Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendment to Continuing Appropriations Resolution

Floor Speech

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, when the American Government shuts down early next week, it will be plain that the Republicans in Congress are responsible. Unfortunately, it will be our neighbors back home and small businesses back home that will have to deal with the consequences.

When the Tea Party Republicans pushed the country towards default previously, they caused real economic damage. America's credit rating was downgraded, and their previous government shutdown cost American taxpayers over $2 billion. Now they're back for more, and they appear quite willing to cause significant economic damage again.

There is more to this story. Over the past few months, while our neighbors back home have been working hard at their jobs, getting their kids back into school, the story here in Congress has been one of dysfunction rooted in the House Republicans' inability and refusal to negotiate an overall budget for the United States with the U.S. Senate. They passed a make-believe budget proposal that was so unrealistic they could not bring themselves to come to a budget conference with the Senate.

So, without a budget, House Republicans left the country in limbo, and they embraced the severe and mindless sequester cuts as their spending strategy.

In contrast, Democrats have offered a balanced plan authored by Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland, but now we are here in the eleventh hour. The Tea Party Republicans are holding the American economy hostage, and they have charted a course for job losses and real pain. The Republicans are very poor fiscal stewards for American families and businesses. They are reckless and irresponsible.

I urge all my colleagues to vote ``no'' on their government shutdown plan.

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