Antishutdown

Floor Speech

Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, unless we act soon, our government's functions will cease in 10 days. At the end of October, transportation and highway constructions will halt. Instead, Congress can do the right thing to create jobs for millions of Americans across this country.

This summer, the regular process for funding the government broke down because the majority couldn't figure out its stance on the Confederate flag. Today, partisan extremists are threatening another shutdown over women's health care that would be a self-inflicted hit to our economy.

We know that shutting down the government would be devastating for our economy. Standard & Poor's estimated that the 2013 shutdown cost our economy $24 billion in economic activity; so instead of flirting with the government shutdown disaster, we should be investing in our future.

Twice this summer, Congress did the bare minimum by passing multiple, short-term extensions to the highway trust fund, mostly through accounting gimmicks. Across the board, from workers organizations to business groups, there is opposition to a government shutdown and support for long-term investments in infrastructure.

We should get to work, making it easier for Americans to grow their businesses and to create high-quality jobs instead of punishing our infrastructure, our military, and our economy with foolish partisanship.

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