economy, that is a conservative number. the estimate has been higher in some evaluations. ultimately, it will have an impact. pierno is the acting president of the national parks conservation association. follow their organization online at npca.org thank you for talking to our viewers. guest: thank you very much. today'sat does it for "washington journal." the house is about to come in. we will be back tomorrow morning. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. e clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., october 8, 2013. i hereby appoint the honorable thomas massey to act as speaker

pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip each, to five minutes but in no event shall debate beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: mr. speaker, we begin the second week of the republican government shutdown. the approximate cause was the republican effort to stop denial -- to delay money for the government needs to fund to stop the affordable care act.

well, it's also the second week of the affordable care act, which clearly now will not be repealed, defunded or delayed. just this last weekend, we all approved legislation that would pay all of the federal workers on furlough the salary they lost by being sent home, making them whole, which is important because they had nothing to do with this travesty. but now we're paying them not to work. one wonders why we're still in the middle of this exercise. is there any way out of this cul-de-sac? i find it encouraging that some of my republican friends are willing to negotiate. we have been waiting six months for negotiations to begin on the budget, so hopefully republicans will appoint conferees and we can get down to cases about what level of spending we want, need and can afford. but maybe we can help things along dealing with another area to come together with the looming deficit of

infrastructure. america's civil engineers tell us that more than $2 trillion is needed over the next five years for roads, bridges, transit, sewer and water. these defisheses create un-- deficiencies create uncertainty, safety and health problems. why don't we come together to address this problem? ronald reagan supported a nickel a gallon gas tax increase in 1982 when that was real money. the clinton clan that led to our only balanced budgets in 40 years included our last gas tax increase. and remember the simpson-bowles deficit plan? that called for a phase-in gas tax increase of 15 cents. now, since the last increase in the gas tax, the purchasing power of the highway trust fund has dropped by 2/3 due to inflation and greater vehicle efficiency. if we want to bring americans

together, let's work with the huge coalition that stands ready to work with congress in taking this action. it includes people in the construction industry, obviously, but local governments, professions, architects, engineers, truckers, bicyclists, everyone from the afl-cio to the u.s. chamber of congress acknowledges that it's past time for congress to act and they will work with us if we take action. the failure to address this loss of purchasing power is a source of the budget deficit. since the last big transportation bill expired in 2005, we've had to make four major general fund transfers of approximately $50 billion just to prop it up at its current inadequate level. and it's going to get worse when the transportation bill expires in 51 weeks. i would urge my colleagues to join me in averting another fiscal cliff, this one with the

highway trust fund. let's work with the vast array of interests that want to rebuild and renew america. don't ignore this deficit. instead, let's act responsibly in fixing the trust fund, putting hundreds of thousands of americans to work at family wage jobs, rebuilding and renewing america's infrastructure, making a safer, healthier and more economically -- making us safer, healthier and more economically secure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx, for five minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. chairman. just because the president and senate refuse to talk to the house of representatives doesn't mean we're going to stop doing the people's work. we'll continue to make the case that there's no rational or acceptable reason for the president and senate to deny working families fair treatment under obamacare. just as the president decided to give big businesses one year to ready themselves for all of obamacare's drastic changes,

the american people should have that same year. it's basic fairness, and while the senate refuses to meet with us to work through our policy differences to reopen government fully, the house of representatives will continue building common ground with house democrats to restore as many services as we possibly can. the senate should consider these proposals. opening parks, funding the n.i.h., ending veteran benefit application delays, funding fema and the f.d.a. and restoring w.i.c. are things we can agree on. let's not squander these opportunities for common ground. let's pass policies we can agree on and work through our differences together. regardless of the senate's nonnegotiation policy, north carolinaans deserve to have their voices heard at the capital. one of my constituents got a letter from his insurance provider. he tells me, quote, my insurance premium will double for the upcoming year. it also appears that there's

nothing i can change with my current insurance provider to make it more affordable. i've been attempting to log on to the president's website, healthcare.gov, without success. i understand that i may be able to get a tax credit if i'm eligible. to my understanding, this will not help me in making my month-to-month bills. if this change goes through next year, i'll not be able to afford to feed my children, much less purchase health insurance. this needs to stop now, end quote. angie from clemons, contacted me to say, quote, obamacare's already adversely affected my family in several ways. my son and daughter-in-law's family health policies are rising dramatically. they both are already working full-time jobs and each one has part-time work also, end quote. robert from lewisville wrote, my 21-year-old son, david, bice health insurance through blue cross blue shield of north

carolina. his cost is $111 per month. he received a letter from blue cross saying his current policy is being canceled due to the affordable care act, obamacare. david's new cost is going to be $288 per month. he works hard and does not take handouts from government. how is obamacare helping people like him? end quote. jeffrey from boonville told me his story too. quote, i went on to blue cross blue shield's website this morning. if i buy health insurance this morning the cost will be $266 a month but come the first of the year the same plan will be $566. how is this affordable? i have not checked yet to see if i can get a subsidy. even if i was eligible one, it's not the responsibility of other americans to subsidize my family's health insurance, end quote. susan from knoxville wrote to me said, quote, i had affordable health care. i paid blue cross blue shield

$181 a month. now they said if i keep this insurance it will now be $464 per month. this insane. obamacare is affordable for who? please, who can i contact to have some kind of inurns fluence? end quote. mr. speaker, we share susan's concerns in the house of representatives. we want susan to be treated fairly and to have the same one-year break from obamacare that president obama chose to give to big business. and on susan's behalf, house republicans are trying to contact a body with some influence, the united states senate, to find a way to reopen government and ensure obamacare is implemented fairly. but the senate isn't willing to budge. they won't sit down to talk. they're not interested in making sure the president's unworkable law is at least applied fairly. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the lady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes.

mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, just days before the united states government reaches its statutory borrowing limit, let's be clear. this is not new spending. this is agreeing to pay the bills we already accrued. senator alan simpson said it best. if you are a real conservative, an honest conservative without hypocrisy, he'd want to pay your debt. eight days ago, a minority faction of the congress chose to shut down the federal government. this was touching the fire. to refuse to lift the debt ceiling is to place our entire hand into the fire. a reagan economist called this debate, quote, playing with matches around gasoline. yes, that's the same president ronald reagan who raised the debt ceiling 18 times without the accompanying brinksmanship. and let's remember, during the

2011 debt ceiling debate, the mere threat of a default scared the markets and drove up interest rates. retirees lost $800 billion in assets as markets tumbled. homebuyers lost $100 a month as rates spiked. the harm this time could be much worse. we need to pay our bills so we can start solving the real problems facing this country rather than fixing ones we caused ourselves. and mr. speaker, what is most extraordinary about this fiasco is this -- i thought budget negotiations were supposed to be about funding levels. but this nation's most contentious budget fight in 20 years isn't about funding levels at all. it's about using the budget as leverage to repeal or delay an existing law. despite the destructive effects of sequestration, in an effort

to compromise, we gave into demands of the majority and accepted their $986 billion spending limit. just put this into context. he $986 billion level is 17% below fiscal 2010 spending and 10% less than the original ryan budget. it is below simpson-bowles. if that's not compromise, i don't know what is. those on the other side of this aisle don't know how to take yes for an answer. we agreed to deeply slash government spending. please, accept a victory, restart the government so we can get back to the real work of this body. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: mr. speaker, i rise once again this morning to thank the men and women of the federal law enforcement

community as well as those brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines for what they do to protect this great nation both abroad and here at home. certainly we're thankful for them each and every day for protecting us in our nation. recent events again remind us of their importance. after the lockdown last week, capitol police and others sprang into action to protect the building and those inside. in their rush to service, i'm sure none of them thought about the fact that as we continue in a partial government shutdown that they may not be paid, even though for some that may have been the case. while there's uncertainty about the nation's fiscal path in washington, that uncertainty should never be passed along to our service members and our federal law enforcement officers. the strengthening homeland security, intelligence and essential law enforcement departments, or the shield act of 2013, would alleviate that

doubt. this simple bipartisan legislation that i've introduced prioritizes and protects pay for soldiers and law enforcement personnel if borrowing limits are reached. or there is an interruption in appropriations, like there is right now. in our most difficult hours, we rely on our law enforcement officers and our military for the protection of our life, liberty and freedom. no service member or critical officer protecting the united states at home or abroad should have to worry about their paycheck in the event of a government shutdown, nor should bargaining as a chip in debates. pay for our troops was secured early through a bipartisan vote, and i applaud the president for agreeing to it. however, the shield act would codify the measure into law, meaning paychecks would never again be threatened and action would never have to be taken to protect this very basic principle. this bill already has the

strong support of organizations like the federal law enforcement officers association, which represents dedicated first responders. and just as important, it is commonsense legislation that everyday americans understand and expect from a congress that often stumbles in its responsibilities. mr. speaker, we owe it to the brave men and women who protect us, both abroad and in our communities, to make sure their pay doesn't become a political pawn at the whim of battling ideologies. no member of our federal law enforcement community or armed services should have to worry about the financial situation of their family back home while they are on the job, nor should we let our financial problems rest on the backs of those who selflessly serve the american people. . by ensuring funding for our officers and troops, we are allowing them to sustain a strong law enforcement and military presence at all times regardless of fiscal conditions.

