Date: 2013-10-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. we are now on the precipice. moving toward a place that America should not be. I stood on this floor a few days ago and said. Mr. Speaker. we are facing a crisis. and for some. the argument is we havent seen the market take a fall. Let me suggest that we. as custodians of this great NationMembers of the United States Congressare like parents. Therefore. I ask any parent who is listening how long do they wait before they see a toddler fall. or do they leap toward that toddler so that they know the strength of that parent is always there. We have an important challenge today. The headline of this newspaper says: Senate Leaders See Deal on the Horizon. And so I make a plea today. Mr. Speaker. that our Republicans. however distracted they may be. join Democrats so that the Senate bill will be on the desk of our President today before midnight. We are parents holding onto America. I remind my friends of the words of Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address: We are not enemies. but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained. it must not break our bonds of affection. We are close to breaking those bonds of affection because we have thrown the American people into a downward spiral. I hope that Members of Congress will join me on H. Res. 375 in which I have this House go on record to never. ever again tie a nongermane legislative matter into the budgeting process: ObamaCare. The reasons are many. Oh. there is much talk about the challenges we are having with the technological infrastructure. I met with almost 40 members of navigators in my area. I will tell you. when I left the meeting. they were smiling and they were encouraged. they were ready to move forward. They know there are technological glitches. and we will fix those. but they also know there are stories that are important. such as "ObamaCare Saved My Family from Financial Ruin." by Janine Reid: House Speaker Boehner and his Tea Party friends shut down the U.S. Government because of people like me. I am the mother of an insurance hog. someone who could have blown through his lifetime limit of health insurance by the time he was 14. My son has managed to survive despite seemingly insurmountable challenges. and he wears his preexisting condition like a Super Bowl ring. Mason. now 16. was probably born with his brain tumor. It goes on to talk about. We discovered it 6 years ago through biopsies. Over and over again. he has had any number of surgeries until the point that he reached where he was reaching his lifetime caps. But yet Mason came up toward the Affordable Care Act. which lifted his lifetime caps. He is a young man now who plays basketball and argues with his siblings. ObamaCare saved Masons life and will allow Mason to go forward. Join in H. Res. 375. never again to be mired in the opposition of a legislative initiative that can go through regular order to be able to. in essence. stop and shut down the government. This default. which can occur. which we shouldnt play with. some people are talking about it can be 2 weeks from now or we will pay the bondholders so other folk wont suffer. Watch my words: interest rates and mortgages go up. access to small loans. business loans will not be able to survive. and interest rates on credit cards. Working America will literally crumble before us. I hope that we will take the words of Chaplain Black. a dear friend of all of ours and mine: Gracious God. we praise You that although we have merely a feeble hold on You. that You have a mighty grasp on us. Use Your mighty hands to lead our lawmakers to Your desired destination. making them instruments of truth and justice. Mr. Speaker. there is a rum maker in Pittsburgh who was just getting his business together. After 2 years of work. he had lined up everything. He was ready to produce legally good rum in Pittsburgh. Maggies Farm Rum. He was shut down because he could not get ATF. Alcohol and Tobacco. to come forward and be able to help him. Mr. Speaker. the impact is egregious and horrific. and what I would just simply say to you is dont listen to those who are saying it is going to be okay. We have lost $22 billion already. I am askingI am pleadingto put the Senate bill on the floor. to waive the rules and vote on this. Put it on the Presidents desk tonight. Dont let Fitch. S&P and others send us downhill. This is a great country. This is a great Nation. and we deserve to show America that we care for them.