[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14961]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              TIME TO TALK

  (Mr. MESSER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, President Obama is willing to negotiate with 
Syria's dictator. The President made a phone call last week to open 
negotiations with Iran's new leader. But yesterday, the President held 
a press conference in the Rose Garden to talk about why he's not 
willing to talk to House Republicans about ending this shutdown.
  The President should follow President Kennedy's example. President 
Kennedy famously said:

       We should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never 
     fear to negotiate.

  If we talk, we can surely find a solution that reopens the Federal 
Government and protects the American people from ObamaCare; but we need 
the President and our Democratic colleagues at the negotiating table.

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