Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, this is a legislative arena, not a coliseum to attack one another. It is a legislative arena to try to come together to do what the American public expects us to do.

There are at least two crises confronting the American people, and perhaps three. First of all, they are concerned about the fiscal posture of this country. They're right. We need to address that.

Secondly, they're concerned about jobs. And immediately, as the gentleman from Mississippi just pointed out, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania who spoke earlier, they are concerned about the disasters that have put them at risk. And I suggest to you the people in your district and in my district who don't have a job, who aren't sure how they are going to pay their mortgage and aren't sure that they are going to be able to buy food tomorrow believe that they too have been confronted with a disaster. They want us to deal with all three of those items and, yes, perhaps more.

Many of you have stood on this floor and said we need to act now to help these people who have been the victims of hurricane, of quake, of fire, of flood. Now, if you want to act now, what you bring to this floor is a bill that is not controversial so it does not get mired in this bickering back and forth, because we care deeply about responding now.

This bill has never enjoyed bipartisan support from my perspective, and I told your whip that on Tuesday. There was no surprise. We believe strongly that the provision that you have put in this bill is detrimental to working people and the expansion of our economy. You perhaps do not agree on that. Perhaps we have a legitimate item of disagreement. And so if you were really concerned about those flood victims, about those hurricane victims, you would have taken that out and met that issue another day. But you chose not to do that.

You chose to continue the partisan path of placing at risk the continued funding of government through November 18, which you have all expressed a desire to do, and jobs, not that Democrats say are advantaged by the provision you want to strike, but the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.

They say it puts jobs at risk. Your folks in Pennsylvania, I tell my friend, will not be helped if this bill continues to be mired in partisan differences. And you knew there was a partisan difference, and notwithstanding that, you brought it back to this floor. Now I understand there are some of you that were concerned that this was $1.043 trillion rather than $1.019 trillion. That's been changed for you now. And I'm sure all your Tea Party friends are going to be very enthusiastic that for four-tenths of a percent you perhaps have changed your vote. My, my, my. Four-tenths of a percent. That's the difference in this bill from a fiscal perspective.

My friends, Americans need our help. They don't need Republican help or Democratic help; they need all of our help. They need it now. They need it not mired in partisan bickering, as my friend said from Arkansas. They need us to come together on that which we can agree, giving our folks help when they need it--now. And I will tell you that the Senate determined that there was twice the need--indeed, three times the need--that you have determined.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's defeat this bill and let's bring tonight or tomorrow morning a bill that I guarantee you will pass overwhelmingly in this House.

Yesterday, we were hoping to vote--Democrats and Republicans together--on a bipartisan bill to fund the Government through November according to the budget deal we had agreed upon.

We did vote together, as it turns out, in bipartisan opposition, though for very different reasons.

Democrats opposed it because it was too extreme, endangering emergency funding to help our constituents hit by disasters and threatening to cut from a program that actually creates jobs.

Some Republicans voted against the CR because it wasn't extreme enough.

Now, we have been waiting all day for the Republican leadership to send us a bipartisan bill that should have voted on yesterday.

Unfortunately, the bill we're voting on tonight shows they didn't receive the message.

Not only have they put forward the same bill that failed yesterday, with the same troublesome offset and cuts as before, they have worsened it by casting a line to extreme members of their party.

Those Members who wanted an additional $24 billion cut yesterday, I suspect, will not be lured by $100 million tonight.

That is just four tenths of one percent of what they were demanding.

This new addition to the bill, which would cut loans for the construction of renewable energy projects that create jobs, is essentially an empty political attack on the administration.

Now is not the time for political games.

The American people want us to get serious on the deficit, and we had agreed on a way to do so.

They want us to get serious on jobs and this CR does just the opposite.

The CR we need to pass is one that adheres to the August budget deal.

There is already bipartisan agreement in the Senate on how to handle emergency disaster assistance, and we should follow that example.

Let's have a vote on a CR we can pass, one the senate can pass, and one that isn't set up to drive the parties further apart on budgetary issues.

Let's see a version that will bring us together.

As I said yesterday, I am ready to cast my vote for that CR, and I know other Democrats feel the same way.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this version, and I sincerely hope the Republican leadership will recognize why and work with us to do what's best for our country.

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