mr. speaker, i urge support for this commonsense, bipartisan legislation and call for leadership in both parties to consider the shield act for quick passage. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazz heo, for five minutes -- mr. defazio, for five minutes. r. defazio: day seven, a bizarre new twist on the republican tea party trip down the rabbit hole, on saturday the house of representatives voted unanimously to pay retroactively every federal employ hee. those who are working, capitol hill police, those who are being kept from working like the aviation safety inspector i talked with yesterday who was quite concerned about what might happen with a long lapse in aviation safety inspections, but he's not allowed to work.

and that's a bit bizarre. he's thankful he will someday might be paid for not working, but he would rather be working, actually. how is it in this weird world that mad hatter tea party that they explain to their people back home, well, we have shutdown government sort off, we have shut down the services, but we'll pay people for the work they are not doing. we are going to let the social security applications pile up and not be processed. we are going to lock people out of the national wildlife refuges during hunting season. we'll keep the crabbing fleet grounded in alaska because we can't issue their permits. we are not going to continue to do the surveys for the next fishing season off the northwest coast. we have withdrawn all that. all those people are sitting around at home frustrated by law, can't even access their official email, but they are going to be paid. the republicans say, we have made it good. we are going to pay them. what about the american people

getting the services? it reminds he me of wimpy jay wellington from popeye, he said i'll glad you repay you tuesday for a hamburger today, but somehow tuesday never came, and repayment was never made n this case perhaps someday when they stop their games we will repay people, but what about the people of automatic withdrawals and their living paycheck to paycheck and their mortgage is coming due today or next week? what are they going to do? i see the credit union's offering zero percent loans, that's nice. but wouldn't it be better if we put people back to work and you pay them and declare vicktry. you have victory within your grasp and you are refusing it. is it about obamacare? you know that was an impossible goal. that victory is not within your grasp. if it's about the deficit, which is what gingrich put the government out of work for, then you have victory within their grasp because speaker boehner and the majority leader reid

agreed weeks ago to a six-week continuing resolution which is what has been customarily done around here for the 27 years i have been here when the two bodies can't agree on the budget. out of 27 years, twice have we got it done in time. in 23 of those cases we have continued. in this case senator reid agreed to continue running the government at lower levels of spending. a major reduction. back below the 2010 levels. all speaker boehner has to do is bring that bill to the floor of the house and it will pass. there are enough republicans who have told the press that they would vote for that. they can declare victory. they cut the budget yet again. they are not off on this fruitless errand of trying to stop obamacare from going into effect, which went into effect last week, 234,000 oregonians have accessed our website which is working quite well, thank you very much. in the states that are cooperating it's working well.

in those bonehead states that said they wouldn't cooperate, help their people, and are prohibiting people from being helped like florida, it's not working well. wonder why. go figure. let's not continue this. even let's begin to deal very quickly with the issues before us because we have looming a deadline that you can't make good later. you can't make it good later. you can't tell the people of the world, all those to whom we owe hundreds of billions of dollars, and the social security trust fund and others, we'll make it good later. when after we default on the debt, someday. interest rates will jump up. houses become more expensive. housing market crashes again. auto sales grind to a halt. credit card interest rates go to more extortionist levels, but damage you will do by credibly threatening to default on the debt of the united states of america for some clearly undefined goal will be not undone for generations.

you can't go there. so declare victory. temporarily. you got your lower levels. bring a bill to the floor today. let us vote on it. the speaker said on the weekend he doesn't have the votes. let's check that out because we think he he does have the votes and it's making him not look too good he accepted the deal before he rejected it and now says he doesn't have the votes. that's an interesting kind of conundrum and we can prove it. bring the bill up today, fund the government, pay people to actually work than not work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, for five minutes. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. you know, words have meaning and we are coming to the floor regularly to talk about the fiscal issues that our great nation and talk about how we should approach these. and i appreciate that we have everyone in the body involved in this debate, mr. chairman, but i

want to drill down just a little bit and take a look at what we have going on out in the media and what we continue to hear from so many who are beginning to participate in this debate. now the president and some of our friends across the aisle love using the term saying they want a clean c.r. a clean c.r. now, that sounds really nice. for them they feel as if it implies that what we want is a dirty or an unclean or an evil c.r. and i find their choice of words so very interesting, mr. chairman. what we want is an accountable c.r. because when they are saying they want a clean c.r., i would encourage my colleagues to realize what they are wanting is the no obligation loan.

they want no strings attached. clean c.r. means give us the money but don't you dare, don't you dare expect us to be accountable for that money. so words have meaning. when you hear this, when our colleagues hear that, i would encourage them to just realize what they are really telling you is they don't want the accountability. they don't want the trnts. -- transparency. they do not want the responsibility, or as we would say when i was in the state senate in tennessee, they don't want outcome-based budgeting. they just want to be able to spend what they can spend. what we continue to push for is accountability. transparency. being responsible to the taxpayer and being responsible to future generations. we have to do that. because the spending is out of control and, you know, we talk a

lot about this c.r. and the lower spending levels that are in that. those came about because of the budget control act. and the fact that we worked and got a 2% across-the-board spending reduction, and for the last two years we have been able to get the deficit, the annual spending overage, down a little bit. we were in 2010 and 2011 borrowing $3 billion a day to keep the doors opened around here. today we are borrowing $2 billion per day to keep the doors opened. we need to get to the point that we are not borrowing a single cent. we need to get to the point. and our goal for those on the other side that can't figure out what a goal is, our goal is fiscal responsibility. fiscal endurance and sovereignty . preserving freedom, free people, and free markets. that is our goal for this nation. and doing it in a responsible way. i've got a great niece who is

due this month, and when georgia kate graham arrives, i don't want her to be looking at a mess of a federal government. right now her debt, her share of the national debt is $53,000. every newborn that is going to arrive, welcome with your citizenship, here is what you owe. that is not responsible. it is why we come to this floor day after day. it is why we continue to say to the senate, negotiate with us. work with us. sure, let's look at the short-term funding issues. let's look at the long run. how do we preserve this great nation? how do we get this spending under control? and i would offer, mr. chairman, we don't do it by going out and borrowing $2 billion a day. we don't do it by having the fed

monetize $75 billion worth of debt each and every month. we do it by saying, we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. and it is time that he we put the components of that problem on the table and negotiate our way through it so that we are looking at long-term fiscal health and fiscal solvency. not just for this year or next year, not just for the next decade, but for the next century. put our focus on how we return to certainty, how we return to predictibility with our federal regulatory agencies and our tax code. the time to tackle the problem is now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair will remind all persons in the gallery that they

are here as guests of the house and that any manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings is in violation of the rules of the house. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, for five minutes. ms. kaptur: i thank you. mr. speaker, i rise to congratulate the three he recipients of the nobel prize in medicine for 2013. all three work at american university. dr. james e. rothman chairs the cell biology department at yale university. dr. randy w. chefman works at the university of california berkeley. and their german counterpart, dr. thomas c. sudoff is on the faculty at stanford. the nobel committee has recognized the importance of their lifesaving work. the question is, why don't the house republicans? on the very day that three researchers at american universities won the nobel prize

in medicine, the house republicans continue their siege against the government of the united states. and their siege includes the national institutes of health. where the american people through their federal government support medical research and path breaking basic research in the difficult search for cures. mr. speaker, i should note that dr. rothman of yale received two grants under the obama recovery act for his work in developing a better way to study cells. of course he would have received none if the republicans in congress had had their way. but more to the point, the republican shutdown has jeopardized hundreds of research projects like dr. rothman's, dr. chefman and dr. sisoffs. they have shut down the institutes of health which told researchers they cannot process their grant applications which eventually will bring federally

