[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15497]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      LET'S TONE DOWN THE RHETORIC

  (Mr. WEBER of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans continue to call 
on Senate Democrats and the President to come to the table and 
negotiate.
  Here's one way to start: let's tone down the rhetoric.
  Is it proper to refer to someone you don't agree with as a ``hostage 
taker'' or as a ``legislative arsonist''?
  I don't think so. We may disagree on policy, but this kind of rancor 
will not solve anything.
  Let's work together. It can be done. The House just passed a bill 
which was not just bipartisan but unanimous that guaranteed back pay 
for Federal workers, and the bill has the support of the Senate and the 
President. That's encouraging.
  Now the Senate should take up the other bipartisan funding bills we 
passed here in the House to fund things like medical research and 
veterans benefits.
  Let's negotiate. The American people deserve for us to get this 
government reopened.
  I'm Randy Weber and I am proud to be an American.

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