Date: 2013-10-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Good morning. I thought it was important to come as soon as I arrived after 24 hours in my district. After voting to restore the payment compensation to our Federal employeessome 800.000plus who are now laid off. which means that Americans are not receiving vital servicesI wanted to go home for a moment to be able to interact with my constituents. In that period of time. I met doctors. I met carpenters and millwrights. I spoke to those in the arts community. I commemorated the 70th anniversary of Catholic Charities at a mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. I listened to our cardinal talk with great faith. the cardinal of our community in the HoustonGalveston Diocese. and the cardinal that is named by the previous Pope. who now resides in our community. who gave us the words the just live by faith. I indicated that I would come back to let this body know that the people who are being affected are not Republicans or Democrats or Green Party or Independents. or any other definition other than Americans. And I was overwhelmed by those who came up to me and indicatedfrom airline pilotsthat negotiation and interaction is important. but dont break on the issue of the Affordable Care Act and getting this government open. They understand it. These are people who are being impacted. like the workers today of an aircraft company in Connecticut that is laying off 2.000 people. the Pentagon contractor that will soon be laying off thousands of people. the tax deadline for those who havent filed coming up on October 15. needing IRS workers to help them with issues that they have in terms of filing their tax forms. or even the Federal courts. which will be assessing on October 15 whether or not they can keep their doors open for the moving of justice in this Nation. So I think it is extremely important that whatever is tying you up. whatever is keeping you from looking at the common goodand I would offer to say to the American people everyone knows that we are not Greece. We wish the best for the people of Greece. But America is the richest country in the world. $4 trillion in economy. and a country that is looked to from all around the world. Our economy is bigger than the European Union. That means countries like Spain. Germany. France. England. all those members who as well are our allies. but look to Americahow shameful it is for someone to be held. and if you will. tied up by their own individual personal interests. One would ask if the Founding Fathers. as imperfect as America was as she began. had come from the 13 Colonies and various districts. and probably interests. and had held to those specialized interests. would we have created a Nation that started out by saying we organize to create a more perfect Union? Albeit that there were groups of populations that did not have dignity and justice and citizenship at that time. something that I could look back at in bitterness. but I do not. because this is the greatest Nation in the world. But we are not showing ourselves that way. It is not the truth to suggest that there are not enough voters. Members of Congress. that would vote right now today to open this government. It is something called a continuing resolution. but its a bill that you put on the floor that has been passed already by Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate. This is not an idea of anyone over another person. Republican and Democratic Senators have already voted for this clean bill that we could vote on today. We have martial law. What that meansand my colleagues know what it meansis that you can put a bill on in just minutes. So. rather than deciding amongst your children which ones to feed. which is the approach that my Republican friends in leadership are doingsqueezing out one little skinny bill versus another. squeezing out bills that leave out the FAA inspectors. leaving out ICE that deals with immigration. leaving out those who are dealing with young people who are undocumented. leaving out those who are helping young couples who want to get a home with mortgage processing. Who knows whose homes are going to be impacted by the heavy rains that are up and down the east coast who may need Federal assistance? All of that is being dumbed downlostbecause we have not opened the government. I come today. Mr. Speaker. to ask all of us to turn to our American card. and hold up the American cardI am an Americanand vote to open this government right now.