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




                              DEBT CEILING

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, this madness has got to stop. Yesterday, I 
heard from a local homeless shelter in Irvington, New Jersey, that is 
struggling to provide for the overwhelming number of homeless new 
mothers. These are new mothers who can't feed their babies now that 
their WIC benefits have been cut off.
  Because of the government shutdown, homeless shelters across New 
Jersey are running low on baby formula, diapers, and the food they need 
to feed these mothers and their newborn babies. This kind of story is 
shameful, and it is happening all over New Jersey.
  The pain I see in my district is very real, and it could get a whole 
lot worse. If we choose not to pay our bills on time, 1\1/2\ million 
people in New Jersey may not get their Social Security checks; 50,000 
disabled veterans in New Jersey may not get their medical bills paid.
  Congress has two simple jobs right now: one, to open the government; 
and, two, to pay our bills on time.
  These are nonnegotiable. The Republican Tea Party shouldn't hold this 
country hostage.
  Let's get to fixing America's problems again instead of creating 
them.

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