back to school to increase his employment opportunities. you see, all they want to do is provide a better life for their two young girls. they are ages 4 and 6. one's a preschooler, one's a first grader. but because of this government shutdown, jill has been furloughed, and is afraid that now she'll lose her v.a. benefits on top of it. . with her husband back in school, not knowing where their next paycheck is going to come from, they're rightly worried about how they're going to make their home mortgage payment, or, for that matter, even pay just their most basic bills. jill and her husband worked very hard for a number of years in order to buy a home. they had to rent. to save that money. they have never, never missed a payment of any sort. they've never even been late with any payment. so now what jill is left doing is calling her banks just to

talk about the what-ifs. because, like many people throughout the country, they don't know what the next steps are. they've had to cut back and jill has even had to stop going to her doctor appointments because of her -- the injuries that she's been treated for that are associated with her military service. her husband now is considering dropping out of school in order to bring home more money to help their family. and jill is applying now for a second job. what especially worries her is that if she has to work both night and day, and with her husband now not sure what he's going to have to do as far as his education or going back to work, is that her children, again, ages 4 and 6, might have to be with a baby-sitter not just during the day but at night now. and i would ask any mother or for that matter any parent who thinks that that's acceptable. there's so much sacrifice that

we have asked of our veterans and their families and in this case we're asking so much for this family that all they want to do is do better. jill king and her family want more from their government. and on week two of the shutdown, i ask of this congress to do what's right for families like jill. that's nothing more than, let's talk, shake hands, work together , be civil, be kind and allow congress to vote on a measure that simply reopens this government. we've been talking this morning and now into the afternoon that the votes are there. republicans and democrats together, but only together, can reopen this government. we can do it right now. we can do it right this minute, for that matter. and i think everybody here today , at least here today, would

say, let's do that. let's bring this up for a vote, let's open government, let's do what's right for jill king, her family and all the families throughout this country. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. ms. hanabusa: if the gentlelady would stay just for a little conversation with me. mrs. bustos: sure. ms. hanabusa: i had the opportunity to actually go to rock island and i know people probably say, what is somebody from hawaii doing on rock island? but i also want people to know how difficult it must be for jill, because rock island arsenal, what many may not be aware of, is the last foundry of the united states army we have in the united states. d they actually do do things like the necessary plates to keep people safe in the humvees and in the strikers and things like that. but they're also faced with the question about, as we withdraw

or drawdown from afghanistan and as we have drawn down from iraq, what happens to rock island arsenal and what they are able to do for the military? the whole idea of reset and what do we do with that. so i can just imagine the -- just the uncertainty with sequestration on top of everything else, with the crawdown, and now -- drawdown, and now with this unnecessary, unnecessary shutdown, that it , just se her amazing critical concern about the future of her family. and to put on top of that the concern over veterans benefits. i mean, i know, and i would like for you to share, because we've talked about this, how your office has been able to get these kinds of information because you've actually adjusted your schedule and what your office does, to service your constituents. and i'd like for to you say that.

because it's so important as to how you have tried to adjust and make things easier for them. mrs. bustos: i appreciate greatly the kind words that you say about the rock island arsenal. it is the largest employer in the entire 7,000-square-mile district that i represent, that stretches from rochford to peoria, to the squad -- quad cities and all the towns in between. we have 8,000 employees there. and this is what they're going through, just because of the nonsense, these votes that have been cast, that have hurt government employees, who just want to do a good job. and so people like jill and the rest of the employees there, leading up to this they had to take six furlough days. so already that was a cut in their pay. so a what they're used to bringing home -- so what they're used to bringing home, that was already cut in their pay. and on top of that they haven't received pay raises going on four years now. to nt to encourage people

go into public service and these jobs that are helping people, helping our military in this case. you have mentioned the armored reinforcement that is built right in the heart of my district, at the rock island arsenal. and what that did is early in our -- in the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan, our military men and women were driving in humvees that did not have armor reinforcement and they were sustaining horrible injuries and death. and the workers at the rock island arsenal, the foundry, and the manufacturing sector of this, actually developed these and produced these to save countless lives. so, the work that the people at the rock island arsenal are doing is meaningful work, it is life-saving work. and look how they've been treated as a result of this. i appreciate you also bringing up the fact that in light of this government shutdown, we in our office, we have restructured

