Pay Our Guard and Reserve Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, the very distinguished chairman of this subcommittee has rendered invaluable service to this Nation and this body and certainly this committee, and I thank him for his wonderful service over a long period of time.
I rise today in support of the brave men and women of our military who stand at the ready to defend this homeland.
This legislation will provide the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve with due compensation for their service--on time and in full--throughout the government shutdown. Our intention with the Pay Our Military Act was to support all of our men and women in uniform. This legislation merely fixes a technical drafting error to amend that.
Once again, I believe this is an important action to get us on the path toward ending this crisis. This bill underscores the need to sufficiently and appropriately fund the entire Federal Government--to preserve our national security and get the Nation back on a stable economic footing. The House and the Senate must work together to flip the switch on this shutdown not only for our troops, but for everyone who calls this Nation their home.
It is our responsibility as Members of Congress to take care of our troops. Just as each of my colleagues in this body voted for the Pay Our Military Act, I hope they will do the same today to correct that act.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Indiana, my friend, mentioned in his remarks about the other aspects of the Federal Government that need to be back in operation. I could not agree with him more on that. However, the route out of this mess--if you call it--is for the Senate to appoint conferees.
The House authorized and appointed conferees 2 days ago. We are waiting on the Senate to do the same. If they appoint conferees, we can work out the differences between the two bodies, as is the time-honored tradition of this place, and solve the shutdown problem.
So I ask the Members of the other body to go ahead and appoint conferees. Let's start talking. We can solve this problem. So far they refuse to even talk.
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