supported research to a halt. i count more than 30 research projects under way just in ohio at case western reserve university in cleveland and at least a dozen more at the cleveland clinic and at the university of toledo medical center. cutting-edge research. peer reviewed research. research that could save lives. thanks to the republican congress, these are dark days for medical research, so says the atlantic magazine, let me quote, between the sequester and the shutdown, repeated hits to research funding may have serious consequences for scientific advancement. that's something you don't see in the flash of but one day. almost three of four employees at the national institutes of health are sitting at home thanks to the republican congress. they are not allowed to do their work of finding cures and stamping out disease. the republican conference locked them out. 200 patients at the national

institutes of health clinical center were turned away due to the republican congress throwing its little teem perfect tantrum over losing the presidential he election again. many of those 200 people are cancer patients and 30 are children paying a heavy, heavy price for republican intransigence. the republicans told them, go away. . at least you would think they would care about jobs in america. research and development, including research and development in biotechnology, is a competitive advantage for the united states. it's a very promising sector for economic development for job growth. just come to cleveland to see the new health innovation center or look at the neuropsychiatric research being done at case and the university of toledo medical center. look at what it draws around it. yet, the atlantic magazine says the sequester is killing 20,500 jobs this year in the life sciences field, and the government shutdown threatens

to ground medical research into cancer, alzheimer's, diabetes and disabling neuropsychiatric disorders. the nobel committee gets it. the american people get it. a recent poll showed that 83% of the public believes investing in medical research is important for our country. so why don't the republicans get it? as n.i.h. director collins told the atlantic this week, and i quote, we don't know what grant would lead to the next breakthrough in cancer research, didn't quite make the cut. we will not know what brilliant scientists who are going to win a nobel prize basically gave up, because of the failure to get support from the current system and decided to do something else or move to another country, which some of them are doing already. we won't know. that is the sad tale that is wrapped up in all of this. the good news is that three scientists working on the frontier of scientific research, three scientists at

american universities did not give up and they have captured the nobel prize in medicine for 2013. the bad news is that house republicans apparently have given up. they apparently don't care whether the u.s. keeps distinguishing itself by winning such prestigious awards. they apparently don't care whether we support the research that will help humankind and eliminate diseases and save lives. they don't care if the united states remains the global leader. what a shame and how easy it would be to bring up a clean continuing resolution and put the government of the people of this country back to work. i yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. as we continue to talk and discuss and debate the issues of the debt ceiling, of the continuing resolution, there are still things taking place

in government. some of them aren't so good. just to give a little background that you are certainly aware of -- we have our constitution with the bill of rights. the bill of rights is the section in the constitution that protects citizens from government abuses. the first amendment is first because it contains the most important rights. if those rights are abridged, the rest of the bill of rights, to me, are meaningless. and we all know that two of those previsions have to do with the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. we traditionally honor those because they are so important. and historically, the most controversial of all speech and press was political speech and religious speech, and those are especially protected in the first amendment. and there are historical

reasons for that. colonists, our forefathers, they were an onery bunch and they were constantly hammering through the press and through speech, king george, great britain and their abuses on individuals in the colonies and rightfully so. therefore, when our constitution was written and the bill of rights were written, we wanted to ensure that under our not fee and under our democracy in the philosophy and under our democracy in the united states, that speech, press were protected. and over the years the supreme court has ruled on free speech and press cases and they have gradually limited speech. which is another issue. under the theory that if there's a compelling state interest -- and we'll talk about that some other time -- whatever that is -- then speech

can be prohibited even though if you just read the first amendment it doesn't say anything about speech unless there's a compelling state interest. but the supreme court says there's a compelling state interest, speech can be limited. and of course the supreme court decides what that compelling state interest is. and there's also two types of punishment for speech. one is censorship, which is the most egregious. that is to prevent someone from saying something or publishing something. and then there is the other type of punishment for the speech, after the speech there is punishment such as threat or yelling fire in a crowded theater. but the most egregious is preventing someone from saying something or printing something or publishing something. so that brings us to what's taken place. we all heard of fast and

furious. that's a situation where our government sent guns to mexico under the theory they're going to track the guns, americans were killed, mexican nationals were killed, we're over in court because eric holder won't give us information over fast and furious and one of the a.t.f. agents published a book or wants to publish a book called "the unarmed truth." it's about fast and furious. he's an agent in the a.t.f. the a.t.f. has a policy that says, well, we, the a.t.f., decides whether someone in our organization is allowed to publish or have some type of outside employment, and we are -- we use our own discretion. it's just up to us. we don't have any policy rules. we just decide. and they decided because dodson wants to publish this off of his -- on his own time -- not on company time, government time -- he went and tried oget permission. they said you can't publish that book. and here's the reason he was giving, mr. speaker -- given,

mr. speaker. the reason given, mr. speaker, it might hurt the morale in the a.t.f. now, do you think that's a compelling state interest to prevent a person from printing something and violating his right of free speech because the government says it might hurt the morale in the a.t.f.? well, no kidding. you got somebody that wants to tell the truth about the a.t.f. and it's a violation of his constitutional right not to be able to discuss openly what took place. it's a denial of the first amendment freedom of speech. it's a denial of press. the a.t.f., they ought to be furloughed. they ought to be sequestered. especially these people that are denying freedom of press, freedom of speech to someone who just wants to talk about what took place in the a.t.f. this ought not to be. but that's what's taken place over at the a.t.f. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, for five minutes. ms. waters: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. waters: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to discuss the irresponsibility of the republican party in holding hostage the full faith and credit of the united states. as hundreds of thousands of federal workers go without pay, as home buying slows to an eventual halt, and as federal agencies remain unable to complete the important work of implementing the wall street reform act, republicans are threatening another crisis that could have significant impacts on our financial markets and the economy -- economic security of all americans. they do this in pursuit of an ideological agenda. the result is continued instability and uncertainty for our economy and fragile

recovery. we should not default on our obligations. he ramifications of doing so would be bad. the possibility of triggering a financial crisis following the failure of lehman brothers, this time would be far worse. if we default on our debt, the lifeblood would dry up, the dollar's value could drop and we could see dramatic increases of interest rates from mortgage loans to auto loans and credit cards. every corporation and municipality would likely see their borrowing costs climb as well. unemployment rates would rise precipitously. just as we're beginning to recover. if congress cannot do its job in a timely manner, in the future, the government's ability to pay its debt will be looked upon with uncertainty by investors and markets, leading

to higher borrowing costs in the future and in turn an increase in our nation's deficit. worst of all, we could see another dramatic loss of wealth for working americans. history tells us that even the threat of default can send shock waves throughout the financial system. in 2011, just the prospect of defaulting on our debt caused a drop in consumer and business confidence. a 17% decline in the s&p 500 index of equity prices and increased volatility in the stock market. and of course, we received a downgrade in the u.s. government debt. the drop in equity caused by the 2011 debt ceiling had serious consequences for american families. the months following saw a $2.4 trillion decline in household wealth and $800 billion drop in retirement assets. the cost of homeownership also

increased as risk adverse lenders increased the cost of borrowing to purchase a home. the 2011 debate showed us the very serious consequences of even debating whether we should pay bills already incurred. but no one knows with certainty the full extent of the damage to the economy should the u.s. actually default on its debt. we have heard speculation ranging from bad to the catastrophic. i for one do not want to find out. what i do know is that everyone from wall street c.e.o.'s, the u.s. chamber of commerce to small business owners and prominent conservative economists are concerned with the significant damage that could result from a debt ceiling standoff. warren buffett, ben bernanke, hank paulson and the heads of the nation's largest financial institutions have been outspoken about the need to end

this hostage crisis now. mr. speaker, the american people have been through enough. we remain in the midst of a government shutdown with no end in sight. it is hurting real people and damaging our economic recovery. on is tenuous, defaulting our nation's debt will create a perfect storm that will undermine the credibility of the united states. but most importantly, it could be devastating for american families who are already suffering in the aftermath of a major recession. foreclosure crisis and now a government shutdown. so i urge my cretion to stop using the -- colleagues to stop -- and e debt ceiling vote on a clean debt limit increase.

