[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 15028-15029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I want to start this morning with a 
point that is obvious to me but I think bears repeating: Nobody wants 
the shutdown. Democrats say they do not want it; Republicans certainly 
don't want it. We all can agree on at least that. The question at this 
point is: How do we resolve the issues that truly divide us--that 
really divide us. The point I have been making all week is simply this: 
The only thing keeping the government from opening back up is the 
Democrats' refusal to apply a very simple principle of fairness when it 
comes to ObamaCare: Let's treat everybody the same. Let's treat 
everybody the same. Basically, all the House is asking for at this 
point--they wanted a lot more, but all they are asking for at this 
point--is a level playing field when it comes to ObamaCare. That is 
about the only thing standing in the way of the government's opening 
back up, and it is a pretty reasonable request. If Washington Democrats 
can't agree to that, then can they at least join us in

[[Page 15029]]

making sure that veterans programs are funded; that the Honor Flight 
veterans can visit the World War II Memorial, and that the National 
Institutes of Health can continue its research? Can we at least agree 
on that? That is just the right thing to do.
  Those issues respond directly to the concerns a number of our 
Democratic colleagues have raised and it is the same thing this 
Congress voted to do a couple of days ago with the brave men and women 
of our military. I hope my friends across the aisle will reflect on the 
efforts of Republicans in the House and allow the Senate to quickly 
vote on all the bills the House sent us last night so we can get the 
government reopened as soon as possible.
  That said, yesterday's meeting at the White House, frankly, wasn't 
particularly encouraging. The President basically called us all down 
there to tell us he is not interested in negotiating. It was 
essentially a negotiation about not negotiating. Now we hear he is off 
campaigning today in Rockville rather than sitting down to get this 
thing solved, which is certainly disappointing.
  But here is the good news. A solution isn't that far from reach. As I 
said, nobody wants a shutdown, so that is a good start. And it is hard 
to argue with what Republicans are asking for, especially after the 
embarrassing--embarrassing--rollout of the ObamaCare exchanges on 
Tuesday. I mean, one of the folks the President had standing behind him 
at the White House tried to log on and sign up for ObamaCare, and after 
a couple of unsuccessful attempts, the Post reports she gave up--
literally gave up. And here is the quote she gave afterwards: It is not 
so great.
  Not so great? Some Americans might call that an understatement. You 
would think the administration would be begging for a delay after 
stories like that. So this should be easy. Congress gets treated the 
same way as everybody else on the ObamaCare exchanges and individuals 
get the same break the President already handed out to employers, the 
same break the President has already unilaterally given to employers. 
It is time for Democrats to start acting responsibly. It is time to 
work with us and find our way out of this mess.

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