[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 15006-15011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I am here on behalf of the Congressional 
Progressive Caucus in our Special Order hour to talk specifically about 
what is happening this week, or better yet what is not happening this 
week, in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been almost exactly 48 hours since the GOP 
government shutdown in this country; 48 hours since 800,000 Federal 
employees have been furloughed; 48 hours since our national parks have 
been closed; 48 hours since the Small Business Administration is no 
longer issuing new loans; 48 hours since the Centers for Disease 
Control won't be able to monitor the influenza season coming up; 48 
hours since the National Institutes of Health has essentially shut 
down; and 48 hours since we are costing the U.S. economy $300 million a 
day.
  This isn't a number that the congressional Democrats or the 
Progressive Caucus has come up with. This is coming right from an 
article from Bloomberg News.
  According to Bloomberg News:

       A partial shutdown of the Federal Government will cost the 
     U.S. at least $300 million a day in lost economic output at 
     the start.

  They go on further:

       Government spending touches every aspect of the economy and 
     disruption of spending more than the direct loss of income 
     threatens to damage investor and business confidence in ways 
     that can seriously harm economic growth.

  It goes on to explain two major reasons why we are going to have this 
impact of $300 million a day. The first is the fact that we have the 
furloughed workers:

       Each day the shutdown drags on, the more Federal employees 
     will discount the possibility that they will go back to work 
     soon and they will pull back on their spending.

  Specifically, one Federal employee is quoted saying:

       The shutdown affects me greatly. I have a mortgage, and I'm 
     the sole provider for my two daughters, one of whom is in 
     college.

  That is what we are doing right now to the U.S. economy by strangling 
our Federal employees who serve this Nation so well. But also, consumer 
confidence is directly impacted by this GOP shutdown of the government.
  Again, from the article:

       If a shutdown drags on, it would start to shake consumer 
     and business confidence more broadly, economists said.
       Household spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

  Further it says:

       A shutdown will probably add to the budget deficit because 
     it is costly to stop and start programs.

  Adding to our deficit, costing us $300 million a day, shutting down 
essential services that people expect from our Federal Government.
  We are 48 hours since we have entered this manufactured crisis over 
the GOP having a tantrum over the Affordable Care Act and taking us all 
hostage. But right now at this very moment we could stop this with one 
single vote in the House of Representatives. One single vote can stop 
the damage to our economy and the shutdown of the Federal Government.
  There is a clean continuing resolution that has passed the Senate. 
Does it have everything that I or the Congressional Progressive Caucus 
wants? Absolutely not. In fact, they are still keeping in the number 
that is being proposed by the Senate, the indiscriminate sequester cuts 
between now and November 15.
  But we are willing to compromise and accept something that many of us 
have voted against in the past in order to bring our economy back in 
this country. In fact, I think one thing hasn't been told very much. 
When you look at the various budgets, once again, this Congress has not 
passed a budget. This House has passed a budget, the Senate has passed 
a budget, the President has introduced a budget, but this House 
leadership has refused to appoint conferees for over 6 months to have a 
national budget.
  But what was the budget line that the House Republicans passed in 
this House last spring--$967 billion? What did the President have in 
his proposal--$1.2 billion? What did the Senate Democrats have--about 
$1.06 billion?
  What does this continuing resolution propose for a figure--$986 
billion? That is over 90 percent of the way from the President's budget 
to what the House Republicans wanted--only 2 percent from the number 
they were looking at. Yet the House Republicans refused to budge and 
pass a resolution that can end the government shutdown and fix this 
economy.
  So why do we have these reckless, irresponsible demands from the 
tantrum-throwing, breath-holding, hostage-taking, Tea Partying wing of 
the Republican Party? Well, they think it is a bad idea that millions 
and millions more Americans should now have access to health care 
through the Affordable Care Act.
  We have voted not just once or twice to try to get rid of the 
Affordable Care Act, but we have voted 46 times in this body--46 times 
that they have held their breath and tried to remove the Affordable 
Care Act. But the bottom line is this Congress voted for the law, the 
President signed it into law, and the Supreme Court has upheld the law.
  It is the law of the land no matter how much some people may not like 
it, no matter how many times they have held their breath over this and 
brought this Congress to a vote. It is the law of the land. But because 
of that, they are willing and have shut down the U.S. Government--a 
completely unacceptable answer to their issue.
  There is the compromise solution I have talked about. A clean 
continuing resolution has already passed the Senate. With a simple vote 
of this body, Mr. Speaker, a simple vote of this

