Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituents and good friends Richard and Lee Laster on the occasion of his 90th birthday and their 65th wedding anniversary. The Lasters have called Chappaqua, New York, home for 50 years.

Born in Vienna, Austria, Richard came to the United States in 1940. After graduating in 1944 from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, Richard began his long career with General Foods Corporation. He became President of the Maxwell House Coffee Division, Executive Vice President and a Director at General Foods. Following his retirement from General Foods, Richard helped build DNA Plant Technology Corporation and WellGen. Richard has also served on the Board of Directors of RiceTec, Inc., The Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, Bowater Incorporated, The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, and Peptor Ltd.

Richard has been a strong and committed community leader, generously sharing his wisdom and skills with a myriad of civic and educational organizations. These include serving as a Director of The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, Trustee of Temple Beth El, Chairman of the Purchase College Foundation, Trustee of Polytechnic University, Chairman of the Westchester Education Coalition, a member and Deputy Supervisor of the New Castle Town Board, President of the Chappaqua School Board and Vice President of the United Way of Westchester.

Richard and his beloved wife, Lee, are both Holocaust survivors. Their experiences in 1938 led to a deep and abiding commitment to fighting the evils of hatred and bigotry by teaching tolerance to young students. In 2011, the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center presented Richard and Lee with its Spirit of Humanity Award as recognition for Richard's 14 years as Chairman and Lee's longtime service as a board member. Lee has also volunteered on the board of The Chappaqua Orchestra.

I am proud to recognize Lee and Richard Laster of Chappaqua, New York for their extraordinary contributions to our community and beyond. I wish them happiness on the double celebrations of their 65th wedding anniversary and his 90th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill.

For more than 40 years, Bill Young served his district and this institution with integrity and honor after having served our country in the Army National Guard for nearly a decade.

As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, his leadership and advocacy for our men and women in uniform and our veterans was unsurpassed. In a time when political culture too often devolves into hostility, and ``compromise'' is a dirty word, Bill Young was always a gentleman who consistently reached across the aisle.

He would share with me his visits with his dear wife, Beverly, to wounded warriors to bring them comfort. How happy those visits made him.

It was such a pleasure to serve with him, and he will be truly missed. Renaming this VA facility in his memory is a tribute to his legacy.

You will be missed, my dear friend. Rest in peace, God bless you, and God bless America.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, 15 days after the shutdown began, the House is finally considering a bill to reopen the government and avoid the economic calamity that could have ensued if the United States defaulted on its debt. Frankly, it is disappointing that Republicans have dangerously put our economy and American families at such great risk. 800,000 Federal workers have been furloughed. Families that depend on critical services--from disaster aid to nutrition assistance--have been left in the cold. Billions in economic activity have been lost. Fitch Ratings placed the United States, the United States of America, on ``rating watch negative'' due to political brinkmanship.

Despite clear opposition from the American people, many Republicans, it is hard to believe, are still poised to oppose this short-term bill tonight to reopen government, pay America's bills, and negotiate a reasonable budget agreement for 2014.

Congress, let's remember, has already enacted $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures since 2010. Looming across-the-board sequester cuts threaten all our priorities, from job creation to Head Start to military readiness and everything in between. For example, if we do not act before January 15, defense spending will be cut by approximately $20 billion below 2013 levels, and we could jeopardize up to 1.6 million American jobs over the next year.

Madam Speaker, we cannot meet these serious challenges without a spirit of bipartisanship and a commitment to working together in good faith.

I urge the majority to learn the lesson of this irresponsible shutdown: do not allow the fringe in your party, those disconnected from reality whose sole goal is obstruction, to continue to dictate the agenda of this House.

No Member of this esteemed body should ever again threaten the full

faith and credit of the United States of America or shut down the government to advance a reckless ideological agenda. I strongly support this bill tonight with hope that my colleagues in the majority will work in a bipartisan way to avoid a repeat of this tragic episode when the funding and debt ceiling and deadlines in this bill are reached in the new year.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Barbara Lee, a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano),

a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

(Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott).

I am delighted to yield 1 minute to the distinguished leader from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Republican shutdown.

