[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       BIPARTISAN COOPERATION IS WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EXPECT

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with the remarks of Mr. 
McDermott. It is a happy day for the American people because today 
people can begin enrolling in the Affordable Care Act.
  Imagine if you were there when Social Security became the law of the 
land. Imagine if you were there when Medicare did--and two of our 
colleagues were, Mr. Rangel and Mr. Dingell.
  But you are here when the third pillar of economic and health 
security for the American people is being put into place. It's 
historic: health care for all Americans, as a right, not just a 
privilege for the few. We'll talk more about it in the course of the 
day.
  But I come to the floor to really address the issue of the government 
shutdown, an attempt to hold back the implementation of the Affordable 
Health Care Act. It didn't happen.
  But what is happening is that our colleagues on the Republican side 
have refused to accept their own suggestion. So I come, once again, to 
the floor to propose to the Speaker and our Republican colleagues an 
explicit offer to help get the votes for their number, 986. I think 
it's a number that's too low, but I do think with the 6 weeks that are 
built into it for us to come to the table to discuss a budget that 
reduces the deficit, that creates jobs, that puts people to work, that 
we can make progress.
  Once again, an explicit offer to help you, Mr. Speaker, get those 
votes, because this shutdown, while it might be a joy to all of you who 
are opposed to government, is a luxury our country cannot afford.
  Senator Reid, leader of the Senate, has three times, at least three 
times, accepted your offer of 986. Once again, he will send it back to 
us so that we can take ``yes'' for an answer to a number that the 
Republicans have put forth, which the Democrats don't like because we 
already agreed with the Republicans on a number, a compromise number, 
1,058, but are willing, in the interest of the American people, to 
accept that number as the basis for discussion and go to conference, 
really go to conference.
  Well, I won't even go into my view of what happened last night. I 
will say, and remind, that 5 years and a couple of weeks ago, we had 
terrible news brought to us that said that our financial institutions 
were in meltdown.
  House Democrats rallied to support President Bush to stop that 
meltdown from happening, even when Republicans rejected the proposal of 
their own President.
  Bipartisan cooperation is what the American people expect; and when 
it is a question of a meltdown of a financial institution, the shutdown 
of our government, we have no choice but to cooperate with each other.
  So in that spirit, I offer a hand of friendship to the Speaker, to 
our Republican colleagues, accepting their number as the basis for us 
to go forward to truly go to the table, as was suggested 6 months ago 
and many, many times in the time since then.
  So I hope that, again, in the interest of the American people, the 
Republicans will take ``yes'' for an answer to their own proposal, and 
let us sit down and get to work for the American people.
  Shutting down government should not be an option that is taken 
lightly by any of us here. Let's get it open. Let's get to work.

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