[[Page 15007]]

body, it would go directly to the President and be signed into law. No 
other delays. Not the delay tactics we have seen for the last 2 days 
with a bunch of votes that meant nothing in this body. With one vote we 
end the government shutdown.
  Mr. Speaker, take ``yes'' for an answer. We are willing to compromise 
and do this. We demand a vote. We demand a vote and an opportunity in 
this House to end the government shutdown. But for some reason Speaker 
Boehner will not bring this bill to a vote. We tried today, and through 
parliamentary procedures they blocked us from having the ability to 
take that vote.
  Well, do you know why they won't schedule this for a vote? Because 
they know if they brought it to the body it would pass, and the Tea 
Party wing of the Republican Party, as small as sometimes it is, would 
lose.
  Here is the bottom line. I know that people as they watch this whole 
debate--and you hear from everyone--are confused. Who is saying what 
and what is the real truth on this? The bottom line is the facts don't 
change. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Despite 46 
times to repeal it, it is still the law of the land. With a government 
shutdown, it is still being continued today as the law of the land.
  All we are doing in this hostage-taking is hurting our economy and 
hurting the people of this country through a government shutdown.

                              {time}  2000

  So, when people are confused, I have to admit that I'm confused. I'm 
one of the new people around here. When I look at this, as I've told 
people recently, I feel like I serve in the Nation's largest 
kindergarten, only this kindergarten has control of the checkbook and 
our nuclear arsenal.
  It's scary to think that this body refuses to end the government 
shutdown through a simple vote on a clean continuing resolution; but 
what's even more confusing, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that it's not just 
the Democrats who are willing to compromise, but there are now 18 
Republicans who have said they are willing to vote for a clean 
continuing resolution, that they are willing to end the government 
shutdown. There is a 17-vote margin on the Republican side, and more 
than enough people have said they will vote for a continuing resolution 
should they be able to. Let me just go through each and every one of 
these.
  Representative Scott Rigell tweeted out from the State of Virginia 
twice on this subject. First, he tweeted out:

       We fought the good fight. Time for a clean continuing 
     resolution.

  That was on October 1. On October 2:

       Pain to our military and economy is real. A shutdown 
     doesn't advance our goals.

  This is from a Republican Member who serves on the Budget Committee, 
which I serve on, who knows the real impact that we are having on the 
economy. So that is one Republican saying, Mr. Speaker, we demand a 
vote.
  Then there is Florida Representative Bill Young, who serves on the 
Appropriations Committee, a very important committee that understands 
government funding. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he is ready to 
vote for a clean funding bill:

       The politics should be over. It's time to legislate.

  Mr. Speaker, that's two Republicans willing to pass a clean 
continuing resolution.
  Then there is Representative Charlie Dent from the State of 
Pennsylvania, who also serves on that all important Appropriations 
Committee. Back on September 29, in the Huffington Post, he said:

       I am prepared to vote for a clean continuing resolution. 
     The hourglass is nearly empty, and it's time to get on with 
     the business of funding the government and come back to fight 
     another day.

  Mr. Speaker, that is three Republicans who disagree with being held 
hostage by the Tea Party wing of your party.
  Then, from California, there is Representative Nunes, who serves on 
the Ways and Means Committee, another committee that deals directly 
with our country's finances. This is coming from a Twitter from a 
reporter from the Huffington Post:

       Representative Devin Nunes says he'll vote for the latest 
     GOP plan, but will support a clean continuing resolution if 
     it comes down to it.

  This is four Republican Members, Mr. Speaker, who disagree with the 
GOP's hostage-taking by the Tea Party wing of your party.
  Then, from the State of Minnesota, there is Representative Erik 
Paulsen, who also serves on the Ways and Means Committee, who had told 
a local TV reporter in Minnesota, FROM KARE-TV, channel 11, and they 
tweeted out, saying:

       Representative Erik Paulsen tells me he's willing to break 
     with GOP leadership and vote for a clean resolution if given 
     the chance.