things because we are public servants. we are here to make sure that we are doing everything we can in light of this atmosphere. we have five offices in our district, in illinois. we have our office out here. so six offices altogether. and what we've done is week of opened our office an hour early and we stay an hour late. and every single one of our employees, including myself, we all are answering telephones, we are all doing case work, we are all talking to the people who call in about their concern about just what's happening in the government and what can they expect next. what i've learned from this, and something i will continue doing well after the government shutdown, is i will continue answering the telephone calls and reaching out to people because i never, ever want to lose sight of why we're here. you understand it, our colleagues understand why we're here. and that is to serve people. government can be a force for good. and where government's in the

way, i don't know anybody here who doesn't want to fix that. we want to fix anything that's broken or bent or just needs some tweaking. we want to fix that. but we also know that we can be -- government can be a force for good. that's why we run for office. that's why we are out here in washington, d.c. and that is why it is so disheartening what a few people in congress have done to this country. and it is time to move to this next level now. ms. hanabusa: thank you. thank you. the gentlelady from illinois. and thank you for reaching out so clearly for your constituents. and now i'd like to call upon he gentlelady from oregon. ms. bonamici: thank you so much. i want to thank my colleague from hawaii for yielding some time and for this opportunity to alk about the harmful effects,

as you said, the hidden injuries of this unnecessary government shutdown. my colleague from illinois just talking about the human consequences. we also have to talk about the economic consequences to our constituents and to this country . on day 12 of a completely unnecessary government shutdown. i really appreciate this opportunity because our constituents want to hear. we need to get the message out there about the harm that's being caused by this. and like my colleague from illinois, i've spent a good part of this week on the telephone talking with constituents out in the great state of oregon. and i have to tell you, people are concerned, they're anxious, they're frustrated. i spoke with our national guard, there's so much uncertainty out there among the national guard members about when they'll be paid, many of them are unable to work. they're anxious.

our community action organization that's designed to help low-income people, they're worried. they're already struggling, some of these families. they don't know if they'll be able to continue getting the assistance they need. our head start organization. you know, if you really want to make a difference in a child's life, early childhood education makes that different. our hed programs are being threatened -- our head start programs are being threatened. just a while ago here in this discussion, somebody mentioned health care research. i talked to one of our supervisors of health care research at the oregon health and sciences university. health ar, it's obvious care research is not something that can be put on hold and picked up again when the government figures things out. so much is at stake here, with the researchers who have edicated so much time on their research projects and are at a halt because they might need something like n.i.h. approval that they can't get. they are extremely concerned and

here we are on day 12? but i have to say that the government shutdown is not just affecting federal employees and their families. or even those directly connected like government contractors. it's also hurting private sector businesses and that's what i wanted to highlight in the next couple of minutes. there's a business in my district in beaverton, oregon. they have about 700 employees. and they manufacture specialized optics. 700 employees in beaverton, oregon. they right now have $10 million in orders that they can't ship. they can't ship them because they need export licenses because they sell their scopes and their binoculars and other products overseas. and they get that approval from the u.s. department of commerce bureau of industry and security. so if we can't resolve this government shutdown, they're soon going to lose those sales

to foreign competitors. that hurts our economy, it hurts the employees who work there, it hurts the business. and here's another example. oregon, you might know, is well known for craft beer. a lot of great small businesses. and those people work really hard, brew a great product. in hills bre, oregon in the district i'm -- in hillsboro, oregon, in the district i represent, three mugs brewing company, they're all set to open. they're paying their rent, their utilities, their business expenses. but they can't start brewing because they need approval from the t.t.b., that alcohol, tobacco tax and trade bureau. they approve the labels and recipes for brewers. so here's this great small business, an entrepreneur ready to start. they have their store, they have their -- they're paying their rent and expenses. they can't start brewing their beer because of this unnecessary government shutdown. and it's time to end this right now and we could end it today. i along with my colleagues here,

we signed a petition to open government today. we could end this shutdown now. because across the state of oregon, as well as across this country, our constituents are more than ready for this government to be back open. and i try, i struggle to understand how they must view this from across the country. we're here in washington, d.c., we've been here day after day after day, ready to open up the government and get that -- the employees back to work. but what must we look like? so i thought of an analogy. so there's an accident about to happen and those nearby can prevent the accident, but they don't because they can't agree how to prevent the accident. so the accident happens, now the victim is bleeding. the victim's been bleeding for 12 days but guess what? there's a disagreement about what kind of bandage to put on the victim. that's how absurd this must look to the united states of america.

