[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 15 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Here we are, Mr. Speaker, another day to take a deep 
breath. As you know, our responsibility is to pass a budget that meets 
the needs of the American people. Since September 30, which was the end 
of the fiscal year, we have not done that.
  Today, we are gathered to do our fifth continuing resolution. You 
know all the statements that have been made by Secretary Mattis and 
others about how destructive that is to our national security. I want 
to make a few points.
  First of all, I want to say that a dark cloud is lying over the 
Capitol, and that is the Trump GOP tax scam. Under that legislation, 
nearly $2 trillion will be added to the national debt. That is bad 
enough in itself, but it also has cast a shadow over the ability of 
this House to honor its responsibilities to the American people.
  We take an oath of office to protect and defend the American people 
and our Constitution. We know that is our first responsibility, and we 
stand ready to join in funding our military to do that. So for the 
Republicans to say that we are shutting down the government because we 
didn't want--we weren't shutting down the government. You shut down the 
government.
  But let's put that aside for now as we go forward.
  One, let us stipulate to the fact that we will all agree that we need 
to support our troops in the manner that the mission that is 
established calls for.
  Two, the other part of that debate is about the domestic agenda. The 
domestic agenda includes opioids and veterans, issues like that, that 
are part of our national security, homeland security, Veterans' 
Affairs, State Department, and antiterrorism activities at the Justice 
Department--the list goes on--of things that are part of the security 
function that are on the domestic side.
  Our colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle have been 
reluctant to support domestic agendas. That is just the way it is, and 
I think that is one of the reasons the Speaker has increased the 
defense spending so that he can get their votes even though they didn't 
want to vote for the domestic spending.
  But if we are going to honor the commitment, not the dollar figure 
that is in the authorization of the Department of Defense bill, and 
honor the budget agreement, we will be adding $300 billion to the 
deficit maintaining parity.

                              {time}  1245

  I just want our Republican colleagues to know that when they are 
voting for a CR that takes us to the next step, that next step, if it 
honors the commitments that have been made, it will be $300 billion 
over and above the $2 trillion.
  I just say that because I have heard you say: Well, we have a big 
deficit, so we have to look at Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and 
all of those initiatives. If we are not going to honor that, and we are 
not going to honor other commitments because of this tax scam and this 
Trump shutdown, then we have a problem going forward.
  So, yes, we are here about values. It is not about one set of 
children versus another. It is about our values. The Republicans have 
put forth what they did with CHIP--which the Senate has never shown 
much of an interest in--and all of a sudden, CHIP was their chit. CHIP 
was their chit. They put that on the table, and they said: America is a 
country of ``Sophie's Choice.'' You either choose the DREAMers, or you 
choose the CHIP kids.
  We all support all of that. America can take care of all of its 
children--their safety, their health, and their well-being.
  The dark cloud of the tax bill is a real problem as we go forward in 
the decisions we have to make to meet the needs of the American people.
  As Mr. Hoyer said, this is a budget debate. The DREAMers part of it 
is a part that has come into it, but if there never was a DREAMer on 
the face of the Earth--thank God, there are DREAMers--but if there 
never were, we still have this challenge: the lack of interest on the 
part of Republicans in the House to vote for a domestic budget that 
meets the needs of the American people, using the excuse of the budget 
deficit, which didn't seem to bother them when they gave away the store 
to the richest people in the country, the top 1 percent and corporate 
America.
  As we face this decision today, it is a no-drama event, as far as I 
am concerned. The Senate Democrats' movement, in terms of getting a 
commitment on how we go forward on the budget and how we go forward on 
DREAMers, good for them. Our Members will make their decision about how 
they wish to vote.
  But understand this: this isn't just about the DREAMers. This is 
about who we are as a nation, in terms of honoring what we care about 
most in our country and how we put that into a budget in terms of 
fighting the opioid epidemic; meeting the needs of our veterans, 
especially in terms of infrastructure; issues that relate to the 
National Institutes of Health and their investments there; CHIP, 
really, with the community health centers; medical education for 
primary care doctors; and the list goes on and on.
  This will be a lively debate about a number of subjects, as we go 
forward. But understand this: it is going to increase the national 
debt. It didn't have to have such an impact if we didn't have the GOP 
tax scam, which led to the Trump shutdown.

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