[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15884-15885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       LET'S OPEN THE GOVERNMENT

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, Abraham Lincoln offered these words:

       The rule of a minority as a permanent arrangement is wholly 
     inadmissible so that rejecting the minority principle, 
     anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left.

  I think we have come to the point of recognizing that it is important 
to represent the majority of Americans, the majority of veterans, who 
in some short order may be questioning whether or not their veterans or 
their disability check or their family's SSI or their mother's Social 
Security will come in an appropriate time.
  The Secretary of the Veterans Administration already said that he has 
had to discontinue overtime, slowing our review of benefit claims. This 
has led to delays for an average of 1,400 veterans a day.

[[Page 15885]]

  I say to my colleagues, rather than coddling those who wish to wave a 
Confederate flag in front of the White House, let us respect veterans 
whose lives are in cemeteries or whose lives have been recognized by 
being buried in America's cemeteries. Let us stop the foolishness and 
put on the floor of the House the reasonable response to opening the 
government now so that men who are mourning, those who have flags that 
are truly the American flag, are being respected, not those who wish to 
be in front of the White House. Open the government now.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hultgren). The time of the gentlewoman 
has expired. Members are reminded to heed the gavel.

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