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Republican Majority Has Abdicated Their Responsibility

Floor Speech

Date: Oct. 2, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Employment and Affirmative Action Government Operations Government Budget and Spending

Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority has abdicated their responsibility. Make no mistake: a small faction of the Republican Party is holding our economy hostage to get their way.

Just 36 hours into this shutdown and the American people are already feeling the consequences. Hundreds of thousands of Federal workers across the country are being furloughed without pay. Soon, women who rely on WIC will begin losing benefits. Our national parks are closed. Important biomedical research and environmental work is being delayed.

Make no mistake: this could all end today. If leadership would allow a simple up-or-down vote on the Senate-passed CR, this would all be over.

But this has never been about budgeting. This is about a single-minded obsession with repealing a law Congress passed, the Supreme Court upheld, and that was reaffirmed by the American people in the last Presidential election.

That fight is over. Even with the government closed yesterday, health exchanges were open and uninsured Americans began purchasing coverage.


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