  That's five Republicans, Mr. Speaker, who are going back home and 
telling people that they would vote for a clean resolution if you would 
give them a chance.
  Then, from the State of Virginia, there is Representative Frank Wolf, 
who serves on the Appropriations Committee. His aide told the Hill 
newspaper that he would support a clean continuing resolution. In a 
statement on the House floor on Tuesday, Wolf said:

       This is bad for America. It is bad for America. Enough is 
     enough. It's time to be leaders. It's time to govern. Open up 
     the government.

  Six people. Those aren't the words of the members of the 
Congressional Progressive Caucus. These are Members of the Republican 
Party. If you give them a chance and demand a vote, we will be able to 
pass that. That's six Members.
  What about Representative Jim Gerlach from Pennsylvania? Again, he 
serves on the Ways and Means Committee. He put out a press release, and 
this is directly from the press release:

       Jim Gerlach said Wednesday that he would vote in favor of a 
     so-called ``clean budget bill'' that funds the Federal 
     Government at current spending levels.

  That's seven, Mr. Speaker.
  Then Representative Lou Barletta, from the State of Pennsylvania, 
according to the Bethlehem Morning Call, said he would:

       . . . absolutely vote for a clean bill to avert a 
     government shutdown.

  I think that's eight Members, Mr. Speaker, on your side who are 
willing to join the Democrats and be adults and get our job done.
  The ninth adult is Representative Leonard Lance from New Jersey. His 
chief of staff told the Huffington Post:

       . . . that he had told a constituent on Wednesday that 
     Lance has voted for clean government funding bills in the 
     past ``and would not oppose doing so again should one be 
     brought to the floor.''

  Eight. Let me make sure I'm right. Let me count through these, Mr. 
Speaker. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. I'm 
sorry. That's nine Members.
  Here is No. 10. He is Representative Jon Runyan from New Jersey. He 
joined with other moderate Republicans in calling for the House to vote 
on a clean, short-term funding bill that would reopen the government, 
which is according to the Burlington County Times.
  Ten of your Members are telling reporters in their districts that 
they want the opportunity. Don't make them not be able to tell the 
truth in their districts if they want to vote for a clean resolution. 
We can end this government shutdown. That's 10.
  Here is No. 11, Representative Frank LoBiondo from New Jersey. He 
called the situation ``unacceptable''--his word. He told The Press of 
Atlantic City:

       . . . that he was in favor of ``whatever gets a successful 
     conclusion to this'' and a ``clean'' continuing resolution, 
     which does not include the postponement of the Affordable 
     Care Act ``as one of those options.''

  That was No. 11. Let's get you a 12th vote, Mr. Speaker. It's a 12th 
vote from Representative Mike Fitzpatrick from Bucks County in the 
State of Pennsylvania. He issued a statement to the Philadelphia 
Inquirer, saying:

       He supports a spending bill at current funding levels, and 
     aides said that he would back that approach if it were 
     presented for a vote.

  No. 12, Mr. Speaker. I believe that's No. 12.

[[Page 15008]]

  No. 13. We'll call it ``lucky 13'' in this case. Representative Mike 
Simpson from Idaho--again, serving on the Appropriations Committee--
told a Roll Call reporter Tuesday night:

       I'd vote for a clean continuing resolution because I don't 
     think this is a strategy that works.

  Mr. Speaker, 13 Members of the Republican Party disagree with the 
Republican Party on the strategy to hold our country hostage and ruin 
our economy.
  No. 14, Representative Pat Meehan from Pennsylvania, according to a 
press release he put out, said:

       At this point, I believe it's time for the House to vote 
     for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to 
     the table and negotiate a responsible compromise.

  No. 14, Mr. Speaker. This is No. 14, who wants to cooperate and give 
us 6 weeks to work out a compromise between the two Houses so that we 
can have what should be a budget in this country.
  No. 15 is Representative Michael Grimm of New York. In a statement 
released by his office on Monday, the New York Republican argued that 
demanding ideological purity is ``not looking at the big picture.'' An 
aide of his told the Huffington Post that he supports a clean 
continuing resolution.
  I am sorry to do this again, but I'm going to have to make sure I've 
got the count right, Mr. Speaker. One, two, three, four, five, six, 
seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Members of your party.
  No. 16 is Representative Peter King. I think he was one of the first 
Members to do this. He said he thinks that House Republicans would 
prefer to avoid a shutdown, and he said he will only vote for a clean 
continuing resolution to fund the government, according to the National 
Review Online. He is No. 16.
  No. 17 is Representative Randy Forbes out of the State of Virginia, 
who told the Virginian-Pilot that he supports the 6-week clean funding 
bill that passed in the Senate:

       Unfortunately, for us, this is not a game. This is real 
     lives of people.

