Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, once again, instead of working to create jobs, grow the economy, reduce the deficit and strengthen the middle class, the majority is spending its time engaged in ideological lawlessness disrespectful of the U.S. Constitution, and all because of their political base and to benefit their political base.

This bizarre attempt to deem and pass into law their reckless budget is not only hypocritical and blatantly unconstitutional; where is the statement of the constitutionality of this legislation?

I'll ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, read the Constitution. It calls into question whether the Speaker and the Republican leadership understand how our representative democracy works, and that includes the author of this legislation.

The House cannot simply close their eyes, pretend that the Senate and the President have passed and signed the bill into law. It does not work that way. When a bill actually passes the Senate, the Senate has actually passed the bill. And when the President picks up a pen and puts his name on it, and not a second before, that bill has been signed into law. No amount of magical thinking can change these simple facts.

Even notwithstanding the gall of the Republicans' unconstitutional plan, the very attempt to pass a deem and pass act flies in the face of all of the pearl-clutching we heard from the majority in 2010.

Then, when a simpler version of deem and pass came up during the health care debate, one that did not fly in the face of the Constitution and attempt to speak for the Senate and President, the current Speaker called it one of the most dangerous, outrageous things he had ever seen in a Congress. Majority Leader Cantor offered a privilege resolution putting the Republicans on record as against any sort of deem and pass mechanism. A year later the story has changed.

No, most of all this is a diversion from the reckless cuts the majority has proposed, the slashes to Head Start, Pell Grants, Meals on Wheels, veterans, job training, medical research, all cuts that hurt middle class and working families.

We are still waiting for the Republicans to cut the special interest waste, like the oil company subsidies and the tax loopholes for the richest people in the Nation. And what about those tax subsidies to those multinational corporations that take their jobs overseas?

You're not starting there to cut the deficit. No, it's working families and their children that you're going after.

You are taxing the patience of the American people. And you know what? You're taxing the memory of our Founding Fathers who educated us--and children in grade school today--on how a bill becomes a law.

The Republican majority is playing a dangerous game. If they do not get what they want, they will shut the government down.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Mr. CLYBURN. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Ms. DeLAURO. You're playing fast and loose with the lives of the American people, their kids, their families and with American businesses. No matter what those damaging effects are, because of ideological reasons and political base, and electoral votes, you are willing to put the United States and its people, above all, working families, middle class families and their children and our economy, at risk.

Please read the Constitution. Understand how this democracy works, and take this bill and do away with it.

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