[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5664]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     AVOIDING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Womack) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOMACK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice to those 
calling for agreement on funding the government for the remainder of 
this year and avoiding the consequences of a government shutdown. I 
don't want the government to shut down. Our conference does not want 
the government to shut down. No one I've talked with wants the 
government to shut down. And talk of such a shutdown is weighing 
heavily on consumer confidence in an already fragile economy, not to 
mention its confidence in this body. We can do better. We should do 
better. We must do better.
  Yesterday on this floor we took yet another action that keeps our 
government afloat and guarantees that, in the event of a shutdown, 
troops and their families get paid. That's the least we can do.
  And Mr. Speaker, yesterday I sat in a hearing with the CEO of Amtrak. 
During the hearing it was suggested by a colleague that the carrier 
examine the feasibility of shutting down routes that are loosing, 
hemorrhaging money. The answer he received was that because of legal 
agreements mandating payments on labor and benefits and other 
guarantees, it would still cost them billions.
  I find it incredible that we have these federally subsidized 
guarantees in place, but we can't guarantee the same for those men and 
women downrange willing to take a bullet for their country. Shame on 
us.
  Jobs continue to be our highest priority, and it should surprise no 
one that fundamental to this objective is dealing with a balance sheet 
full of red ink. It's fundamental to business, it's fundamental to 
households, and it's fundamental to government. No reputable 
organization behaves financially the way this government behaves.
  The message from the electorate is simple: Live within your means.
  The reason we're facing a potential government shutdown is simple: No 
budget for 2011. And Democrats don't see our spending issues with the 
same degree of urgency as we do.
  I said it just a few days ago on this same floor, and it's worth 
repeating. We have kicked this can down the road so long, so often and 
so far, that America and this Congress has a chronic case of turf toe.
  Message to America: If you want to remove uncertainty and create 
jobs, fix the balance sheet. Cut spending. It's as simple as that.
  This Republican-led House has done its job. We've attempted time and 
time again to fund government in a responsible way, prevent a 
government shutdown, and restore fiscal integrity. I join my colleagues 
in urging the Senate to act and to act now so that we can turn our 
attention to the far more important and substantive work that lies 
ahead.

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