[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. McKinley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, for months, President Obama promised he 
would initiate long-overdue negotiations on issues from health care to 
tax and regulatory reform, all factors holding back economic growth. 
But he linked this pledge to Congress reopening the government and 
raising the debt limit.
  His promise to address the critical drivers of our economy is why 
last week I voted to end the budget impasse and tentatively agree to 
cooperate with the President. With the government reopened, it is time 
for those promises that he made to be upheld and for negotiations to 
begin.
  Our economy is still way too weak. Let's look at the facts:
  Ninety-seven percent of all the jobs created in America this past 
year have been part time;
  Millions of our workers are seeing their hours cut;
  Participation in the workforce is at an all-time low the last 35 
years, with 90 million adults sitting on the sidelines.
  Our neighbors and our friends are struggling and are uncomfortable 
about their future. Our latest college graduates can't find jobs, and 
millions more of our country's youth have quit searching for 
employment. It is time to reduce the uncertainty and help these 
families.
  The House has already passed dozens of bills to help grow the 
economy, including tax reform, limiting excessive regulations, debt 
reduction, and yes, reforming ObamaCare.
  The President has repeatedly said he is willing to negotiate on all 
of these economic issues. As recently as October 3, he stated:

       I'm happy to negotiate with you on anything. I don't think 
     any one party has a monopoly on wisdom.

  Then, on October 8, the President said:

       Serious negotiations could proceed around every item in the 
     budget.

  He then went on to say that negotiation would not be limited just to 
the budget. He said:

       I will sit down and work with anyone of any party, not only 
     to talk about the budget . . . about ways to improve the 
     health care system . . . and about ways that we can shrink 
     our long-term deficits.

  Congress has now upheld its end of the bargain. The American people 
can now judge whether the President will uphold his.
  In the next 90 days, let's demonstrate that Congress can indeed work 
in a bipartisan fashion and tackle our most serious problems now: a 
weak economy, a growing national debt, and a health care law that isn't 
ready for implementation.
  It is important to note that the House took steps necessary to 
initiate negotiation. Therefore, in fairness, the President and the 
Senate need to come to the table. History will record whether the 
President fulfills his repeated pledges and addresses these barriers to 
America's economic exceptionalism.
  Last week, many of us in the Chamber extended a hand of bipartisan 
cooperation to the President. But as President Reagan once said:

       Trust, but verify.

                          ____________________