the gentlelady from tennessee knows they should not try and do away with the a.c.a., that is the affordable health care, known as obamacare, and hold us hostage because they don't like it. the obamacare legislation was passed. it is in law. he was absolutely supported by the citizens of this country when they voted the president to be re-elected once again. the supreme court supported it. if they wish to do away with obamacare, they should go through the legislative process and repeal it, but, no, they're holding us hostage on the budget. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the remaining balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from south dakota, mrs. noem, for five minutes. s. noem: last weekend, a record blizzard hit my state of south dakota. some places in the black hills saw almost four feet of snow in

just two days. thousands were without power, thousands are still without power. emergency vehicles were stranded along with the people that they were trying to rescue. the damage from the downed trees, the downed powerlines covered with heavy wet snow is monumental. on top of that, with warm weather we expect this week, we could see massive flooding that could bring even more damage. on the plains in south dakota, ranchers are still trying to recover from losing cattle in the drought last summer which was the worst drought we've seen since the great depression. we've heard now that they lost tens of thousands of cattle in this spring -- in this fall blizzard. we heard that tens of thousands of cattle are lost in the snow, found frozen, injured from wandering in zero visibility in 70-mile-per-hour winds. we talked with one rancher near white river, south dakota, who found over 50 cattle that had died in one spot near a dam. another rancher north of new underwood was finally able to

locate his herd of 63 cows who had taken refuge from a shed from protection that not one survived. a rancher near union city said it's bad, i'm the eternal optimist but this is really bad. the livestock loss is catastrophic. he said cattle were soaked with 12 hours of rain earlier in the storm so many were unable to rvive an additional 48 hours of snow. cattle didn't have time to grow their winter coats. it's the worst snowstorm i've seen in my lifetime, he said, and he's 60 years old. another rancher said it's absolutely totally devastating. he's 52 years old. this is horrendous. i mean, the death loss of these cows in this country is unbelievable. this man estimated he lost half of his herd but it could be far more. he was still struggling to find snow-buried cattle and those

had been pushed miles by winds that gusted over 70 miles per hour on friday night. an emergency management director said the trail of car cusses is a gruesome sight across the region. they're in the fence line, they're laying along the roads. it's really sickening. and none of the ranchers i talked to can remember anything like it. not only will this be devastating for this year's business, but also it will take years to rebuild what has been lost. yet, another rancher near scenic couldn't find his cattle over the weekend and said he nearly killed a horse trying to get to the -- through the snow while searching for his cattle. he turned back and yesterday with the help of a pilot friend flew over lands south of the badlands. he found what he called the trail of death, about 200 of his 600 cows were dead, leading up to and throughout a draw. calves are alive but can't

get to them. those are many of the tragic stories we heard. you know, our lack of a comprehensive farm bill leaves these ranchers without the protection of a livestock protection program that would blunt just a small portion of the loss. i fought hard to improve this and cover these producers retroactively. it's time we go to conference, have the negotiation on the most reformed-minded farm bill that's been together for decades. getting the farm bill done could give those in western south dakota more certainty during this very, very difficult time. with that i yield back. . sip the jeem yields -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from american samoa, mr. faleomavaega, for five minutes. mr. faleomavaega: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: i also ask unanimous consent that two articles be made part of the

record, a letter from the national congress of american indians, and the two articles which today appeared in the "washington post" written by mr. dana milbank and theresa vargas. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i do not want to detract our attention from the current national debate on the government shutdown and debate ceiling issue, but i do want to share with my colleagues an issue that will not go away. what is it that the national football league, the 32 football club owners, and nfl commissioner roger goodell, have yet to understand why the word redskin is considered a very offensive racial and derogatory term that describes native american indians. my apologies, mr. speaker, for i have yet to master the english language, but i want to share again and again with my colleagues and some 181 million football fans all over america why our native american indian

community considers the word redskin as very offensive and clearly the national football league and nfl commissioner roger goodell cannot and should not disclaim responsibility. again let's refew the visstry -- review the history. the term redskin is commonly attributed to the colonial practice of trading american indian scalps and body parts as bounties and trophies. for example in 1755, settlers of the massachusetts bay providence were paid out of the public treasury the killing and scalping of people of the penobscot tribe. the county for an indian above the age of 12 was 50 pounds and his scalp was worth 40 pounds. the bounty for a female indian of any age and for males under age of 12 was 25 pounds while their scalps was worth 20 pounds. these scalps, i submit, mr. speaker, were called redskins.

the current chairman of the chief -- and chief of the pen knob scock nation recently declared that the redskin -- word redskin is not just a racial slur or derogatory term, but a painful reminder of one of the most gruesome acts of ethnic cleansing ever committed against the peb none scott people. -- penobscot people. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues and the 180 million football fans across this great nation, suppose that redskin scalp brought in for payment was the scalp of your mother, daughter, wife, or son? again, mr. speaker, native american indians are also human beings and god's children. they are not animals. our colleagues, tom cole from oklahoma, the co-chair of our congressional native american indian caucus, and member of the chick saw nation states, i quote, this is the 21st century. this is the capital of political

correctness on the planet. it is very, very, very offensive. this isn't like warriors or chiefs. it's not a term of respect, and it needlessly offensive to a large part of our population. they just don't happen to live around washington, d.c. also our colleague, betty mccollum, from minnesota and as co-chair of the congressional native american indian caucus, she says, this is another example and attempt to justify a racial slur on behalf of mr. dan schneider, the owner of the washington franchise, and other nfl owners who appear to be only concerned with earning ever larger profits even if it means exploiting a racist stereotype of native americans. for the head of a multibillion dollar sports league to embrace the twisted logic that redskin actually stands for strength, courage, pride, and respect is a statement of absurdity. my dear friend and colleague,

eleanor holmes norton, representing the district of columbia, states that the owner of the washington football franchise, mr. dan schneider, -- snyder, is a man, based on his own ethnic identity, refuses to recognize the sensibilities of american indians. ms. norton also said, i quote, as a african-american woman and third generation washingtonian, i want to say to redskin fans, no one blames you for using a name that has been used, but i can think of no argument for retaining a name that degrades our first americans. end of quote. mr. speaker, the game of american football has become one of the most treasured sports among american polynesian athletes. they learn to play the sport at a young age with dreams of playing in the national football league. football offers opportunities for higher education and

economic opportunity. many of our polynesian nfl players have realized their dreams like troy polamalu of the pittsburgh steelers. and now mantei at this yow of the -- at this yow of the shall san diego chargers. let's do the right thing and i appeal to the nfl do the right thing, change the name of the washington football franchise. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. holding, for five minutes. mr. holding: mr. speaker, i come to the floor today to pay tribute to my friend, marvin congresshill, a great in inian who passed away on august 18. marvin was an international leader in the tobacco industry, but much more than this he loved the old north state and many acts of kindness and generosity exemplify the good and humble man that he was. he he was born and raised in a farming community in vance

county. always the diplomat, marvin studied at n.c. state university for a year then went up the road to rifle unc chapel hill. his college days were cut short in 1952 when he joined the u.s. navy and honorably served our country in the korean war. the end of marvin's military service marked the beginning of his career with standard commercial tobacco company in london in 1957. he traveled thousands of miles from eastern north carolina on behalf of standard commercial, eventually settling in thailand in 1963 where he married his first wife. rising through the ranks, marvin was named president and c.e.o. of standard commercial in 1980. a year later his adventure came full circle when he returned to north carolina for the rest of his life, he called wilson his home. a man of great talents, he continued to lead standard commercial until his retirement in 2000. in his later years marvin, he

would be honored with countless local awards and recognitions. and many organizations, including wilson medical center foundation, the salvation army boys and girls club, and tobacco farm life museum benefited from marvin's generosityy. he also became deeply involved as a co-founder of the wilson youth united. an organization dedicated to improving the prospects of at-risk youth. but that was just like marvin. he had personally helped pay for many young folks to attend college, and after retirement he redirected his considerable talents towards improving his community. it was also in retirement he married fellow henderson native, ann coghill. one of his great contributions to the world was his love of people. with his manners and gift of storytelling, any conversation with marvin was a real delight. he saw that men and women -- he saw what men and women were

capable of and throughout his life he brought out the best in people. always outwardly focused, he looked for ways to enrich the lives of people around him. through the years you often find marvin enjoying [fast at the country restaurant in wilson. he was very modest, and he would never expect when you first met him you were talking to one of the true titans of the tobacco industry worldwide. but you were always touched by his big heart and bigger personality, and each and every one of us is a better person for having met and known my friend, marvin, he will be greatly missed by me and many others throughout the world. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back of the the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i want to start this morning with something that we as democrats

