[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 142 (Friday, October 11, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MORE DEMOCRAT VOICES MUST BE HEARD

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, more Democrat leaders are 
finding their voices and courage to speak out against the continued 
shutdown of government services by Senate Majority Leader Reid. This 
was evident on Wednesday as District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray 
crashed a Senate Democratic press conference near the Capitol.
  Mayor Gray took the opportunity to ask a simple and logical question 
of the Senate: Would the Senate vote on the House-passed measure to 
permit the District of Columbia to utilize tax revenues it collects to 
fund municipal services during this shutdown?
  This measure, H.J. Res. 71, passed the House more than a week ago 
with support from Washington Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and other 
Democrats in the House. This targeted appropriations bill, like the 
many others the House has passed with bipartisan support, still 
languishes in the Senate.
  When the Mayor approached Senator Reid to discuss the funding for the 
District of Columbia, the Senate Majority Leader replied: I am on your 
side, okay? Don't screw it up.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whose side the Senate Majority Leader is 
on, but it has not been on the side of the American people.

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