[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5673-5674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1130
                    THE PENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, isn't it a shame, I tell my friend who just 
spoke, that his colleagues objected to a unanimous consent request 
yesterday which would have taken care of the problem he raises today.
  There's not a person on this floor that doesn't want to make sure 
that our men and women in harm's way and in uniform ready to be put in 
harm's way are paid on time. But we're playing a political game here, a 
game of gotcha, a game of my way or the highway, not a game of coming 
together from all over the country and trying to make laws for our 
country that require compromise.
  Henry Clay, one of the first Speakers of this House, from the State 
of Kentucky, said that if you can't compromise, you cannot govern. 
That's why we are on the brink of shutting down government.
  We asked for a unanimous consent. I'm going to tell you we're going 
to ask for another unanimous consent that will accomplish exactly what 
the gentleman from Texas wanted to accomplish. I hope that none of you 
object. I hope that all of you will say, yes, enough of these games. 
Let's do what Republicans and Democrats have historically done when 
they've reached an impasse at this time. They said, well, we'll keep 
things in place and we'll create a bridge across which we can all pass 
to get to compromise, to get to an agreement. That's what the American 
people expect us to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand that to some in this Chamber, shutting down 
the government is an ideological game or a way of making a point. 
That's why they've included in this bill to fund the troops some of 
their social agenda. That's why they want to shut down the government, 
because they want to force the President to do something he has told 
the American people he would not do.
  Now, ladies and gentlemen, when the Democrats were in charge of the 
House and the Senate and we disagreed with George Bush, we did not shut 
down the government. We said, Mr. President, we understand you disagree 
with this so we can't do it. Not, because you won't do it, Mr. 
President, we're going to shut down the government. That's what's 
happening here.
  It's not about dollars and cents and, very frankly, it's not about 
funding the military. That's the image that's being created because we 
are all sympathetic and committed to funding our men and women in 
harm's way. That's the right thing to do. It's the moral thing to do. 
It's what we ought to be doing. And I hope when I ask for a unanimous 
consent to do that today that, unlike yesterday, the Republicans will 
not object.
  I want every Member to be aware of the consequences for millions of 
Americans of shutting down government. A shutdown would put our 
economic recovery, our housing market, and paychecks at risk. And yes, 
every person listening to me will be affected in one way or another.
  It's the wrong thing to do. Who said it was the wrong thing to do? 
Speaker John Boehner, who said it would cost more to shut down the 
government than to keep it running. He is absolutely right.
  Goldman Sachs has estimated that, and I quote, ``If a shutdown lasted 
more than a few days, it should shave 0.2 percent off the growth of the 
gross domestic product for every week it continued.''
  What's that mean? It means jobs.
  Now, we've been here for 90 days. We're in our fourth month with no 
jobs legislation.
  Goldman Sachs went on to say, ``When the government shut down for 20 
days in late 1995,'' said James O'Sullivan, chief economist, ``the 
Nation's economic growth was slowed by as much as a percentage point.'' 
That means jobs.
  This is a very inefficient political tactic and prank to play on the 
American people. As CQ reports, business

[[Page 5674]]

leaders also understand that averting a shutdown is crucial to our 
economic recovery. That is why, again, I hope you agree to my unanimous 
consent to keep the government open while we continue to negotiate, 
while we continue to try to get to an agreement.
  Congressional Quarterly also points out that ``In the event of a 
shutdown, the Small Business Administration would not guarantee loans 
for business working capital, real estate investment, or job creation 
activities.'' It makes no sense to shut down the government.
  And my friends, when they say, oh, well, the Democrats in the Senate, 
let me tell you why the Democrats in the Senate can't move things 
forward, because they can't get 60 votes. Why can't they get 60 votes? 
Because the Republican leader of the United States Senate will not let 
any of his Republicans join the 53 Democrats in the Senate to get to 
60.
  Ladies and gentlemen, we ought not to shut down this government, and 
I urge my colleagues to approve a unanimous consent request that I will 
make a little later today.

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