and republicans can immediately address. coming from a state that has sent probably one of the largest percentages of men and women to our far away shores as members of the united states military and in particular afghanistan, i stand here today to reach out to the pentagon and to others to be able to embrace the five families that are now facing the most devastating news is that their loved one was lost in afghanistan in a war over the weekend. yes, as we bring our troops home, as i advocated for, i very, very long time as well as in iraq, our soldiers are still dying in a place of war. i want immediately for the 100,000 -- $100,000 death benefit and flight to dover be immediately given to these

families. i'm reaching out to the pentagon, writing a letter, and asking that this be immediately resolved. last week we passed legislation to indicate that the united states military would continue to be paid. i as a lawyer, not in military law, could make the argument and make it today on the floor of the house, that that gives authority to provide those death benefits and as well the transportation costs to dover airfield. if we can do anything, if we cannot do much, we certainly can come together around the brave men and women in the united states military. this shutdown is shameful. it is indicative of the worst of not appreciating the institution of this place and the priority of the american people. but i know that there is a great love and affection and recognition that put for those who leave this place, the united

states of america, willingly to sacrifice their lives on he behalf of the great freedom that this country promotes, the constitutional government that this country supports, and is valued through the constitution, there is no way that i will continue to stand here on this floor in the midst of a shutdown and allow this travesty to occur. he so i'm asking that we immediately respond to these individuals and these families, and we let them know that god loves them and so does this nation who appreciates and is grateful for the sacrifice of their loved ones. it is a grateful nation and we will not stand for this outrage that impacts these innocent families who now not only are mourning the tragedy of the loss of a young life but also the devastation of a response. i don't know why we continue in this shutdown that is, frankly,

a situation that is in essence not following the parliamentary procedures. we know that the process of budgeting is a separate process from opening the doors of a government. and i just cited this tragedy and want to have a solution to this tragedy, but as i say that, i want us to have a solution to turning the tide on opening the government. know that there are 217 and 221 members, republicans and democrats, that would vote for a clean bill to open this house right now. . and i say that because it pains me of the tragedy that i spoke up that i looked to within hours to be solved and i say that broadly to the military family around america and around the world. but in addition to solving that crisis, we need to be able to

open the government for veterans who in the next couple of days they will see veteran centers shut down. those are the centers where veterans go for employment, where they go for their benefits, issues that they have and as a couple weeks ago, i stood before the george hotel in houston, texas, that's now a veteran center as well as a home for homeless veterans. i was there with people who said, you know what, my life has not been the best. i served my country. this is my home now. i don't want to move. i want to get on my feet and live at the george hotel. but these are men and women who were willing to put on the nation's uniform and offer themselves in vietnam and many places around the world who now have come to the floor where they're homeless but are being serviced by veteran resources and now we're telling them that they cannot have the services

hat they need. in a couple days, federal courts are looking to possibly shutting down federal courts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: i don't want to hear my republican colleagues to say this is what i wanted. let's come together to make a difference in the world. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentlewoman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. benishek, for five minutes. mr. benishek: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. benishek: mr. speaker, why are we here today in the middle f a government shutdown? the senate refuses to come to the table to negotiate. the house has passed four different measures that would have kept the government open. the senate has ignored them all. before the government shut down, the house passed a bill

which would keep the government open and defund the president's health care law. well, the senate wasn't going to support that. i was thinking, at least we would get documentation as to maybe there would be some democrat support for that. that having failed, we passed a second motion to keep the government open and simply delay the president's health care law by one year. after all, the president himself had delayed portions of the law. obviously that didn't play with the senate. then, we passed another piece of legislation, which would have funded the government, would have funded the president's health care law but simply would have made the law fair for all americans. the president changed the law y executive order, a procedure of question of legality, but he

changed the law given large employers a one-year delay in the employer mandate. in other words, employers who were delaird to offer insurance or face a -- declared to offer insurance or face a fine, the president changed the law and delayed that for one year. but we asked simply to give the individual the same prerogative that the president gave large employers, delay the requirement to buy insurance for one year without having to pay a fine. and we also asked that congress , the president, the vice president, be treated the same as all other americans. the president changed the law by executive order, a procedure of questionable legality, saying that congress would get a different deal in the exchanges than the average individual. now, when i went home to my district in august and did 12

own hall meetings, there was universal disgust to that rule. we said we'd fund the government but simply change the rules concerning congress so congress is treated the same as every american. let's change the law so that the individuals are treated the same as the large employer. i don't see how that's holding a gun to anyone's head. that is simply fairness for the american people. and that was rejected by the senate. thin, we simply asked the senate -- then, we simply asked the senate to come to the table. this proposal made the law equitable for all americans, would you please come to the table and let's talk about what is acceptable to you? let's sit down and negotiate. mr. reagan presided over his term in office with a democrat-controlled house, and yet he worked with mr. o'neill and got significant legislation done.

mr. clinton worked with a got ican house and significant legislation done and made real progress with welfare reform and many other issues in the clinton presidency. they worked across the aisle. they worked with the house of different parties and got things done. now, we have a president that says we're not going to negotiate. we have a leader in the senate that says, i'm not going to negotiate. each part of our government has a role to play, the executive, e senate, the house, and frankly mountain whole history of the republic, we've never had a situation where the president said, i'm not going to negotiate whether one house says to the other house, we're not going to negotiate. this is frankly unbelievable and a step in our government that i don't think the american people want. this is not about the president's health care law. this is about the function of

our government and how each section of the government deals with each other. and i think the american people want it to go in the traditional fashion where the house, the senate and the president work together to find a solution. when the senate refuses to pass legislation, or not consider talking to us, that's not right. i mean, we in the house have passed legislation to fund fema, to fund our national parks, to fund w.i.c., to fund our veterans, to fund the national institutes of health, the f.d.a., the national guard. by the end of tomorrow, we'll have funded more than half the government in this house. and yet the senate won't take any of that up and won't even negotiate with us. we even made sure that furloughed employees would be paid. the obama administration has given exceptions to their allies, big businesses and some suneons. why shouldn't the american people -- some unions. why shouldn't the american people get the same thing?

let's end this government shutdown. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from new mexico, ms. lujan grisham, for five minutes. ms. lujan griss apple: -- ms. lujan grisham: during this time america has been demanding to hear one reasonable, one responsible proposal from house republicans about how they plan to reopen the u.s. government. while house republicans continue to capitulate, new mexicans in my district are hurting. they're hurting because one radical faction of one party in the congress stand in the way holding the entire congress and the entire country hostage. first, this band of radicals forced a government shutdown just to get their way. they have caused significant economic harm and are wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every day. these are the same republicans

who promised fiscal responsibility. now, they're dangerously close to forcing an economic shutdown by threatening a catastrophic debt default if they don't get what they want. the problem, well, they don't even know what they want. as my republican colleague from indiana said last week, we have to get something out of this and i don't know what that even is. as speaker boehner admitted the other day, he committed to senate leadership that he would support the very same bill, a clean continuing resolution, that he now refuses a vote on the floor. on sunday, i was back in albuquerque meeting with federal employees whode been furloughed. i -- who had' been furloughed. they are worried about paying their mortgage, utility payments, car loans and credit card bills. that's what keeps them up at night. i heard from an air traffic controller at kirkland air

force base who was worried about the safety of the airmen because he's not allowed to work. federal employees are demoralized and feel abandoned. they don't understand why they're being blamed for house republicans' failure to pass a clean funding compromise. but in a 2 1/2-hour meeting, not one of the furloughed new mexicans told me they want to seat affordable care act repealed. not one. i think that shows you how far removed from reality republicans are. they continue to harm hardworking innocent americans because of their obsession of destroying the affordable care act. mr. speaker, this is reckless behavior. as this shutdown carries on into week two, we hear learning about other impacts. sandy labs, one of the largest employers in my district, have started notifying its more than 10,000 employees that are likely -- that they are likely to experience furloughs if the government doesn't reopen soon,

that -- that will have an absolutely devastating ripple effect on our local economy that we may never recover from. instead of voting to end the shutdown, republicans have had false and misleading attempts to reopen the government bit by bit. otherwise, they didn't shut the government done piece by piece so we shouldn't open it that way either. the only bill that the house republicans should be bringing to the house floor today is the senate-passed clean compromise that would go to the president and immediately open up the entire government for all new mexicans and americans. we know there are enough votes right now to pass a clean funding compromise, so why won't the republican leadership allow a vote on it? i understand some of my republican colleagues say part of the reason they got elected was because they pledged to dismantle the affordable care act. we were all sent here to represent our constituents. i know that. i'm here to represent constituents who are being hammered by the sequester. and i've said many times in this chamber we need to

