[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRESS HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today in this wonderful House 
with so many of my colleagues to speak forcefully to the issue of 
unfinished business that is continuing to mount.
  The silence in the House now will be deafening for 52 days. The 
paralysis caused in the lives of too many shows a gross sense of 
insensitivity and disrespect.
  We are asking for action on several bills. We don't think that we 
should leave for these 52 days and, worse yet, close down session days 
before it was scheduled to close.
  We have a Zika virus crisis that is gripping the lives of many, and 
it is starting to have its presence felt in these United States, issues 
that will cost us tens of millions of dollars per child because of an 
inaction to address the Zika virus.
  We have a crisis in Flint that has not been responded to, where we 
have walked away from families and their needs for the given need of 
drinking water.
  I have a bill, the Aqua bill, that we need to address on this House 
floor. Let's do our business. Let's not walk away from our 
responsibilities. Let's be sensitive to America. No vacation if we have 
not done our work.

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