[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15880-15881]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND HEAD START

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I place a loving picture of a little 
one and the excitement that comes from a Head Start program to 
emphasize my story this morning and the discussion I want to raise this 
morning for a brief amount of time.
  All of us have seen those western movies where the train is rushing 
down the track and coming to a point where the tracks are no more. 
Black-and-white television, we used to sit on the edge of our seats, 
wondering what would happen. For the aesthetics of the movie, we would 
see that train fall into a deep abyss, people screaming out of the 
window or some takeaway that doesn't see the final crash, or maybe it 
does.
  So as I listen to my friends on the other side this morning, it seems 
as if I were watching that same movie. Today is October 15, the 15th 
day of a government shutdown.
  Mr. Speaker, we are in crisis, and there are those who are rising to 
the floor of the House to misrepresent to

[[Page 15881]]

the American people some discussion about ObamaCare, which is working 
every day in this Nation. Albeit as Medicare and Medicare part D, we 
all need to sit down and knuckle down and look at ways that we can make 
it work better for the American people.
  But we are in crisis today, and I think it is important to know that 
there are thousands of Head Start teachers and Head Start positions for 
little ones like my good friend here, the son of Marlon. He is Hector, 
who is not able to be in a Head Start program right now today.
  For my friends, let me say that we have reason to be able to engage 
in a reasonable solution, a responsible solution. Where are they in 
coming together to make sure that we don't default in the next 24 
hours? Maybe I should educate them with a little graph that shows that, 
in actuality, the debt-to-GNP under President Obama has actually gone 
down, meaning the debt has gone down.
  The sizable increase in the debt was in the past administration, of 
President Bush, under Afghanistan and Iraq--everyone knows that--with a 
Republican-dominated Congress, a Republican President, a war that many 
did not like, but no one saw the Democrats try to shut the government 
down. Why don't they acknowledge where this original debt has 
accelerated itself?
  So now we want to move forward and invest in American infrastructure, 
and they are crying about giving Americans affordable health care. 
Where is the reason?
  So our friends in the Senate, Senate Democrats, are leading on a 
proposal to which many of us yesterday would have said that we wanted a 
long extension of the debt ceiling.
  Mr. Speaker, I have come here to be responsible on behalf of the 
American people. Let me read one sentence. On November 16, 1983, ``Dear 
Howard.'' Howard was the majority leader, Howard Baker. ``This letter 
is to ask for your help and support and that of your colleagues on the 
passage of an increase in the limit on the public debt.'' Signed, 
Ronald Reagan.
  It is a misrepresentation to suggest that this is a political stunt. 
Raising the debt ceiling has been done year after year to pay the 
Nation's bills. While countries like our friends like China are pushing 
forward by saying maybe you don't need to rely upon America, which the 
world does because their currency is not flowing in the world cycle, we 
are watching while Rome is burning. So I am asking my colleagues to be 
responsible.
  First, they could have put the Senate proposal of a short-term CR on 
the floor days ago, weeks ago. So now we have a proposal that many of 
us will probably find challenging to vote for, but I am ready to 
listen; and I am disappointed that our friends are not realizing the 
devastation that is happening with the government shutdown.
  As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, it troubles me to hear 
that James Comey, the Director of the FBI, has said that he has laid 
off 3,000 people--3,000 FBI agents who are in the midst of law 
enforcement for America. What kind of country are we?
  Judges--the Federal courts are saying they don't know if they are 
going to be able to go past October 15.
  The greatest insult is the payments that are due the American people 
on Social Security and veterans' benefits that may be in jeopardy on 
November 1 if we don't do the work that we are sent here to do.
  So I would ask my friends to lower the discord. Let's not wave 
Confederate flags in front of the White House, something that burns in 
my heart--individuals that want to divide America. Let's not call the 
President what is a faith that we should be respecting. Let's not 
denigrate ourselves by suggesting that our President worships Allah, 
but it is not denigrating the President as much as it is denigrating 
millions of Americans who are Muslims. I am outraged that we would 
raise it to this temperature.
  So, Mr. Speaker, all I can say is let us be in the spirit of Abraham 
Lincoln, who wanted to bring America together, and let us pass a 
reasonable response to the government shutdown. Let's not be talking 
about imploding or tearing this country down.

                          ____________________