immediately replace the sequester with a balanced approach to deficit reduction, but i'm not prepared to keep the government shut down because of it. inflicting further harm on people not only in my district but across the country. effect of the damaging that sequestration will have in my district, i'm willing to vote a temporary bill that funds the government at sequester levels. i'm prepared to vote for it as virtually every democrat in the house, the senate has already passed it, the president says he'll sign it. we want to get rid of the sequester, but we're willing to vote for a compromised funding bill at sequester levels, and i'll tell you why. because at this time it's a reasonable path forward. so to my republican friends who don't like the affordable care act, here's a proposal for you. let's reopen the government now with a clean funding bill. let's put all the furloughed federal employees back to work. then, we can work together to determine what parts of the affordable care act work well and which parts need to be

addressed. after a reasonable amount of time, we can make the necessary adjustments to the law. that's how you effectively represent your constituents who still have serious concerns about the affordable care act. that's a reasonable path forward. mr. speaker, let's reopen government right now. then, let's work together on a long-term solution that addresses the serious and significant fiscal issues facing our nation today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana, mr. messer, for five minutes. mr. messer: thank you, mr. speaker. irish leader henry boyle once said, the most important trip you can make in life is meeting people halfway. unfortunately, in this debate the debate and harry reid's latest offers are way short of halfway. they won't even come to the negotiating table. during this shutdown, the republicans in the house have

passed nine bills to fund and reopen vital functions of government. let me go through some of them for you. 25 of my democratic colleagues voted with house republicans to fund pediatric cancer research. 23 of my democratic colleagues voted with republicans to reopen national parks, memorials and monuments. 35 of my democratic colleagues voted with republicans honoring our promise to give veterans the benefits they have earned. 36 of my democratic colleagues voted with republicans to pay our national guard and army reserve personnel. 23 of my democratic colleagues voted with republicans to make sure funds are available to provide disaster relief. and 189 of my democratic colleagues voted with house republicans to provide back pay

for furloughed federal employees. each of these are reasonable proposals. yet, harry reid insists that virtually all of them will not be considered in the senate, and the president has threatened a veto. . also me repeat, house republicans have passed bills to fund pediatric cancer research, reopen national parks, provide benefits to veterans, pay salaries for our national guard, fund disaster relief programs, and other vital services. dozens of my democratic colleagues have voted for each of these bills, yet the president and harry reid won't budge. the american people are disappointed in this shutdown. after all this is not the way

government is supposed to work. but the american people are also figuring this out. this shutdown can end if harry reid and president obama meet house republicans at the negotiating table. but their chairs sat empty. the american people don't want the president's health care law, but they are ready for this shutdown to end. it's time for both parties to listen to the american people, work out our differences, and find a commonsense way forward. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black, for five minutes. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this past friday

while referencing how long the government shutdown lasts, a senior obama administration official told the "wall street journal" that, and i quote, it really doesn't matter how long the government shuts down -- shut down lasts because we are winning. mr. speaker, as you know and i know, this government shut down isn't a game. there are no winners. when washington fails, the most basic test of governing. that is why this body passed four bipartisan proposals to keep the government opened, while shielding americans from the disastrous effects of president obama's health care law. once the shutdown was triggered by the senate democrats, we worked to minimize its harmful effects with the passage of bills to reopen our national parks and museums, to restore critical funding for children's cancer research, fund the veterans administration, and

continue providing nutritional assistance through the women, infant, and children program, among other measures. now we are waiting on president obama and the senate democrats to do their part. mr. speaker, my constituents can't wait too much longer. across my district, tennesseans are feeling the very real impact of president obama and the senate democrats continued refusal to negotiate. larry in jamestown is a park concessionaire at the big fork recreation area. fall is his busiest season. he estimates that he lost $7,500 on an engagement he he had planned for 11 months. canceled because of the government shutdown. following the veterans administration's warning that they could run out of funding as early as late october, charles in crossville emailed my office pleading for help. i'm a disabled veteran who

depends on my compensation check to have some quality of life. he wrote, and this is unacceptable. and bobby is a craftsman who was supposed to have his work displayed in the smithsonian american art gallery last thursday. a proud moment stolen from him because of an unnecessary gridlock here in washington. mr. speaker, our senate colleagues have the power to end this arbitrary and unnecessary pain today by taking up the house passed measures to reopen our parks and museums, to restore veterans benefits and fund other important functions of government. what we need now is for them to act. our constituents expect us to listen to them and to work out our differences and to find a commonsense way forward. why can't we at least give them that?

harry reid and president obama need to listen to the people of this country and come to the table and negotiate. let's get our work done. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. mica, for five minutes. mr. mica: thank you, mr. speaker and my colleagues. why are we here? we are here because of a failure of leadership. the fact is the president of the united states has failed to negotiate. the fact is the majority leader of the senate, the head of the senate, has failed and refuses to negotiate. it's interesting how time changes one's perspective. let me quote barack obama before he became president.

this is the words of barack obama. he said, increasing america's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. leadership means that the buck stops here. instead washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today on to the backs of our children and grandchildren. america has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. americans deserve better. well, barack obama said it very well before he became president. now he needs to serve and act as president and provide the leadership. the fact is october 1 is the beginning of the financial year. we should responsibly fund the government. the fact is in just a few more days we will reach $17 trillion in indebtedness. nearly half of that incurred

since barack obama has become president. think about that. they are going to come and ask for another $1 trillion. $900 billion, to keep us going for one more year. that means in six years we will double the debt that's wracking up the greatest debt in the history of mankind for any government. the republicans might like to think that we won the house of representatives back in 2010 and 1995, but it was the same issues. spending, taxes, and health care. remember hillary care and the taxes and other things imposed by president clinton. the difference is president clinton negotiated with us. we balanced the budget within two years. we can do that if good people of good faith will come together and negotiate, but we can't negotiate by ourselves. the constitution empowered the use of representatives to be in charge of and responsible for

leveing taxes because we are closest to the people and spending. we have that responsibility. they sent us here, they elected us, rejecting this spending that went on. one pointhat went on, trillion more and trillions since. so we must act responsibly, but we must have leadership starting from the white house, starting from the senate, and republicans in the house are ready 20 negotiate -- to negotiate. we were here when the senate didn't show up on sunday, didn't show up to work the day before the first of october to fund this current year. we must be here to meet responsibly or debt. we can't put that debt, as the president has said, before he was president, on the backs of our children and grandchildren. but we can't do that without the system working and we need leadership, leadership from the president to negotiate,

leadership from the senate to negotiate. our leadership has said they will negotiate. we have been here. we'll stay here. and we need to responsibly fund all the activities of government, even if it's piece by piece as we have responsibly done, sent them over to the other body, and they sit there. but again, i urge all of the leaders to come together and my colleagues particularly the senate, the president of the united states, and we can do responsibly what we need to do as designated by the constitution of the united states and provide that leadership. i yield back the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the chair -- the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from north carolina, mrs. ellmers, for five minutes. mrs. ellmers: thank you.

i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. ellmers: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to share with this body and the american people a great injustice. a few moments ago one of my colleagues from texas, from across the aisle, spoke of this as well. so as you can see there are many times that we all can come together and agree upon certain items and move the american people forward in a better way. however this particular situation is unthinkable. a great injustice is being done to our service members and their families. we learned last night that five brave american service members were killed over the weekend in afghanistan while selflessly protecting our country. normally, mr. speaker, the loved ones of these fallen warriors receive assistance in the form of benefits to help them make

those final arrangements for burial and other necessary preparations. yet as a direct result of the political gridlock here in washington and despite legislation passed in this house last week with great bipartisan support, service members and their families are no longer receiving their benefits. mr. speaker, despite the government shutdown, our service members are still expected to go to war knowing full well that they may pay the ultimate fice for -- sacrifice for this great nation, and we should be expected to keep our promises to their family members. i am working as we speak to write this wrong, and i urge all of my colleagues to do the same. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell, for five minutes. mr. swalwell: mr. speaker, i came to congress to help people not to hurt people. and this shutdown is hurting innocent americans. this past sunday i flew back home because congress was not in session, we were not voting on sunday, so i took a flight home to california to meet with my constituents in my congressional district. i held a town hall. i held it at dublin city hall. dublin city hall is where i served as a city councilmember. it is also home to many federal employers, and in my congressional district we have 4,000 federal employees, plus a number of government contractors who work at lawrence, livermore and sandia national laboratory. i also held it at dublin city hall because for two years as a city councilmember i worked in that chamber day in and day out to make sure that we provide add

balanced budget. we provide add two-year budget. -- provided a two-year budget. it's so frustrating we provide budgets that are only 45 or 60 days at a time, and across america our city councils are thinking big and thinking forward and balancing their budgets while taking measured investments in the future. i gathered the community of california's 15th congressional district at dublin city hall and we had over 150 people attend. the room was filled with fear and anxiety. federal workers were in the room worried about what this was going to mean for the personal income for their family, for their household bills. even though federal workers in my district have been furloughed, their bills have not been furloughed. the home lenders are still calling asking where the mortgage is going to be. their auto loans are still going to be due. their credit card statements will still arrive. if they have kids in college they are still going to have to pay tuition.

