Continuing Appropriations

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I want to start this morning with a point that is obvious to me but I think bears repeating: Nobody wants the shutdown. Democrats say they do not want it; Republicans certainly don't want it. We all can agree on at least that. The question at this point is: How do we resolve the issues that truly divide us--that really divide us. The point I have been making all week is simply this: The only thing keeping the government from opening back up is the Democrats' refusal to apply a very simple principle of fairness when it comes to ObamaCare: Let's treat everybody the same. Let's treat everybody the same. Basically, all the House is asking for at this point--they wanted a lot more, but all they are asking for at this point--is a level playing field when it comes to ObamaCare. That is about the only thing standing in the way of the government's opening back up, and it is a pretty reasonable request. If Washington Democrats can't agree to that, then can they at least join us in making sure that veterans programs are funded; that the Honor Flight veterans can visit the World War II Memorial, and that the National Institutes of Health can continue its research? Can we at least agree on that? That is just the right thing to do.

Those issues respond directly to the concerns a number of our Democratic colleagues have raised and it is the same thing this Congress voted to do a couple of days ago with the brave men and women of our military. I hope my friends across the aisle will reflect on the efforts of Republicans in the House and allow the Senate to quickly vote on all the bills the House sent us last night so we can get the government reopened as soon as possible.

That said, yesterday's meeting at the White House, frankly, wasn't particularly encouraging. The President basically called us all down there to tell us he is not interested in negotiating. It was essentially a negotiation about not negotiating. Now we hear he is off campaigning today in Rockville rather than sitting down to get this thing solved, which is certainly disappointing.

But here is the good news. A solution isn't that far from reach. As I said, nobody wants a shutdown, so that is a good start. And it is hard to argue with what Republicans are asking for, especially after the embarrassing--embarrassing--rollout of the ObamaCare exchanges on Tuesday. I mean, one of the folks the President had standing behind him at the White House tried to log on and sign up for ObamaCare, and after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, the Post reports she gave up--literally gave up. And here is the quote she gave afterwards: It is not so great.

Not so great? Some Americans might call that an understatement. You would think the administration would be begging for a delay after stories like that. So this should be easy. Congress gets treated the same way as everybody else on the ObamaCare exchanges and individuals get the same break the President already handed out to employers, the same break the President has already unilaterally given to employers. It is time for Democrats to start acting responsibly. It is time to work with us and find our way out of this mess.

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