[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, here we are, the government 
has shut down. It's amazing some of my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle have political amnesia, sort of revisionist history. Let's 
just look at some of the facts.
  The other side of the aisle, the Democrats, took over in 2008. We 
haven't had a Federal budget since 2008. The only way we got a budget 
this year from the United States Senate was a provision that the 
Republicans passed: ``No budget, no pay.'' We had to force them by 
passing a law and embarrassing them to pass a budget.
  How did we get in this situation? And this is a very critical 
financial situation for the United States of America, for all 
Americans. The shutdown is very unfortunate, but sometimes you have to 
take dramatic steps to move forward. We got in this situation because 
the other side--controlling the House, the Senate, and the White House 
in 2008--went on a spending binge unprecedented in the history of 
mankind in any government.
  The first year they spent more than $1.5 trillion more than we took 
in. From 2008 to current, we went from a $9 trillion deficit to $17 
trillion; nearly doubled it in 5 years--every year spending out of 
control.

                              {time}  1115

  We put the brakes on a bit. This is about funding the government for 
this next year that starts today.
  In 2 weeks, we will reach the maximum limit of the indebtedness of 
the United States. We can't let the United States become a Greece or a 
deadbeat nation. But stop and think, they are going to ask for another 
trillion--$900 billion in debt and deficit limits for the United 
States.
  At some point, you have to say enough is enough. Now, I Googled last 
night to see my comments on the shutdown. I put in ``Mica shutdown.'' 
Sometimes we forget what has happened.
  In August of 2011, I chaired the Transportation Committee and came to 
the floor. The other side had controlled the House, the Senate and the 
White House, and they could not pass an FAA bill. They did 20 
extensions costing millions and millions of dollars leaving the FAA,--
an important agency--in turmoil.
  Finally, I said: Enough is enough. I sent over an extension to Mr. 
Reid--it was a clean extension--except it cut out his $3,720 per 
airline ticket subsidy. I am not kidding. In Nevada, one of his 
airports was getting $3,720.
  So rather than take that, we had a partial shutdown of the FAA. 
Recall that. Just Google it and you will see. I was called the 
``Shutdown King.'' For 2 weeks they pilloried me. They called me an 
``extortionist.'' They said I was a ``one-man Tea Party terrorist.'' 
They accused me of holding a gun to the Senate's head.
  We did pass an FAA bill. We got an important part of our government 
working again.
  I don't like to take those tough measures. We have tried to be 
reasonable. None of us on our side of the aisle voted for ObamaCare. 
The other side voted for it, and they told us that we could read the 
bill afterwards, and we would find out what is in it. We found out what 
is in it. We tried and we voted more than 40 times to repeal it. We 
tried in a reasonable fashion. We sent over three times proposals to do 
some of the things that even the President has done, and that is 
delaying mandates. He carved out exceptions for everybody, except for 
individuals.
  So here we are. They don't want to compromise. They didn't show up 
for work on Sunday at all. They came in yesterday. How would you like 
to show up for work at 2 when things are going to heck in a handbasket 
and then reject a proposal?
  We can't revise history. We have got to work together; we have got to 
get this done. We have offered a conference to sit down, and we can get 
the job done. Sometimes it is tough.

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