Government Shutdown

Floor Speech

Mr. BERA of California. Five more days, Mr. Speaker. In just 5 days, this body threatens to shut down the government. The public and the American citizens are fed up with these shenanigans. They want us to do our job.

If the government shuts down, we are going to send our military to work, but we are not going to pay them. If the government shuts down, veterans who have been waiting months for benefits are going to wait longer. Let's do our job. This is totally unacceptable.

The people expect us to come together and put together a real budget. We passed ``No Budget, No Pay,'' but yet, we don't have a budget. The House has passed one budget; the Senate has passed another. Let's come together in a conference, agree on a single number, and move forward and set our priorities.

Enough kicking the can down the road. Let's keep the government open. Let's pass a budget. Let's start rebuilding the middle class for America and one that works, and let's get back on the right track. We can do this. We've done it before.

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