Of course, we support the funding for Indian Education and Health Services. Unfortunately, the House hasn't had the opportunity to approve the funding for these programs this year because the majority did not have the courage of their convictions to bring their FY14 Interior and Environment or the Labor-HHS appropriations bills to the House floor. Don't for a moment think that today's bill fulfills their commitments to Native Americans. Under this bill, they will still not receive the funding they are due from the Department of Justice and the Department of Education.

This is nothing more than a Republican ploy, and the claim that Democrats are not negotiating is absolutely false. House Republicans wrote a bill and sent it to the Senate. The Senate adopted the most important part of it, the funding level, and the President agreed to sign it even though Democrats wanted greater investments to support economic growth--jobs. The only thing Democrats oppose are the irresponsible efforts to put health care decisions back in the hands of insurance companies, which have nothing to do with keeping the government open. That is democracy. That is negotiation. We have done more than meet in the middle, but the Republicans now say ``no'' to their own bill.

We could end this shutdown today if the majority would only support a reasonable solution to allow a vote on the Republican-written, Senate- passed bill. Vote ``no.'' Demand a House vote to immediately end the reckless Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Republican shutdown.

Of course we support funding for nuclear weapon security and nonproliferation activities, but this bill does nothing to address a number of other critical energy and water priorities, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, ARPA-E, and the Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for cleaning up five decades' worth of weapons development and nuclear energy research.

Even if House Republicans' irresponsible, piecemeal bills were enacted, at the rate they are going, it would take until after Christmas before the government would be fully up and running.

We could end this shutdown today if Republican leadership would just allow a vote. The claim that Democrats won't negotiate is a farce, my friends. Throughout the year, we have pleaded with Republicans to sit down and negotiate a broader budget agreement; and dozens of times Republicans have refused. Now, after wasting the first 10 months of the year and after shutting down the government as they steer the country towards economic catastrophe, they claim they want to negotiate. Democrats and the President have already agreed to the Republicans' funding level. If only Republicans would allow a vote, we could have the government reopened tonight.

Vote ``no'' on this bill, and let's vote to immediately end the Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the reckless Republican shutdown.

While the men and women who secure our border risk their lives, their paychecks are in jeopardy. I am very glad, Mr. Speaker, that the majority is talking about border security, particularly after they have frozen salaries for the Border Patrol for the past 3 years.

Yes, we should fund border security. I have been a strong advocate for funding border security. But we cannot adequately protect our homeland by funding one agency at a time. We also must fund the Secret Service, the TSA, and cybersecurity, none of which, Mr. Speaker, is included in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the claim that Democrats aren't negotiating is absolutely false. The Senate adopted the most important part of the House bill--the funding level--and the President supported it even though Democrats want greater investments to support economic growth. The only thing Democrats say ``no'' to are irresponsible efforts to put health care decisions back in the hands of insurance companies, which has nothing to do with keeping the government open.

That is democracy. That is negotiation. We have done more than meet in the middle, but the Republicans now say ``no'' to their own bill.

We could end the shutdown today if the majority would only support a reasonable solution to allow a vote on the Republican-written, Senate- passed bill.

Vote ``no'' and demand a House vote to immediately end the reckless Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, without question, every Member of the House should support providing a death gratuity for family members following the death of service personnel.

The majority is once again proposing an approach that addresses today's problem but leaves the overarching crisis before us unresolved. Major gaps in capabilities remain with neither a fully functioning national defense nor a fully functioning Federal Government.

The Republican shutdown and piecemeal plan is damaging to the Department of Defense: it hurts our credibility with our allies; reports from the Asian-Pacific Economic Forum suggest that the shutdown raises questions about U.S. political stability and plays into Chinese and Russian foreign policy objectives; and the Army Chief of Staff has said the shutdown is harming readiness.

Even if Republicans' irresponsible piecemeal bills were enacted, at the rate they are going, it would take until after Christmas before the government is fully up and running.

We could end the shutdown today if Republican leadership would allow a vote. Democrats have negotiated. We didn't just meet in the middle; in fact, we agreed to the Republican spending level in the stopgap bill.

How many more times will the majority discover an unintended consequence before they come to their senses and allow a vote to end the reckless Republican shutdown?

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this reckless Republican shutdown.