  That's No. 17.
  Finally, No. 18 that is officially out there, Mr. Speaker, is 
Representative Rob Wittman of Virginia:

       I voted to avoid a government shutdown at every 
     opportunity, to continue government funding, and although I 
     have not had an opportunity to do so to this point, I would 
     support a clean continuing resolution to get our government 
     back up and running.

  He put that in an email that he shared with Post Politics.
  That's 18. You have a 17-seat margin on the Republican side, Mr. 
Speaker, and 18 people on your side of the aisle will join the 
responsible adults on this side of the aisle. Call us back tonight, and 
tomorrow we will end this crisis and not cost our economy $300 million.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a bonus for you. I think there is a 19th person 
who is on the cusp of saying the same thing--from my own State, 
Representative Reid Ribble. He is someone I am working with. He and I 
have a bill together right now to try to get a budget process every 2 
years because we think it might be a better way to actually get this 
country back on track.
  According to the Pierce Herald County paper in Wisconsin, here is 
what he said:

       Two wrongs don't make a right.

  Then this is a quote from WHBY radio 1150 AM in Wisconsin:

       A Republican from northeast Wisconsin says it's harmful and 
     embarrassing that lawmakers couldn't reach a deal to avoid a 
     government shutdown. Congressman Reid Ribble of Sherwood says 
     he is encouraging his colleagues to send short-term spending 
     proposals to a conference committee so Members of the House 
     and Senate can work out a compromise. Ribble says he is 
     meeting with the House Speaker today to discuss their 
     strategy and what they're going to offer. He says he is 
     optimistic that the shutdown won't last long and that they 
     can at least agree to a short-term solution.

  Mr. Speaker, in the coming hours, more of your Members are going to 
stand up and get the keys back from the Tea Party wing of your party. 
Before you have to call a tow truck to pull this country out of a 
ditch, get the keys back. Demand a vote. Give us a vote on a clean 
continuing resolution, and we can end this right now.
  I am joined by another member of our Progressive Caucus, another 
freshman member who brings good common sense and a good educational 
sense as a former teacher to this body. It is my opportunity to yield 
some time to my colleague, Representative Mark Takano from the great 
State of California.
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin.
  I rise today to object to this government shutdown that has been 
orchestrated and carried out by the House Republicans and the Tea 
Party.
  Before I came to Congress, yes, as the gentleman has said, I worked 
for over 20 years as a high school teacher; and I have to say, during 
these last few days, I've begun to wonder if my students in Riverside 
County had a better understanding of how our government works and how 
it should function than the House Republicans.
  It is 46 times that the House Republicans have voted to repeal or to 
defund the Affordable Care Act. They are doing this as if they believe 
the majority in the Senate, which fought to create the Affordable Care 
Act, would vote for its repeal. They are doing this as if they believe 
the President would actually sign legislation reversing his crowning 
achievement. That's not how our government works. There are three 
branches of government in this country, and any high school senior can 
tell you that the only way a bill can become a law is if it is passed 
by the House, passed by the Senate, and signed into law by the 
President.
  So now the Republican Party has resorted to hurting everyday 
Americans by forcing the government to shut down and furloughing 
hundreds of thousands of workers so they can get what they want. It is 
18 times the Senate attempted to send negotiators to the House to get 
an agreement on a budget; and now, because of the House Republican 
delay tactics, we have run out of time and have passed the date to keep 
the government open. They have taken this moment of crisis to exercise 
political leverage in the most irresponsible manner.
  I can appreciate my Republican colleagues' passions and their world 
views on government, but their passions are misplaced, ill-timed, and 
inappropriate. They want to display those passions and undo a law at a 
time when Americans will be harmed by their tactics. What makes 
Americans so angry is when they see Members of Congress so eager to 
hurt our country to achieve their political ends.
  Let's say that our positions were flipped, that the Republicans had 
the Senate and the Presidency and the Democrats had the House. What if 
the Democrats said, Well, we don't want a government shutdown, but 
unless the Senate passes and the President signs immigration reform 
into law, that's what we will do? Or how about if we were to say, We 
are against furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers, but unless 
the Senate passes and the President signs an assault weapons ban, we 
will do just that?