the federal employees told me about the stress they are living under either not being able to work or even worse, being told that they have to work but they are not going to receive their paycheck right now. in fact, we were reminded in this very chamber just last week how stressful that can be when the capitol hill police who stand guard here at democracy's door, who protect the people's house, rush to aid the members of congress and the employees who work in this building as an erratic driver drove into a barricaded area just outside the capitol grounds. those capitol hill police are working to protect us but they are doing so without pay. so i heard stories just like that in my congressional district from the employees in our district who are very scared about what's going to happen next. and we learn that this is affecting people who work not just inside government but also outside government. inside government we have employees the reserve forces training area, the nasa facility

in dublin. we also have a women's federal prison. outside government we have government contract employees, about 6,500 of them, at lawrence livermore national laboratory. 1,500 at sandia national laboratory, and they told us if the government shutdown continues, they may be furloughed within the next 10 days. most strikingly, the republicans who attended expressed their concern as we have heard in this chamber about the affordable care act. i understand that. but not a single republican who attended told me or told our other constituents that they believe that their concerns over the affordable care act were worth prolonging this government shutdown. . there were concerns, why don't we get some of the government up and running like we did last week and the senate won't take up? i told my constituents, i won't vote for a bill that pits one constituency over another. we saw bills that pitted veterans against seniors.

sick children against the poor. it is time to get the government up and running for everybody, and veterans who attended our town hall agreed. they served this country to make sure that the government works for everybody, not just for the veterans who served it. i'm inspired and i told my constituents that i have hope and a freshman group that continues to gather a couple times each week that were here during the shutdown crisis called the united solutions caucus. it's 15 members on the democratic side and 15 on the republican side, freshman class that are meeting together to see what we can do to work together. so finally, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, i ask you this respectfully -- did you come to congress to help people or did you come to congress to help people? if i came here to help, just like i did, then i think you know what to do next. turn on the lights of the government that runs the greatest democracy in the world and let's get america working again. and with that i yield back the

alance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. bera, for five minutes. day number eight, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today is day number eight of a government shutdown. enough of the gamesmanship. enough with the name-calling. enough with the blame game. it's time we opened up the government. real americans are getting hurt, like brian from carpel ikele. brian's been -- carmichael. rian's been out of and got a ob that needed a new's driver's license. he went to the social security to get a new social security card. you know what it said, offices

closed. real americans like brian are getting hurt. let's get brian his job and let's open up the government. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon tod >> the senate is in. nominees judicial coming up. they will be discussing the

government shutdown in that body as well. we want your participation this morning and this afternoon. we have the numbers on the screen. it is day eight of the federal shutdown. mike allen of politico just tweeted out that he says that boehner aides says the president called the speaker at about 10:45 this morning to reiterate that he will not negotiate on funding bill or debt limit increase. so that is the most up-to-date news at this point with regard to this. both the house republicans and house democrats met in closed session this morning, and then they spoke to the media. here's a little it -- bit from

the house republicans. >> americans expect us to work out our differences. but refusing to negotiate is an untenable position. them asing to negotiate harry reid and the president are putting our country on a pretty dangerous path. there has never been a president in our history that did not negotiate over the debt limit. never, not once. as a matter of fact, president obama negotiated with me over the debt limit in two. he also negotiated with the blue dog democrats to raise the debt

ceiling in 2010. the way to resolve this is to sit down and have a conversation to resolve our differences. >> good morning. in our last effort to fully fund the government, we asked for an end to special treatment with congress. a hard if you are having time using obamacare's website, you should not be penalized for not signing up this year. airy simple, that was what we were asking for, a one-year delay of that. president obama gave the same relief that we are asking for the big business. but the president and senator reid wanted to protect that tax. we asked to sit down and talk, and they said no. in a divided government, the american people expect us to work together, whether it is on the government's funding or the debt limit.

you expect that negotiations when there are two differing size. in 1995 both sides ended up alexander budget. in 2011, as the speaker just said, we all sat down together. and now we will have two consecutive years of reduced spending as a result. ever negotiating a position of is not aiating sustainable option. we ask this president and harry reid to sit down and lets iron out our differences. a you are going to hear similar tone from everybody up here because it is very simple. a room and solve our problem. the president made a decision not to go to asia. we stayed in washington. a perfect opportunity to communicate with one another. missed, another

opportunity missed. i do not want america to miss any more opportunities. it is very simple. harry reid, come to the room, we are there. mr. president, give a call. we are ready to answer. so we are one week into the shutdown, and i think most americans are looking at us wondering why cannot we just negotiate, why can't they just sit down and have a conversation, have a dialogue about the way forward. that is what most people do in their own homes. each one of us has been in those situations, and you have to at least open up the lines of communication, and that is what we are asking for the senate, the senate democrats, and the president to do. we had working in the house. we sent over for bills that completely fund of the government, and as people know, the senate rejected every one of those proposals. that keptt over bills critical portions of the

government opened. nearly half of the government the bills inassed houston open up the federal government, and yet the senate refuses to act. that is not leadership. leadership is not -- leadership is -- when you say you are not going to negotiate, that is not leadership. or you say they are holding the united states hostage. that is not leadership. leadership is certainly not when you're not willing to address the big issues, the major issues that face the country. n, and elected to gover yet the president and senate democrats want to take the easy way out. that is not acceptable to us and the american people. i have been reminded the last few weeks about our einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. morenly thing

irresponsible or insane and the president letting us default on our debt would be the president's demand that we increase the federal debt ceiling without addressing our nation's spending problem. this nation's spending addiction has finally caught up with us. , over each one of us $53,000 in every -- in federal debt. this is not sustainable, and we need to address this now. if we do not address this now, when will we ever? trillion? eight the american people expect more from their leaders, and it is time both parties set down and listen -- and have a conversation, and find a responsible way forward.

>> when you say you want a negotiation, is there particular dollar amount and debt reduction last time. $2.4st time it was trillion over the next 10 years. i want to have a conversation. i am not going to get into a whole lot of speculation. the central argument is this -- are we going to have a conversation or not? >> we haven't heard many stories about what a debt package might look like. you said you want to have a conversation with the president. are we not hearing any of these details because the bills are related to the cr that you guys had to pull off the floor

because of the squabbles in the conference? is there concern that getting out there and that spiraling markets out of control? >> all we're asking for is to sit down and have a conversation. there's no more reason to have it more difficult to bring people to the table. there is no boundaries here, nothing on the table, the thing off the table. i am trying to do everything i can bring people together and have a conversation. yes, ma'am. sebelius beetary asked to resign? decision for the president to make. bill --otes -- for the >> that was the house republicans from earlier. in a few minutes we will show you the houston cuts as well and had a closed-door meeting of their caucus and then spoke to the press. right now we want to hear your voices as well there on day

eight of the partial government shutdown. lucy is in roanoke, virginia, on our republican line. you are on c-span. caller: they need to do something. i have voted for bob goodlatte every year he has been in office , and i think he is a great man. if something is not on and done fast, for the next election, i do not care who they are, i'm going to vote democrat. i do not care, i'm going to vote democrat. these people do not understand that twice this president was elected by the american people, and they are making a farce of this. and i think it is wrong, and i think it needs to stop. from mike is calling alaska. hi, mike. what do you think about all of this from up there? caller: it is pretty embarrassing when you realize that we are at war at this

particular moment, and our enemy is literally laughing at our troops, when our government cannot even get their stuff together to vote in their own pay. a reallyhis is ridiculous situation. the budget should have been passed back in march. these guys should be able to work together and actually get this stuff done a long time before waiting until the last minute. and at this point, to have a group of folks be able to hold our government hostage, literally, and keep us from passing this particular budget time is justnt in t shameful. federal employees in alaska. are you seeing any effect from the shutdown up there? surely you're slowly but seeing those effects, and you are seeing certain programs and stuff to the social security offices shutting down. folks cannot get their cards issued. anything that is a federal chromatogram, slowly and surely

being weaned back to the minimal use of employees. it is just a sad thing, and we are at the far end. we are a small populace appear. something like this really affects our small populace. i am lucky, i work in the oil aslds in crude obey, and long as we keep on flying, a sci-fi controls, because otherwise i would not be able to get to my job. just a shameful situation, and i wish our government could start their stuff and get their heads back straight, and remember, they are here to take care of us, and not take care of something that has already been law for four years. calling,nother mike is this from from the other side of the country, florida, democrats line. go ahead, mike. caller: i would like to say i'm a democrat among but i but across lines. more of a person come up than the actual party.

