[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        APPOINT BUDGET CONFEREES

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, my constituents and the American people 
deserve a budget. One of our principal duties in Congress is to pass a 
budget. Yet Congress has already missed the legal deadline this year 
because the Republican leadership has not yet appointed conferees to 
continue budget deliberations.
  Yesterday, I joined many of my colleagues in signing a resolution 
calling on the GOP leadership to appoint conferees to a conference 
committee to continue working on the fiscal year 2014 budget.
  After years of calling for regular order and for the Senate to pass a 
budget, which they did in March, I now find it ironic that Republicans 
are dragging their feet and stalling budget negotiations by refusing to 
appoint conferees.
  We certainly have differences of opinion regarding budget priorities, 
Mr. Speaker; but that's no excuse for continued dysfunction and delay.
  I ask you to appoint conferees today, and let's work to find a 
bipartisan compromise on a budget. Democrats stand ready to act to pass 
a budget that grows our economy, creates jobs, strengthens the middle 
class, and replaces the reckless, across-the-board sequester cuts.

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