                              {time}  2015

  You know, we could say unless the Senate passes and the President 
signs into law, the option will be to shut down the government.
  I know our friends on the other side of the aisle would never allow 
such tactics to stand. Now the House Republicans are trying a piecemeal 
approach, attempting to fund the government one agency at a time. This 
is no way to run a government either. This is just legislative public 
relations. This is Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans reacting 
to the bad headlines they've received in the last few days. The press 
has been criticizing this shutdown for how it's harmed our veterans.
  What's the answer for the Republicans? Introduce a bill that funds 
only veterans programs. The press has exposed the tragedy of this 
shutdown, ending clinical trials for kids with cancer. What's their 
solution? Introduce a bill that funds only clinical trials.
  The press has shown how insulting it is to our Greatest Generation 
when they have been locked out of the Washington, D.C., World War II 
Memorial. What do Republicans do? Introduce a

[[Page 15009]]

bill that funds only parks and monuments. This is not governing. This 
is damage control.
  The actions by the House Republicans are absurd and reprehensible. 
The House Republicans are pitting American against American for 
political gain. Do they think that a veteran would want his benefits at 
the expense of his grandchild's education? Do they think that poor 
children should go to sleep hungry so the national park in their 
district can open?
  One-half of one House of Congress of one branch of government should 
not get to make such outrageous demands. To make things worse, there 
are reasonable Republicans, as the gentleman from Wisconsin has just 
demonstrated, Republicans who know this is wrong, Republicans that have 
stopped me in the hall and told me how Ted Cruz has put them into a 
political conundrum. Even Grover Norquist has said Ted Cruz has 
``pushed House Republicans into traffic and wandered away.''
  Eighteen House Republicans have publicly stated they would support a 
clean CR. Let's end the GOP shutdown. Let's bring sanity back to 
Congress and pass a clean CR that will put Americans back to work and 
restore funding to the countless programs that they rely on.
  Mr. POCAN. If I could ask a question of the gentleman. You mentioned 
that the Senate 18 times has tried to find a resolution to having a 
budget in this country. There are a number of us who serve on the 
Budget Committee, including Representative Jeffries from New York 
State, who is going to speak in a little bit, who for 6 months have 
been asking for the Republican leadership to appoint conferees so that 
we could actually do exactly that. Do you remember when the Republicans 
finally proposed a conference committee?
  Mr. TAKANO. The gentleman is going to have to help me. I'm not aware 
of when this happened.
  Mr. POCAN. I believe it was between 11:40 and 15 minutes to midnight 
on the deadline before we had to shut down government.
  Mr. TAKANO. Was that literally the 11th hour, 59th minute before 
they--that's right. I do remember this now because I was here that time 
of night. I do remember that because we were wondering what the 
Republican Caucus was going to do next, and the last thing of the 
evening on Saturday was to propose a conference.
  Look, the Senate Democrats passed a budget after much complaining by 
the House Republicans that the Senate had not passed a budget, and I 
believe this was way back in the spring.
  Mr. POCAN. March 23.
  Mr. TAKANO. We had plenty of time to try and hash all of this out, 
but let's remember the original pretext for this shutdown. What I kept 
hearing from our Republican colleagues was they wanted to delay the 
implementation of the Affordable Care Act. That seemed to be the crux 
of their objectives.
  Mr. POCAN. In the last 48 hours, how many votes have we had on the 
Affordable Care Act?
  Mr. TAKANO. The last 48 hours, we've voted on a lot of things since 
then. As I pointed out in my remarks, every headline that looks bad for 
them, they come up with a bill, and they try to fund that headline 
away.
  Again, they're embarrassing votes for many people on our side, having 
to answer, Why are you voting against the National Institutes of 
Health? Why are you voting against veterans? Of course we're not voting 
against them. We're saying that you can't pit one group of Americans 
against another group of Americans, and that there are literally many 
Americans who depend on many of the programs. When people really 
understand what our government does for them and when it's taken away, 
then it comes home.
  Mr. POCAN. Thank you so much, Representative Takano. You did a great 
job pointing out every time a press release came out and they realized 
one of the impacts of shutting down the government, they tried to put a 
little chewing gum in the crack in the dam rather than actually 
addressing the problem. They've done that multiple times. They have 
done it through what we call around here ``gotcha votes'' to try to 
make a point, but they have not provide the solution we need, which is 
what we're demanding and 18 Members on the other side are demanding, 
which is a vote on a clean continuing resolution so that government can 
continue.
  Mr. TAKANO. I don't know if you spoke about this earlier, but in just 
this past series of votes, there was what is called in technical 
language here in the House, a motion to recommit, otherwise known as an 
MTR. The Democrats used that opportunity to propose a motion to 
recommit, which was essentially that motion. We were trying to bring to 
the floor a clean CR, the exact Senate language for the continuing 
resolution.
  The number that we would have funded the government at would have 
been at the Republican's own number. It's a number that many of us feel 
is too low. I bet you most of our caucuses would've supported it. But 
what happened? There was a motion on the Republican side to table our 
motion. Why table it? Why were they scared? They were scared to bring 
it to the floor. Instead of a procedural motion that the Republicans 
could have voted ``no'' on, they would have been faced with voting up 
or down and those 18 Members would have had to make a decision to go 
against what they publicly stated. They could have done that today. 
They had an opportunity today, and let it be said right now that we 
missed an opportunity to fund this government and to move on. It passed 
away today. All I can say is this motion to table was nothing less 
than, I think, a motion out of fear. Fear of what? That there would be 
a reasonable majority that would come together.
  I asked earlier today a question that was rhetorical. I asked as a 
point of information, Who is the Speaker of this House? Is it John 
Boehner or is it Ted Cruz? In order to get to this vote, we have to 
take this Congress back from a phantom Speaker because I can't believe 
that--you read out the names of 18 people who are willing to go on 
record publicly. How many do you and I suspect of Republicans that 
privately feel these things, but are too afraid to move forward because 
of this phantom Speaker?
  Mr. POCAN. Absolutely. Thank you again for your leadership, 
Representative Takano. I appreciate it.
  Completely from the other coast, we have another freshman Member who 
is a strong member of our Progressive Caucus and a former legislator 
from the State of New York and now a Representative in Congress in the 
State of New York. It's my pleasure to yield some time to 
Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin, the 
badger State, for yielding me some time, for your tremendous leadership 
in anchoring this Progressive Caucus Special Order week after week 
after week, carrying forward in such a powerful and compelling way the 
Progressive message to the Americans out there who we represent. It's 
such a powerful vehicle to use the House floor, to speak in such 
eloquent, genuine ways about the challenges that we confront here in 
the United States Congress.
  Over the last few weeks, what we've witnessed, I think, can be 
characterized as both the theater of the absurd and a Shakespearean 
tragedy. Let me deal with the Shakespearean tragedy aspect of this.
  We are in the midst of a government shutdown right now that is 
unnecessarily forcing pain on the American people. It's a shutdown that 
was manufactured by the House GOP that has resulted in a situation 
where Americans all across this country have now been put in jeopardy. 
That's a tragedy of epic proportions. Children have been put in 
jeopardy. Tens of thousands of them have been shut out from the Head 
Start program. Families have been put in jeopardy. More than 800,000 
individuals were kicked out of work unnecessarily. As time marches on, 
faced with the uncertainty as it relates to how they pay their bills, 
put food on their table, clothing on their backs, pay off

