[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             DISTRUST IN GOVERNMENT IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, distrust in government is at an all-time 
high, and it is easy to see why. Our Federal debt is approaching $20 
trillion. A child born today in this country will inherit a crushing 
burden of debt, part of an intergenerational crime without consequence.
  Meanwhile, the middle class is being hollowed out, if not 
disappearing entirely. We have a 7-million-man strong army that simply 
opted out of the labor force entirely.
  Finally, our foreign policy is in crisis. Threats continue to rise 
abroad as, here at home, we continue to wreak havoc on our own military 
through mindless defense sequester. By the way, our veterans still 
aren't getting the care that they deserve. This is unacceptable.
  Despite the fact that Congress, by any metric we might devise, is not 
doing its basic job, in 10 days the Members of this body will adjourn 
on a 2-week vacation. And in 10 legislative days, if we don't make some 
hard choices, the government may shut down, cutting off our 
constituents from access to programs they depend upon for their 
livelihood.
  So my message is simple. My plea to this body is simple. Let's end 
the vacation.
  In what other job would you grant yourself a 2-week vacation if you 
failed to do that fundamental job?
  I know we need to go back home. I know people want to hear from their 
constituents. But more than anything else, our constituents sent us 
here to do our job, to work together to fix problems rather than 
punting them down the road to the next generation. So, please, let's 
stay here, let's do our job. That is the very least we owe the American 
people.

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