[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          A FISCAL CUL-DE-SAC

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the recognition of the 
signing of our Constitution, which has been described as a document 
created by geniuses for a government that could be run by idiots. It 
looks pretty idiotic around here today to have been driven into a 
fiscal cul-de-sac, risking a government shutdown or default on the 
national debt. We can help the Republicans out of the cul-de-sac 
they've driven into.
  First, just allow the House to vote on a continuing resolution. 
Second, if you want to cut the budget, bring your House budget bills to 
the floor. You pulled them back, and you wouldn't even allow a vote on 
them. Third, if your own budget is too onerous that your own Members 
don't want to vote on it, allow a conference committee to be formed 
with the Senate and create a budget that's more realistic. But one 
thing should be off limits--wrecking the global economy by defaulting 
on the national debt, which is money we've borrowed for money that has 
already been spent.
  Every small business, church, union, rotary club, contractor, home 
builder, and bank should tell the Republicans: don't play games with 
the national debt.

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