As if we need any more proof of a broken Republican government funding strategy, today we are considering a fix to a sequester Band- Aid. This is deja vu, Mr. Speaker, and further admission that the Republican budget strategy just is not working. While this bill puts furloughed FAA workers back on the job, it does nothing for the rest of our transportation system. This shutdown affects our transit, vehicle safety, railroad, pipeline and hazardous materials, and maritime programs, too.

For example, at the Federal Transit Administration, 94 percent of the employees have been furloughed. No grants are being issued to more than 1,300 transit agencies around the country. Additionally, at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicle safety activities, like consumer testing of new vehicles and investigations to identify defects in automobiles, have been suspended.

Now, all of these points aren't to say that Democrats have no desire to avoid flight delays and cancellations because of furloughed controllers. Earlier this year, despite our opposition to the broader FY '14 T-HUD bill, we supported the inclusion of language to prevent controller furloughs. Unfortunately, that effort never advanced because the allocation for the T-HUD bill under the Republican budget forced cuts so deep to very important popular initiatives like the Community Development Block Grant and Amtrak programs that not even Republicans could support the broader bill, and it was Republicans that pulled the bill from the House floor.

We could end FAA furloughs and all other furloughs if the Speaker allowed a vote on the clean CR to end the shutdown. Democrats have negotiated. Let's remember that. We didn't just meet in the middle; we agreed to the Republican spending level in the stopgap bill. Look no further than a recent headline from the National Journal yesterday: ``Nineteen times Democrats tried to negotiate with Republicans. The GOP's biggest talking point of the shutdown is only true if you ignore everything that has happened before last week.''

I want to make one other point. I woke up this morning listening to the voice of a furloughed worker with two kids in college who was talking about how in the world he is going to pay his expenses and put food on the table without the dollars that he and his wife count on in their accounts.

Let's look at the facts. Let's listen to these stories in our districts. It is fine to be so cavalier here in Washington and shut down the government, talking about getting rid of our important obligation to pay our debts, but let's look at the impact of this. Let's look at what is happening back home in our districts and think of how critical these workers are, these programs are.

Let's get the bill on the floor that would fund the entire government. This piecemeal effort may sound good. I don't know if it sounds good to your constituents. I don't know if you can fool them that way, but let's put the entire bill on the floor that was at your level that passed the Senate and let's move forward.

Vote ``no'' on this irresponsible bill, and demand a House vote to immediately end the reckless Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in opposition to the reckless Republican shutdown. I wish my Republican colleagues had shown this same level of concern for Head Start earlier in the year when the majority proposed to slash the Labor-HHS spending bill by 22 percent. The majority did not have the courage of their convictions to stand behind their cuts and even release a copy of their bill.

Today's bill does nothing to help families afford child care or to invest in other pre-K services that are so important for children's development.

Even if House Republicans' piecemeal bills were enacted, at the rate they're going, it will take until after Christmas before the government is fully up

and running. The Republican plan is completely irresponsible.

We could end the shutdown today if the Speaker allowed a vote. Democrats have negotiated, and we didn't just meet in the middle. We agreed to the Republican spending level in the stopgap bill, but Republicans insist on repealing the Affordable Care Act, including allowing insurance companies to deny care to children.

Vote ``no'' on this bill. Demand the House vote to immediately end the reckless Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Before I yield to my next speaker, I would like to make it clear that we negotiated a spending bill. We took the Republican number. Let us pass that spending bill. Speaker Boehner should bring it to the floor at your number and then raise the debt ceiling. Then there is plenty of time to negotiate on all the outstanding issues.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) control the remainder of the time.

Mr. Speaker, a quick review of the facts makes clear that Republicans are revising history when they claim Democrats refuse to negotiate.

A headline yesterday from National Journal sums it up:

Nineteen Times Democrats Tried to Negotiate With

Republicans: The GOP's biggest talking point of the shutdown

is only true if you ignore everything that has happened

before last weekend.

House Republicans' failure to negotiate includes: their leadership walking out of negotiations last December; ignoring the President's $4 trillion deficit reduction plan; refusing for months to negotiate on the budget with the Senate; and now denying the House a vote to end the shutdown after Democrats agreed to their spending levels.

Of course we will work with you, my friends, on honest efforts. President Obama signed a bipartisan $2.5 trillion deficit reduction law, and the deficit today is half of what it was in 2009. We are willing partners who will compromise.

