[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 161 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4935-H4936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Nickel) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, it is Monday morning, and the Federal 
Government is open for business. We came just hours away from a 
shutdown this weekend, with 209 House Democrats and 125 House 
Republicans voting to put people over politics.
  A government shutdown would have been a disaster for the American 
people, and I am glad Democrats and reasonable Republicans were able to 
come together to get a short-term funding package through the House, 
the Senate, and onto the President's desk with just hours to spare.
  This short-term funding package includes an extension of FAA 
authorization, funding for flood insurance programs, and $16 billion 
for disaster relief. Most importantly, it will keep the lights on for 
the over 6,500 Federal employees in North Carolina's 13th District.
  Looking ahead, this short-term funding package gives us more time to 
come together, find common ground, and pass bipartisan spending bills 
for the full year.
  For Democrats, that means funding for Ukraine. Our support for 
Ukraine cannot waver. I wish we didn't have to spend any money in 
Ukraine, but if Vladimir Putin wins, we will have to spend a thousand 
times more trying to contain an aggressive and emboldened Russia around 
the globe. If we abandon Ukraine, Russia will win. Putin will win. 
Support for Ukraine is in our national interest, Mr. Speaker.
  For Republicans, that means securing the border and taking up 
immigration reform. As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and a 
member of the New Democrat Coalition's Immigration and Border Security 
Task Force, I remain focused and committed to working across the aisle 
to secure our border and advance comprehensive immigration reform.
  I believe that the best path forward is through the Bipartisan Keep 
America Open Act that I have cosponsored and is being led by the 
Problem Solvers Caucus. This legislation upholds the top-line numbers 
agreed to in the bipartisan budget agreement. It includes funding for 
Ukraine, which is desperately needed. It includes title 42 reform 
legislation that I helped introduce with a bipartisan group of Members 
earlier this year that will help secure the southern border while 
giving us more time to enact meaningful, long-term reforms to our 
overburdened immigration system. It also includes bipartisan reforms to 
increase transparency and address long-term spending, an area where I 
agree with my Republican colleagues.
  The path to 218 votes on the budget won't come from the far left or 
the far right. It comes from the center, with proposals just like this 
one. The reality is that we have only 44 days to get this done, or we 
are right back to where we started over the weekend.
  We never should have been in this situation in the first place. A 
short-term CR is a Band-Aid on a long-term problem. That is why I have 
introduced the bipartisan No Budget, No Pay Act. My bill would withhold 
Members' pay if both Houses don't agree to a concurrent budget 
resolution by April 15 for the fiscal year starting October 1, or if

[[Page H4936]]

both Houses haven't passed all the regular appropriations bills by 
September 30 for the fiscal year starting October 1.
  We could have been in a situation this morning where our entire 
Federal Government workforce was getting no pay, but Members of 
Congress still would have been getting their paychecks, and that is 
wrong. This bill will incentivize Congress to get it done and prevent 
future government shutdowns. This brinkmanship is no good for our 
economy.
  I came to Congress to get things done. I will continue to set aside 
the noise, find common ground wherever it exists, and deliver for the 
people of North Carolina's 13th District.

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