this is an unnecessary government shutdown, it's been 12 days now. let's get the government open. we can do it today. i hope to speak -- the speaker calls us back right now today for a vote. the votes are there, we can pass a continuing resolution. let's pass that resolution. open up the government. and continue the conversation about how to build our economy. get our budget conference committee going. we can do that today and i hope we do. and i want to thank again the gentlelady from hawaii forgiving us the opportunity to really highlight -- for giving us the opportunity to really highlight how this unnecessary government shutdown is hurting our constituents and our economy. thank you so much and i yield back. ms. hanabusa: thank you very much to the gentlelady from oregon who clearly is in her district, looking and hearing what her constituents are saying . i will always remember beaverton, oregon, and her

700-constituent employees of that company that is unable to ship because that is really what this is about. we initially reacted to the immediate impact of the federal employees. but now we are beginning to see, as the gentlelady from oregon pointed out, that it is more than just the immediate employees, contractors who deal with the federal government, it is also the people who need the federal government because, because of their businesses. so the gentlelady from oregon has brought forth an amazing story as well as given us further insight into how this really republican government shutdown has hurt everyone. i call upon the gentlelady from florida, ms. frankel. ms. frankel: first, i'd like to

thank the esteemed representative from hawaii for sharing this time with me. mr. speaker, i once again rise and join my colleagues in urging you to allow us to vote to reopen government. i've been up here before, day after day, taking a nuanced approach, quoting the wisdom of the popular children's author r. seuss, but today, the dr. seuss gloves come off. it's no wonder that a recent poll of americans showed that congress is less popular than fungus, s, toenail dog poop or cockroaches. i want to put my head out the window and shout that this standoff is idiotic and this reckless, irresponsible shutdown has got to stop. mr. speaker, as i speak, the

earth is in turmoil. iran is building a nuclear weapon. syria, a civil war is killing thousands of women and children. in nairobi, terrorist attacks in an innocent retail mall. in europe, major companies are going bankrupt. so what does the greatest nation on earth do to set an example for the rest of the world? we hang a sign that says "closed for business," and as we try to emerge from a recession that hurt so many of our constituents, we proceed to throw 800,000 patriotic americans out of a job, leaving them without income to pay their mortgages, their car loans, their children's tuition. oh, but that's not at all. we stop the funding for head start for thousands of children and slow down benefits for veterans who risked their lives and their liberty for our

freedom. mr. speaker, this government does not belong to the united states congress. this government belongs to the people of america, and they are demanding, rightfully so, that we open our government today. r. speaker, let us vote today. mr. speaker, if this congress delays any longer, i respectfully suggest that even twerking virus and will be over us in the polls and it will be well deserved. i yield back my time. ms. hanabusa: i thank my good friend, the gentlelady from florida, ms. frankel. as she always has this capacity of bringing things down to the basics, i'm -- i would hate to admit that we would be less

poppler than the ebowli virus. knowing -- e. boli virus. knowing the gentlelady from florida, i'm sure she has good things to say. mr. speaker, my special order time is running down, and i would just like to say, after listening to all of the people who have spoken, the gentleman from texas, the gentleman from california, the two gentlewomen from florida and the gentlewoman from oregon and the gentlewoman from illinois and all of their stories that they have shared and the concerns of their constituents, you have got to start to ask the , and what does the republican majority, mr. speaker, intend to gain, gain from this shutdown? let's also look at this -- how

r. res. 368, that we passed on october 1 -- h.res. 368, that we passed on october 1, that says the amendment of clause 4 of rule 22 that says any motion pursuant to clause 4 of rule 22 relating to the house joint resolution 59 -- and we all know that's the c.r. -- may be offered only by the majority leader or his designee. you add this on top of everything else, the inability for people to come forward and on the behalf of their constituents to ask for unanimous consent to bring the house resolution 59 to the floor, not being able to do that. and the fact that we have a petition, a discharge petition that people are signing up to, because that's the only alternative, is this the message we want to give to the