But to suggest that we need a special committee to tell us what we already know is just not sincere. This bill is an attempt to shift blame for this shutdown. Speaker Boehner should stop trying to find somebody else to do his job. He can end the shutdown today by allowing a vote on the Republican-written and Senate-passed CR, which would get a majority vote in the House and be signed by the President.

Reopen the government. Do not jeopardize the full faith and credit of the United States. Stop wasting time on political stunts like this bill while Americans suffer. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the reckless Republican shutdown. I wish my colleagues had shown this same level of concern for the Food and Drug Administration over the last 3 years. Since Democrats passed the landmark Food Safety and Modernization Act, Republicans have done nothing but stand in the way of its implementation by underfunding the critical needs in the FDA bill.

This bill is nothing more than a Republican ploy, and the claim that Democrats are not negotiating is absolutely false. House Republicans wrote a bill and sent it to the Senate. The Senate adopted the most important part of it, the funding level, and the President agreed to sign it even though the Democrats want greater investment to support economic growth. The only thing Democrats say ``no'' to are irresponsible efforts to put health care decisions back in the hands of insurance companies, which has nothing to do with keeping the government open. That is democracy. That is negotiation. We have done more than meet in the middle, but the Republicans now say ``no'' to their own bill. We could end the shutdown today if the majority would only support a reasonable solution to allow a vote on the Republican- written, Senate-passed bill.

Vote ``no,'' and demand a House vote to immediately end the reckless Republican shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to call once again for this House to end this shutdown now by passing the Senate-passed bill that the President will sign to reopen the government.

Speaker John Boehner refuses to bring up this bill. This weekend, he claimed it doesn't have the votes to pass. While I am no mathematician, basic math shows that the Senate-passed bill to end the shutdown would pass the House; 217 votes are needed for a bill to pass.

Look at these numbers. With the votes of 198 Democrats and the 23 Republicans who have said publicly that they would support the bill, the bill would pass with 221 votes.

Mr. Speaker, bring up the bill to end the Republican shutdown immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the reckless Republican shutdown.

Of course we support disaster assistance. Time and time again, Democrats have voted to provide expeditious disaster assistance; but FEMA also needs State and local first responders, the National Weather Service, transportation, housing assistance, and other items that are not funded in this bill.

This bill is perhaps the most cynical political ploy Republicans have put forward since the shutdown began. Just a week ago, this body strongly supported Federal assistance for devastating floods in Colorado. I'd like to remind my friends that its sponsor, ironically, voted against much-needed recovery funds following Superstorm Sandy.

Too many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not believe in the Federal Government until they need it; and, boy, do they need the Federal Government now. Since it shut down, they are paying a political price and using irresponsible bills like this one to shift the blame.

Not only should the Federal Government be available to respond to every Federal disaster; it should be open to keep Americans on the job, to support law enforcement, to ensure Head Start centers are open so parents can work, and to continue lifesaving medical research, to name a few of its vital functions.

You claim to want to negotiate. We have already said we will vote for your spending bill at your funding levels, and I know my friends on the other side of the aisle understand that.

So let's stop playing games. Allow a vote on your bill to end the shutdown that the Senate passed and the President will sign.

We can open this government in the next 30 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the reckless Republican shutdown.

WIC services are vital to new mothers and their children, and Democrats have long been strong supporters. In fact, it is puzzling to me that Republicans today claim to be so supportive of WIC when, just 4 months ago, they proposed to deprive over 200,000 women and infants WIC benefits.

Funding one budget item at a time, even one as important as the WIC program, does nothing to help children get immunizations or help working families find child care. Republicans are just disconnected from reality.

This bill is nothing more than a Republican ploy. Madam Speaker, as my friends know very well, we could end the Republican shutdown today if the majority would only allow a vote on the Senate-passed bill, which includes the funding levels that Republicans wrote, the funding levels of the Republicans. That was the negotiation. That was the discussion. The Democrats agreed to the Republican funding levels. And that would be signed by the President.

If you really care about the mothers and infants who benefit from this program, you should vote ``no'' on this bill and demand that the Republican leadership allow the House to vote on the Senate bill to immediately end this reckless Republican shutdown.