[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H6007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONCERNING THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Members, here we are, 2 weeks 
away from another potential shutdown of the government.
  Do my Republican friends know how silly it sounds to threaten 
shutting down the entire government over a manufactured crisis for 
funding that does not even go to abortions?
  Current law already withholds Federal funding from covering a woman's 
abortion, except in cases of extreme limited circumstances. To gamble 
with valuable Federal programs should be embarrassing.
  Here are just a few examples of programs that will be affected if the 
GOP pursues a strategy that I doubt they would want to see happen.
  The GOP shutdown would mean that the Centers for Disease Control 
would be unable to support the annual seasonal influenza program.
  The GOP shutdown means we rely more on foreign energy as the issuance 
of permits for energy production on Federal lands stop. I certainly 
know my Republican colleagues wouldn't want to see that happen.
  Head Start centers around the country would close. During fiscal year 
2014, an estimated 1,600 Head Start agencies served over 927,000 
children, including 71,000 in Texas. Apparently, our children are okay 
to target in a political debate.
  Under the GOP shutdown, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives would be affected; and gun permits will not be processed.
  We could be using this time to debate the extension of valuable 
programs like the Export-Import Bank or the highway trust fund, but 
instead, we are going through the same theatrics we went through 2 
years ago, which accomplished nothing.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to be reasonable and pass a 
clean continuing resolution so Congress can get back to work doing what 
the American people sent us here to do.

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