people of the united states, that not only does the house of representatives shut down government because of a minority group within the republican party that is the majority, but in addition to that, you've taken away the ultimate form of the representative government which is that each and every one, each and every one of their elected representative have a right to come before this body and to make a motion and to be heard. but instead we shut that down on october 1 as well. that should be even more problematic to the people of this great nation, that a motion and a rule such as that was passed, was passed. and mr. speaker, i mind you, nine, nine of your own republicans couldn't even stomach that and could not vote for that. so why are we doing this? why? it began withs, well, we'll go

along with the continuing resolution the senate sent back on the condition that we first defund obamacare. we had delays of obamacare. we had repeals of obamacare. that sort of lasted last week. and then it stopped. no mention of obamacare. no mention at all of obamacare. then, what did we start to do? we started to pick and choose and cherry-pick which part of government we wanted to open up . and you knew. that was d.o.a., dead on arrival, in the senate and yet, mr. speaker, we decided maybe the optics would be better but it hasn't been better. has not been better. the u.s. chamber of commerce has come out against not only the failure to address the debt ceiling and saying that the united states cannot default, they also said you shouldn't allow the shutdown. and big businesses have also said that.

banks have said that. people that -- the average person probably associates more with the republican party than they do with the democrats. and they're saying do not do this. yet, it's being done. it's being done. the people in hawaii will know this concept and the concept is, save face. you know, we have a saying back home that what people sometimes need to do is save face. and i think that's what it comes down to. the polls, "wall street journal" polls are slamming the republican position, mr. speaker. you are being 24% famblt rating, so what does that say to you? it says the people are not with you. that people do not support this crazy -- i don't know what to call it. i'd like to say it's a plan, but i can't see anyone being

behind a plan that makes the people of this great nation suffer. you heard the story of jill. you heard the story from the gentleman from california who alks about he knows people are suffering ptsd. you heard the fears of not being able, not being able to know when you will be working and when you're not going to be working. yes, we in the house passed, we passed 3223. i believe that number's correct , that says we will retropay. but that doesn't give them their paycheck because the continuing resolution hasn't passed and it hasn't passed the senate. though we believe the senate will be with it and we also believe the president will sign it into law. before the person. yes, it's like an empty promise. the same empty promise that they believe we had when everyone said, we're not going

to shut down government. why would we shut down government? and here we are. this is the 12th day of the shutdown. day 12. and do we have anything to tell them? no. instead, we emphasized the fact that their representatives who want to see a vote because we believe that there are members of the republican party who will support a clean c.r. and voting to open up government at the level, at the level of funding which the republicans wanted. paul ryan wanted. but we are not even able to do that because of a procedural move. procedural moves are what the people of this great nation dislike the most. because they feel it's some kind of hidden deal and we're not being transparent and we're also not giving people to

representation. to have the ability to bring something to the floor as important as the government continuing to operate to one person or his designee is exactly what the people do not want. and that is what we're dealing with, mr. speaker. we're dealing with the shutdown for no basis, because you've abandoned obamacare now. there is no ultimate plan. we have the looming debt ceiling crisis, which is what wall street is even more concerned about than anything else. and what we should all be concerned about because the full faith and credit of the united states should never be in question and should never be in jeopardy because we can call -- we can cause a recession worldwide with that action. there's no plan. there's no plan. you know, you wanted to show

you can shut down government, mr. speaker, so you won. you shut it down. t now, now you must plan how to open it. and that has been always a criticism of our great country, that we always lack exit strategies and this is another example of a lack of an exit strategy. you win the shutdown, but how do you open up? that is the question, mr. speaker. and that is the question that only you can answer to the people of this great nation. and only you can answer to the people of this great nation why, why you've taken away the ultimate form of representative government by abvocating the right to bring this critical measure to the floor to one person or his designee. with that, mr. speaker, i yield

back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. under the speaker's announced the of january 3, 2013, ntleman from kentucky, mr. whitfield, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. whitfield: thank you, mr. speaker. i will not certainly take the hour. one of the most basic rights is equal protection under the law and equal protection and equal application of the law. now, the obama administration has developed a reputation of unequal application of federal laws. for example, jon stewart, the