[[Page 15010]]

the mortgage, more than 800,000 hardworking Americans are collateral 
damage as a result of a reckless, irresponsible, mean-spirited 
behavior.
  Veterans have been unnecessarily put into harm's way. Children 
looking for hope and dealing with the cancer that has afflicted them 
are unable to participate in clinical trials at the National Institutes 
of Health. Seniors, who otherwise would benefit from the Meals on 
Wheels program--it's insult to injury. It's bad enough you're trying to 
cut $39 billion from the SNAP program, but then you've got to inflict 
additional pain, as a result of the government shutdown, on seniors who 
rely on the Meals on Wheels program to eat and deal with their 
nutritional needs.
  The other problem that's amazing to me is that you've put in jeopardy 
expectant mothers who are now unable to receive the nutritional 
assistance that would be available to them in the absence of a 
government shutdown. This is a Shakespearean tragedy inflicted upon us 
by an out-of-control House majority.
  Let me deal for a moment or so with the theater-of-the-absurd aspect 
of this. I asked on the floor of the House of Representatives today, 
Who's in charge? My distinguished freshman colleague from California 
just referenced this point. Who is in charge of the House of 
Representatives? Is it the Speaker who's in charge at this moment? Is 
it the Heritage Foundation? Is it Tea Party extremists? Is it the 
junior Senator from Texas, who for the last week, before he 
disappeared, was barking out orders over on the other side of the 
Capitol and then Members in the House of Representatives were following 
those orders in lockstep, executing this extreme agenda that has led us 
to a shutdown of the United States Government?
  The other side of the aisle, my good friends, they're going to say, 
Well, what are you talking about an extreme agenda? We just have a 
disagreement as it relates to the Affordable Care Act, and you guys on 
the other side of the aisle, the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
he doesn't want to compromise. Compromise on what? The Affordable Care 
Act is the law of the land. It was passed by a duly elected Congress in 
2010. The Supreme Court of the United States of America declared it 
constitutional in 2012 in an opinion written by Chief Justice John 
Roberts, someone who was nominated to the bench by George W. Bush.