down here we are a bunch of nasa employees, and apparently we are not critical. i realize that there are other things like head start to need to be funded, too, but we need to get people back to work here. this is what our total economy runs down here on his nasa. right now it seems like nobody really cares. anybody who is in office right now, i do not expect to be voted back in and they cannot do their job. it is illegal for me to look for another job right now because i am out on furlough. what am i supposed to do to feed my kids and pay my bills? host: thank you for calling in this morning. span. on c- the house is coming back at noon. they will continue to vote and bills.r some funding today it will be headstart and education impact aid. the senate is in session right now, and you are hearing morning speeches, mostly about the

government down. they have some judicial nominations that they will be working on. they break on tuesdays for their party lunches. the senate gop and the senate democrats each break part. the senate goes out of session from 12:30 until 2:15, and during that time we will take your calls on c-span2. after those party lunches, the senate democrats, the senate republicans come out and often speak to the press, so we hope to bring you those live as well. met inhe house democrats closed door session this morning as well. there's a portion of their post- conference with the press. >> ready to take questions. i have just been informed that earlier this morning speaker boehner responded to a reporter's question about the fact that the votes exist to

, and welean budget could reopen the doors to government and put americans back to work, and my understanding is his eloquent response was, do-do. i mean, we have americans who are suffering because they cannot go to work or they are working without pay. we have americans who are losing confidence in their economy. the speaker knows the votes exist for us to stop this gimmickry, and that is his response. as i said before, if this were not so serious, it would be absurd. it is time to stop the game playing. speaker boehner, you know you have the votes to pass a clean bill which you your self had agreed to put on the floor when you had your negotiations with majority leader harry reid in

the senate. you backed away from that. if you're trust you not willing to abide by your own negotiated agreement, and when you treat with such a cavalier attitude the question of why you will not let america get back to work and have our government reopen? are about to face in the next week, week and a half the possibility for the first time in our country's history, watching as we tell the world we are not willing to pay our past debts. is this the same way that the republican speaker in the house will run the show when we have to deal with that in the house? we certainly hope not because there are two consequences, not just a government shutdown, the to the default on our past ills. with that, we will take questions. >> on the idea that boehner said [indiscernible] is he trying to say he can get those votes? is there any thought of where

that kind of assertion might come from? >> it is possible, since he controls what comes to the floor, that he is saying the votes are not there because i will not let it be there. because he has that currently prerogative to allow a clean cr to come to the floor. that could be a real definition of what he meant and he said the votes are not there, he will just not in them began. >> let me add to that as well. we have been talking for quite some time now that mr. boehner has either enabled the tea party faction of his caucus to run the theus, or, as you made suggesting that, it is part of his plan that this is maybe not so much even the tea party shutdown as much as it is speaker boehner's shutdown. responsiblythe

falls at his feet. he has the ability to have a clean vote on the cr. they can do it any moment now. canin a half an hour, we pass a bill out of the house. we know there are enough votes between the credit caucus and a to passof the majority that bill. he simply will not let that come to the floor. that is a little bit from the house democrats today. you can watch the rest of it online at www.c-span.org. if you would like to see the holding. the house is coming in in about nine minutes. we want to take your calls and your tweets. cspanchat, if you would like to join the twitter feed and if you would like to read the other treats that are coming in. back to your calls on day eight of the shutdown. mike in lancaster, kentucky, republican. caller: i have something real

sure to say. [indiscernible] we have been watching this on tv for quite a while. they work for me, right? that bunch up there that works for me? host: we are listening, sir. caller: as an american citizen. if i did not perform my job, which is what they are doing, they would be fired, and david are very consistent about not doing the job, so they are fired. very simple. we just need to get some folks in there who will do the job done. that is all i have, and i'm sure there's a lot more folks in this country that feel the same way i do. host: the president has announced he will be making a statement at 2:00 p.m. on the current situation. that will be live on c-span2. from truthcomes in teller. dear tea party, i think we should see other people.

sincerely, the republican party. floridas calling from on our democrats'line. caller: hi. i am so glad she's been is on. i started watching you about a year ago, and i thank god we have you. my chemical is i do not think people should be calling senators and that house of -- the republican party has signed that pledge by grover norquist. i think we should be calling grover norquist and the tea party and the coke brothers. those are the ones that have got these pledges into these guys, and the republican party, they signed their soul of late and they are not working for the american people. they are in the devil's hands. that is just my opinion. thank you, c-span. city,michael in michigan indiana, independent line.

michael, you are on c-span. caller: hello. i am a democrat. i consider myself an independent at the moment. i am just curious as a person who is sitting back, and average family, seeing all this discussion about the health care reform. what is the big difference between what is being offered to the democratic party and what is being offered to the average american? is it really that much difference to warrant our country's shutdown in such a matter? explain toody please the average american people what this is all about? i would appreciate hearing more about it. thank you very much. host: patty is in wisconsin on our public in line. do you think about the government shutdown? caller: i think it is ridiculous. the affordable care act, in the law, it should be treated equally to all people.

i think this is crazy. i think the republicans find the democrats are unreasonable. if they are going to fully fund the government, then why not delay it for one year come again people i just understand what is going on. and i think it should be equal across the board. why do they get to pick and choose? i do not get to pick and choose which laws i want to abide by? i have to abide by all them. thank you. host: thank you. a couple tweets coming in. democrats keep telling us how bad it is in the usa, but they will not tell you how the affordable care act will make it even worse. sue, conservative, says republicans are not embarrassing the administration. administration is embarrassing the administration. and here is candy, that house has passed bills to fully fund the government except obamacare. and robert says that many

stators are overjoyed at the thought of plundering the wealth of the successful. what vampires. -hose are some of the gop leaning tweets we received. we will look at some of the democratic-leaning tweets in a minute after the skull from beverly in kansas on a democrats'line. caller: good morning. i guess it is morning here. i support president obama 100%. host: why is that? caller: i'm still getting the same health care, and it went down. the new health care law is just trying to help people that do not have any health insurance. those of us that do have it, nothing has changed. my husband is a vietnam vet. getook him 10 years to through the system for agent

orange. and president obama and the democrats and the congress have held him tremendously. that is all i have got to say. i support resident obama 100%. host: thank you, beverly. this is from the hill newspaper. will vote as soon as tuesday on forming a special committee to work out a deal on reopening government and raising trillion.'s $16.7 multiple sources told the hill. the move is an attempt to highlight with the gop sees as refusal by democrats to compromise in order to end the budget crisis. it also echoes the creation of a debt supercommittee resolve the last debt ceiling impasse in 2011. so that vote is happening

tomorrow, according to the hill newspaper. today, the house is working on education impact aid and head the fundingore of bills that have been passing for the last week or so. that is on their schedule today in just a couple of minutes. on toen possibly moving funding for border and nuclear security, national intelligence programs, and indian affairs, as well. democratic-e of the leaning tweets we have been receiving. willow grove has been trying to call the speaker's office. here is the tweet. mr. speaker, you will not answer call after 26 minutes. finally was able to leave message. you can stop this shutdown now. you it. regrets shouldhe walk out of the house and not return until owner agrees to allow a vote on the clean cr. remove boehner. considers if you

yourself a true american, you will fight to your last k breath corporatee koch takeover of our country. in these is coming back la. the senate is in session right now. they will be in until 12:30. at 12:30, we will move our phone calls over to c-span2 so you will be able to watch as their and share your opinion and your voice as well. we will continue that. -- hassident has an out announced he will be speaking at 2:00 p.m. and taking questions from reporters, and you will be able to see that on c-span2 and c-span3 as well as www.c- span.org. house is coming back into

session now. that, and weyou will be in about a half hour or two to again on c-span take your calls and your tweets.