talk show host, recently interviewed secretary of health and human services kathryn sebelius, and he asked -- katherine sebelius, and he asked her a question that many americans have been asking and that was, why has the obama administration given waivers and extra time to companies and labor unions so that they do not have to meet the deadlines quired by obamacare but he's unwilling to give that waiver and the same additional time to individuals? now, we know that under the law individuals are required to buy insurance, and if they do not buy insurance, then they will have to pay a penalty or a fine. so that was the question that many people have been asking and many people -- that's been part of the debate, by the way,

of this continuing resolution as well as debt ceiling issue. why cannot individuals be given additional time and consideration to meet this law but you do give time to companies and labor unions? that is an unequal application of federal law. and secretary sebelius could not answer that question. now, just as the administration favors companies and unions over individuals, in that context of obamacare, the administration is also giving special favors to the wind industry and the energy sector. for example, the bald and golden eagle protection act and the migratory bird treaty act have been enforced for many years by federal prosecutors in america.

to give you an example, we all are very much aware of the tremendous oil spill in the gulf a few years ago. well, british petroleum company was fined $100 million for killing migratory birds. and we have a number of former federal prosecutors in the u.s. congress. and i was talking to one of them just yesterday and he was telling me about a case that he had down in north carolina in which an individual shot and killed an eagle. and that gentleman was prosecuted by the federal government, fined $100,000 and had to forfeit some profits from his timber industry, from his timber company. and so the federal government has been quite forceful in the

protection of eagles and also migratory birds. now, wind projects, and i'm quoting now from an article that appeared in the paper just a couple of days ago, wind projects routinely violate the bald and golden eagle protection act and the migratory bird treaty act, but not one wind farm in america has ever faced a single prosecution or paid one penny in fines. and as i said, b.p. alone paid $100 million fine for killing migratory birds. i could also quote a utility company in wyoming in which some eagles were electrocuted and that company faced -- paid a $200,000 or $300,000 fine. according to studies by the fish and wildlife service, and other

groups, wind turbines overall ll over 573,000 birds each year, including over 83,000 birds of prey. that's according to a study this march in the wildlife society bulletin. so, the federal government under this administration is not prosecuting violations of these federal laws because of their favor of the wind industry. but worse than that, now the department of interior has notified, through a publication on september 27, in the federal register, that they're going to pass a regulation so that wind companies cannot be prosecuted for killing eagles and migratory birds unless -- in most circumstances.

so, they haven't been prosecuting under existing laws and now we're going to pass a regulation to give them additional protections. as this article says, there are two scandals here. first, wind turbines are killing legally protected eagles in the name of slowing climate change. but whatever reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that may be occurring, and i'm not going to go through all the facts and figures here in this article, but whatever emissions may be occurring is equivalent, according to this article, to a baby's burp in a hurricane. and then, second, the wind energy industry is lobbying to extend a production tax credit, the 2.2-cent per kilowatt hour subsidy that has caused wind mills to be built in america.

without that subsidy it's doubtful any would be built. but last year the subsidy was extended for an additional year $12 cost to taxpayers of billion. now, another one-year extension is being lobbied for by the industry. that would cost an additional $6.1 billion. so it's bad enough that this wind industry wants to continue killing eagles with inpunity. but now they're asking the -- inpunity. but now they're asking the taxpayers to give them the money so they can do it. now, as chairman of the energy committee, unlike president obama, i genuinely do believe and understand that we need an all-of-the-above policy. on energy. we need wind mills, we need solar panels, we need nuclear, we need natural gas and we need coal.

but, to exempt one industry from federal laws because they're favored by this administration is not what america is all about. and now the president goes all over the country talking about an all-of-the-above energy policy. but how many people in america know that because of his administration and regulations at e.p.a., america is the only country in the world where you cannot build a new coal-powered plant? and yet even in europe, which is known as a green energy sector, they have on the drawing board 60 gigatons of new coal-fired plants and we continue to export more coal today than we ever have to other countries that recognize they have to have coal to be competitive in the global marketplace because coal does

produce low-cost electricity. but as i said, unlike the president, i genuinely believe we need everything. but i do not believe that any windtry, certainly not the industry or any other industry, should be exempt from federal laws that protect endangered species, migratory birds and eagles that are the symbol of this great country. and with that i'd yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kentucky for a motion. mr. whitfield: yes, mr. speaker. i make a motion that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it and the motion is adopted. accordingly the house stands in -- adjourned until noon on monday next for morning hour

debate.

