[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21440]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             COME TOGETHER

  (Mr. WOODALL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I had not intended to address the House 
this afternoon, but it has been a painful thing for me to listen to 
this debate today. I'm a freshman in this body, and my understanding 
was when I showed up here that we would work here and that the Senate 
would work there, and we wouldn't always come up with the same answers, 
and that we would also get to together and sort it out.
  To have that process derided today as being a bastardization of 
politics, instead of what exactly the Founding Fathers want us to do, 
has me confused.
  The gentlelady who spoke right before me, and I'm sorry she left the 
floor right after she derided Republicans for having left the floor, 
she's now gone, talked about Republicans wanting to see folks on 
unemployment have those benefits run out.
  Mr. Speaker, it was before you and I got here, but four times in 2010 
under Democrat control, unemployment benefits ran out. Now, you always 
did the right thing. You always sorted it out. But those kinds of 
things happen. We're going to conference today. We have 10 days to get 
this right.
  We got the Defense authorization bill right in 7 days. And the Senate 
crafted their so-called compromise in 3 days. Surely, we can do better 
for the American people; and, Mr. Speaker, that's not a partisan 
divide. That's America at its best. I welcome my colleagues to join us 
in that.

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