[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4468-H4469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                  LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today, September 26, is now 5 days and 
counting for the start of the next fiscal year which, if Congress does 
not act within this next 5 days, the U.S. Government will shut down.

[[Page H4469]]

  I have been around Congress for a while. I was here in 2013 when the 
government shut down for 17 days. In 2019, all the agencies under the 
Department of Homeland Security were shut down for 35 days. This is a 
disaster for the American people and for our standing in the world if, 
God forbid, this does not come together in the next 5 days.
  Mr. Speaker, I represent a district that is a strong defense 
district. We have the largest military installation in New England, the 
Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. We have about 
16 attack submarines that are located there, tied up there that are 
deploying at a heel-to-toe pace constantly. There are about 2,000 
civilian employees that make that base operations function as they 
should.
  I also have a district which is the home of the Coast Guard Academy. 
That institution is building the future leaders, young men and young 
women, for the Coast Guard, who are doing important work not just in 
the littoral areas of our Nation and the rivers, but also overseas in 
terms of providing critical assistance to allies who again are really 
struggling with gross violations of the international convention for 
law, the sea treaty. Again, the Coast Guard is looked at around the 
world as really the gold standard in terms of providing quality 
training and examples for that critical function to take place.
  In the past, when we had shutdowns, despite some of the ridiculous 
comments that are made by some of my colleagues in this Chamber that, 
oh, there is nothing to worry about, Active-Duty people still have to 
report, they are going to get paid retroactively, the concerns about 
that are overblown.
  I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, that that is, in my opinion, some of 
the most irresponsible, dangerous rhetoric that can be uttered at a 
time like this. The fact of the matter is, there is a hardship for 
people who are wearing the uniform. Many of them go literally from 
paycheck to paycheck. In 2019 when the Coast Guard was shut down along 
with the Department of Homeland Security in New London, we had pop-up 
food banks to help Coast Guard families put food on the table for 
themselves and their family members.
  In terms of the 17-day shutdown, the submarine base, again, all of 
the civilian support staff, DOD employees who were told they were not 
essential, they didn't have to come to work. We didn't have crane 
operators doing their job on the base, we didn't have all the support 
and maintenance staff in terms of making sure the operations of that 
base functioned.
  This is a totally unnecessary, unforced error which will cause havoc 
in every other military installation and every other DOD facility 
around the country.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a pathway here. There is a roadmap, and we know 
that because at the end of May when we passed the Fiscal Responsibility 
Act, which avoided a default on the full faith and credit of this 
country, Democrats and Republicans came together, a center-left, 
center-right coalition that passed those measures. The final vote on 
May 31, when we passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed 314-117. 
There were 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans that came together to 
avoid that catastrophic consequence of a default, something that hasn't 
happened since the War of 1812.
  On the rule vote that led up to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, again 
it was a center-left, center-right coalition that got that measure to 
the floor. Fifty-two Democrats voted for the rule, which is unheard of 
in this town to have the minority party vote to support the majority 
party for a rule, but 52 of us did that. Honestly, I have been here a 
while, I consider that one of my proudest votes to make sure that we 
were going to look beyond party and do what is right for our country, 
in terms of making sure that critical functions at a time like this, 
when both domestically and overseas there was so much at stake in terms 
of having a stable, functioning government so that we can do the work 
for the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a military saying which I think Members should 
be thinking about today as we approach this critical week, and it says 
``Lead, follow, or get out of the way.'' There is clearly going to be a 
bipartisan measure that is going to get put together in the Senate. It 
is happening right now as we speak. It is a 45-day extension to keep 
the government open, allow the Appropriations Committee to finish its 
work. We need to pass that. We need to lead, follow, or get out of the 
way.

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