                              {time}  2030

  And then a few months later, in November, the President of the United 
States was reelected in an electoral college landslide with a 
difference of more than 5 million votes, reaffirming the Affordable 
Care Act, which was his signature legislative achievement.
  What exactly do you want us to compromise on when October 1 was the 
day that enrollment first began? You claim it to be a train wreck. The 
train hasn't even left the station yet. But in advance of this 
government shutdown, you sent a series of ransom notes over to this 
side of the aisle. I mean, this really is shocking behavior. It was a 
series of ransom notes. If you don't do what we want to you do, we're 
going to shut down the government.
  Let's go through the ransom notes that were sent over. First you 
said, Defund the Affordable Care Act; and then that didn't work. And 
then you said, We want to delay the Affordable Care Act for a year; and 
that didn't work. And then you said, We are going to deny the ability 
for contraception coverage; and that didn't work. And then you said, 
We're going to repeal the medical device tax; and that didn't work. And 
then you said, Well, let's delay the individual mandate for a year; and 
that didn't work. And then finally, out of desperation, you said, Well, 
we're going to jam up our own congressional employees in what 
effectively amounts to a misrepresentation, because you weren't trying 
to take away a subsidy. You were trying to take away an employer 
contribution that is available to the overwhelming majority of 
Americans whose employers provide health care. A series of ransom notes 
that were summarily rejected by a courageous Senate majority.
  And when you finally realized the futility of those demands included 
in each of those legislative ransom notes that you sent over to the 
other side, at the 11th hour, in the height of hypocrisy, you said, 
Let's go to conference.
  Go to conference? As my good friend, the distinguished Congressman 
from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) pointed out, we've been asking for regular 
order since the spring of this year.
  Now, regular order involves the following process:
  The House passes a budget, the Senate passes a budget, both of which 
occurred earlier this year. And then at that point, the two sides 
appoint conferees to sit down at the negotiating table and try to work 
out the differences. That's the regular order that you've been 
screaming about for the last 4 years. And earlier this spring, you 
finally had an opportunity to bring it about. Senator Harry Reid was 
prepared to move forward. Even Mitch McConnell seemed like he was ready 
to move forward. And individual Republican Senators said that it was 
absurdity for the House Republicans to have been demanding conference 
committees over the last several years, and finally they get an 
opportunity to do it, and nothing's forthcoming from the other side of 
the aisle here in the United States House.
  Why is that the case? Well, I think we've now figured it out. Because 
you knew that the demands that you would make--because you are 
following the script from the junior Senator from Texas and others--
would have been so extreme at a conference committee that it would have 
just been a futile legislative exercise, and you did not want that to 
be exposed to the American people. I think that's one of the only 
conclusions that we can draw at this moment, with the benefit of 
hindsight, as to why in the world a conference committee was never 
appointed, even though that's something that you had been demanding, my 
good friends on the other side of the aisle, for the previous few 
years. So the American people aren't going to be fooled by these 11th-
hour gimmicks--conference committee.
  What we need to do at this point is just pass a clean continuing 
resolution that, if it were to come to the floor of the United States 
House of Representatives, would have bipartisan support from Democrats 
and from Republicans, many of whom were mentioned earlier today by the 
distinguished Congressman from the Badger State (Mr. Pocan), and we 
could get beyond this shutdown, this Shakespearean tragedy, which is 
very painful for hardworking Americans, and go off and do the business 
of the American people. That's what needs to happen.
  I hope reasonable minds can come together. You can stop following the 
marching orders of outside agitators--who've got no interest in 
governing and are only concerned about 2016 and other ambitions that 
these individuals may harbor--and do the responsible thing so we can 
move this country forward.
  Mr. POCAN. Thank you so much, Representative Jeffries, for very 
clearly explaining to the country the situation and what's unfolded in 
these final days and final hours before the government shut down.
  You know, there is no question that people on this side of the aisle 
are willing to compromise. We're compromising to a number that is 
nearly identical to what the Republicans have proposed so that we can, 
for the next 6 weeks, figure out our finances.
  You and I both serve on the Budget Committee. You know we've been 
trying for--how long was it, Representative, again? How long were we 
fighting for this?
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Since March or April of this year.
  And, Congressman, you raise an interesting point. I think this is 
important to clarify for the American people. Our friends on the other 
side of the aisle have said, Well, we want a changed set of law. We 
want to defund, destroy, or delay the Affordable Care Act. Inherently 
outrageous. Well, let's just put that aside for the moment.
  The Senate majority and those on our side of the aisle in the House 
of Representatives as well as the President, have already compromised, 
as

