Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendment, Continuing Appropriations Resolution, and Waiving Requirement of Clause 6 with Respect to Consideration of Certain Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. As we look up at the clock, we see that there is only 6 hours and 10 minutes to a completely unnecessary and economically harmful government shutdown.

Now, I don't see the junior Senator from Texas on the floor, but I presume that he has signed off on the latest feeble Republican strategy since he seems to be the one calling all the shots around here.

So I say to my Republican friends: Enough. Enough of the gamesmanship; enough of the legislative ping-pong; enough of the high fives and cheers on the floor. It's time to put on your grown-up pants and do your jobs.

It's a job, by the way, that should have been done months ago. The House passed a budget and the Senate passed a budget. But instead of going to a conference committee to hash out the numbers, the Republican leadership refused to appoint conferees; they refused to negotiate. And, as a result, we are here on the edge of the cliff.

And here's the irony, Mr. Speaker: It's clear to me, at least, that there was a majority in this House, Republican and Democrat, for passing the clean CR sent to us by the Senate. Here's another irony: That clean CR contains the numbers of my Republican friends' beloved sequester, numbers that I believe are far too low.

For the life of me, I don't understand why the Republicans don't declare victory and let us get on with the business of governing. Part of that governing is ensuring that the Affordable Care Act works as well as possible for all the American people. It's the law of the land. It's going to stay that way, and neither the Senate nor the President is going to accept any changes.

Let me just say a word about the so-called Vitter amendment that is included this bill. Unlike what my Republican friends say, the Vitter amendment doesn't make the people who work for us live like everyone else. In fact, it singles them out for special punishment. It says to the people who help us draft legislation, who answer the phones in our offices, and who respond to constituent mail, who help a veteran get his benefits or a high school student apply to the military academies that, unlike every other Federal employee, their employer will not contribute a share toward their health insurance. It's a lousy, lousy thing to do.

And I say to my colleagues, if you want to see an exodus of smart, dedicated people away from Congress, of both parties, if you want to see this place get even dumber, then, by all means, pass the Vitter amendment. Otherwise, we should treat it like the cynical talking point that it is and vote it down.

Again, Mr. Speaker, it's time for my Republican friends to put on their grown-up pants and do the right thing. I urge my colleagues to reject the rule, reject the underlying bill, and pass a clean CR.

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