[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15338]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IT IS NOT TIME TO FIGHT

  (Ms. BONAMICI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, today is day 7 of an unnecessary and 
harmful government shutdown that is hurting millions of Americans. 
Speaker Boehner called it an ``epic battle.''
  Hundreds of thousands are out of work, Federal contractors aren't 
getting paid, small businesses aren't getting loans, home purchases are 
on hold, nutrition programs are at risk, and Speaker Boehner has said, 
``It is time for us to stand and fight.''
  With all due respect, Mr. Speaker, this is the U.S. House of 
Representatives; it is not a battlefield. It is not time for us to 
fight; it is time for us to vote. Our constituents sent us here to get 
things done, to work together.
  It is not time to fight; it is time to reopen the Federal Government. 
It is not time to fight; it is time to raise the debt ceiling and pay 
our bills. It is not time to fight; it is time to get the budget 
conference committee to work, something we have been asking for for 
months.
  We can do it today, Mr. Speaker. It is not time to fight; it is time 
to vote. It is not a surrender; it is a solution. It is not time to 
fight; it is time to vote.

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