make the investments, they are going to be looking at it 
twice before they can move forward. I think that they are very 
concerned about the government's behavior in terms of how we 
manufacture crisis around the debt limit, how we manufacture crisis 
about the CR or the budget. All we need is what we proposed a few 
months ago, and that is a good, balanced budget that would drive this 
country forward economically and logically.
  No family functions without a good budget. What we are doing is we 
have created a budgetary crisis that guarantees--they have already done 
it--closure of the government or the dysfunction of a family. When you 
do that, all hell breaks loose. This is what is happening to our 
elders, our children, our preschools. There is not a system that has 
not been affected. The military, our veterans, they are all being 
affected. So we have to really make sure that the public understands 
what it is that is happening.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. TAKANO. Well, I don't think we want to normalize or make routine 
a mode of governing where either party threatens to shut down the 
government because of a political end they want to achieve or either 
party decides that they want to threaten the full faith and credit of 
the United States and threaten the establishment of the American dollar 
as the world reserve currency because they want to achieve some sort of 
political end.
  We need to give the American people--every business, every family, 
investors, whether they are domestic or whether they are international 
investors who want to invest in our economy, including in Silicon 
Valley, the certainty that we have a responsible government in the 
United States.
  Whoever would have thought we would come to a place where within a 
year and a half, the last time that this issue came about was--I 
remember seeing you on August 1 of 2011 when the Budget Control Act of 
2011 was passed. But it was linked, I think, unfortunately, to the debt 
ceiling raise. And the idea that we would normalize this practice, to 
me, is something that we don't want to see our Nation continue to do.
  Mr. HONDA. Yes.
  I just want to close by thanking you for this opportunity. The 
gentleman and I are both educators. And educators know one thing: how 
to ask a question and come to a logical conclusion. And the logical 
conclusion right now is that we should have never gotten to this point. 
We should have never gotten to a point where we shut down this 
government. We should have done the right thing to make sure that the 
full faith and credit of our country, like our reputation, is honored. 
So we need to get back to that point.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman.
  Let me just go into my final remarks for this Special Order hour. And 
I want to remind the American people that the Democrats did offer a 
point of compromise when we accepted funding for the continuing 
resolution, which is actually below the Paul Ryan budget figure. It is 
a number that the President agreed to, the Senate agreed to, and the 
House Democrats are willing to agree to. And we know that there was a 
deal that was brokered by the Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader 
related to it, and we thought that the result would be a clean CR.
  But what we cannot afford to do, what I cannot unconscionably do as 
the Representative for the 41st District, is to bargain away the 
Affordable Care Act. Twenty-four percent of my population of Riverside 
County is uninsured. My constituents need the Affordable Care Act to 
help them get the quality health care that they deserve.
  The law includes important consumer protections that prevent 
insurance companies from denying coverage for people with preexisting 
conditions. It eliminates annual and lifetime caps on care and allows 
young people to stay on their parents' plans longer. In addition, the 
law requires insurance

[[Page H6482]]

plans to cover free preventative health services, and it lowers 
prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the Medicare part D 
doughnut hole.
  So, America, my community's seniors have a lot at stake. The 
California State marketplace, Covered California, has already received 
1 million unique site visits, more than 16,000 applications have been 
completed, and another 27,000 are partially completed. That is more 
than 43,000 Californians who have taken the step to get covered in just 
10 days.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, this is all very simple. Congress has a handful of 
basic functions. Two of them are to keep the government open and to pay 
our bills on time. These things Congress should be doing already.
  The situation we are in reminds me of when my brothers and I thought 
our parents should pay us an allowance for making our beds. My parents 
argued that making our beds was something that my brothers and I should 
be doing anyway, that an everyday responsibility like making our beds 
wasn't something that was done for a payoff.
  What should I get for brushing my teeth? That is obviously a personal 
responsibility that I shouldn't get anything for. Refusing to fulfill a 
responsibility should not be leverage for getting something that you 
want.
  The House Republicans are expecting to get something out of this. 
They are expecting to get something out of refusing to fulfill their 
basic responsibilities. They are expecting to get something out of 
refusing to fund the government and refusing to be faithful stewards of 
the full faith and credit of the United States. They are willing to 
threaten the American dollar and its status as the world's reserve 
currency.
  There are several Members of this body who do not believe the chaos 
that would be created by not paying our bills on time. One Member said 
he believed it would ``bring stability to the markets.'' Others have 
said that it is a ``scare tactic'' being used by the administration and 
Democrats. They say this despite every credible economist stating that 
America defaulting on its debts would be catastrophic.
  Imagine, Mr. Speaker, imagine if Democrats were this cavalier about 
an issue as serious as the debt ceiling. We would be run out of town, 
and for good reason.
  I thank my colleagues for joining me today. Let's end this shutdown. 
Let's end this shutdown, Mr. Speaker. Let's make sure we pay our bills 
and pay them on time. And let's give the American people the certainty 
that they need and that they deserve.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have spent my career in San 
Diego, Sacramento, and DC working with all of my colleagues--no matter 
the party--to get things done for my constituents in San Diego.
  But now sadly, I stand on this floor and watch what I consider to be 
the greatest show of political dysfunction I have seen during my time 
in public service.
  I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle speak of winning, 
of putting points on the board. Winning? Mr. Speaker, there is no 
winning to be had here.
  But, I can tell you who is losing--hard working American families, my 
constituents in San Diego, and the great state of California.
  Every day that this shutdown continues more of my friends and 
neighbors are harmed.
  My city of San Diego loses $7 million a week every week that this 
continues. $7 million. Imagine the investments in our schools, roads, 
and small businesses that we could be making with that money.
  Jobless claims are surging as the many San Diegan contracting 
businesses are forced to lay off their workers.
  Small businesses in San Diego are finding it difficult to sustain 
their operations, as they lose thousands in stalled federal small 
business loans and grants.
  The many veterans who live in San Diego are finding their hard-earned 
and well-deserved benefits delayed.
  And now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk of 
negotiating?
  The Senate passed a budget in March--in March. For months and months, 
I have joined with my Democratic colleagues requesting that the House 
appoint conferees to negotiate a compromise. Nothing. No willingness to 
open up a dialogue, to negotiate. Nothing.
  Now, the government is shut down, and my friends and neighbors in San 
Diego are suffering. We can fix that right now. We can take a vote to 
reopen the government right now.
  Then we can get together and talk like adults about our differences 
on the budget--and not use my friends and neighbors as leverage to 
score points in a game that no one will win. This isn't a game, this is 
lunacy.

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