[[Page 15011]]

you pointed out. The number that we feel is appropriate to fund the 
government and do what's right for the American people is $1.058 
trillion. That's the number that we feel is appropriate. The number 
that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like to see the 
government funded at is $986 billion. That's a significant difference.
  However, in order to move the country forward, the Senate majority, 
the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the President of the 
United States have all agreed to move forward with a continuing 
resolution, not at our number, $1.058 trillion, but at the House 
majority number, which is substantially less, $986 billion. Our good 
friends on the other side of the aisle don't know when to take ``yes'' 
for an answer.
  As the Democratic whip pointed out earlier this week, we've already 
compromised and accepted the sequestration cuts for the purpose of 
keeping the government open and negotiating over the next 6 weeks as to 
what the appropriate number is. So that is political spin that you 
hear, those who sent over the ransom notes, accusing others of an 
unwillingness to compromise when we've already compromised on the 
number in the continuing resolution.
  Mr. POCAN. Well, again, thank you, Representative Jeffries, so much 
for explaining to the American people exactly what has happened and 
transpired in the last few days and why it's so important that we 
demand a vote and get a vote on a clean continuing resolution.
  I would like to close with a letter that I received from a 
constituent in my district, and I just want to read the parts of the 
letter I think that are especially relevant. This is from a woman who 
has a business in the Baraboo, Wisconsin, area. This is a quote from 
what she wrote:

       I'm the owner of a small business environmental laboratory 
     which provides jobs to 29 people in the Baraboo area. 
     Approximately 60 percent of our work is under direct contract 
     or is a subcontract on EPA--Environmental Protection Agency--
     Department of Defense, and USGS, Forest Service, and NOAA 
     projects.
       This shutdown means that, one, many of our upcoming 
     projects may be canceled or delayed in a month that was going 
     to finally make a financial success of my business, and two, 
     we don't know when we will receive payment on approximately 
     $300,000 of outstanding invoices, meaning, I don't know how 
     we'll make our payroll or pay our vendors.
       We may be small, but my company brings in close to $2 
     million a year into Wisconsin from across the country and 
     have just added three new employees. If an agreement on the 
     budget isn't reached right away, my little contribution to 
     the economic recovery will be reversed, or even worse. Please 
     help find a way out of this mess.

  Mr. Speaker, please, for the sake of this small business owner in 
Baraboo, Wisconsin, for the sake of the pregnant low-income woman in 
Madison, Wisconsin, for the sake of the Federal employees and the 
civilian employees on our military bases, for the sake of all the 
people who are affected by this government shutdown that the 
Republicans have forced upon this country, listen to your own Members. 
You don't have to listen to the Democrats. Listen to the 18 Members and 
growing on your side who have said this strategy is a failure. It's 
time to pass a clean continuing resolution.
  If you listen to your Members, a majority of this House--you are not 
the speaker of the Tea Party. You are not the speaker from the Office 
of Senator Ted Cruz. You are the Speaker of the entire House of 
Representatives. And now a majority of this House is demanding a vote, 
that we pass a clean continuing resolution at your numbers. You won. 
Let's get this country opened, and let's help the economy bounce back 
to where it needs to be.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, from the Progressive Caucus of Congress, I 
yield back the balance of my time.

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