failed earlier today. house was looking for some movement in the senate. however there still is a separate group of bipartisan senators. we'll keep you updated. do have a phone from nile in los angeles, or louisiana, sorry. >> yeah, it's louisiana. >> thanks. and you're on the democrats line. go ahead and let us know your thoughts on the shutdown, again day 12. >> this is my opinion. the president is who i'm blaming. he should -- this obamacare, that is a bunch of bull. he's making people do what he

wants them to do. host: no, you go ahead. caller: it seems to me like he's shoving everything down our throats, the middle class people, and these exempt companies. i wonder how much kickback he's . tting off of these companies host: so what do you, considering all that's happening with the healthcare law, what do you see might happen? what do you want to see happen between the president and the house, the senate? caller: ok, i feel like that he should back down and let it go for a year until they get all this straightened out, and then let's see where we go. host: ok, thanks nile.

again taking your calls on the government shutdown, frank's on the line in texas, he's in san mar cost, and frank you're on the independent line. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. i'm calling on behalf of the veterans and native american indians. bills to fund the bureau of indian affairs and the veteran administration. both of these should be considered sacred bills and funded because for one thing there's going to be close to five million veterans losing their homes, apartments. banks and landlords want their money on the first. if something isn't resolved by the 17th, us veterans are going to be out in the cold. landlords i have spoken to they want their money and they will start eviction proceedings on the veterans as soon as they do not receive their rent checks. i don't know, is the country ready for five million homeless veterans? and the primus that was made to the indians to end the wars in

this country a hundred and plus years ago, these treaties should be honored. what is going on with the senate is an atrocity. it's not the first time. it happened back in 1932, i am referring to the bonus army hen the senate denied the world war i veterans their just earned rights. veterans have earned the rights with their blood and sweat and pain and anguish they go through and today we are being put through more pain and anguish, as to are we going to become homeless next month or not? it's not something that transcends party lines. veterans and people in the military do not join the service to protect the d.n.c. or to protect the g.o.p. they join the service to protect the u.s.a. that is all the people, all of the common people out there, we need to stand up and let our representatives know that they are treading on sacred ground. violating the trust of veterans when they enlisted and violating

the treaties they signed with the native americans. this has become a travesty. host: death benefits did pass the senate, that's for military, mill tar families passed unanimously in the house as well. that is now waiting on the president's signature at this point. onto baltimore, maryland, republicans line, we've got shirley. so er: yeah, i want to know what for people living in low income houses? host: and shirley are you living in low income housing? caller: yes. host: and so far, what have you been hearing? hat's the effect on you? caller: that we will no longer be able to live in low-income housing, they'll put people out. and they'll stop -- host: have you heard that already from authorities? or those running your building? caller: nobody can no longer get food, all they're doing is starting a riot.

host: ok. moving on now to mississippi. democrats line, nordic's on. are you there? caller: yes, ma'am, i am. host: go ahead with your comments. caller: yes, ma'am, i was wanting to say it is kind of messed up. -- caller: i think you need to turn down your tv, sounds like it's in a little bit of a delay there. you turn down your tv you'll be able to finish with your comments. caller: ok, well i would like to say, i wouldn't blame obama for this. it's not obama's fault. it's really the government's fault. it's not obama. i wouldn't blame him for this. it's messed up because we're cut completely off and it's kind of like a real shame of what's going on and taking process of what's going on in america right now. it's kind of sad.

my heart goes out to all the other family members that are going through, you know, this real -- i say war because that's what it's eventually going to become. it's going to become a war. host: thanks. waiting for senator collins of maine. she's going to be making commens shortly after the senate met earlier today. they voted against raising the debt ceiling through january, get some more calls in before we hear from senator collins. on the line in jackson, michigan for the independents. caller: hi. host: hi. caller: i just would like to say i actually am a single mother of five, and it's a shame because i really do have a disability and food stamps is really helping me out. if they're talking about setting it down, their father, he has -- it's already hard for him to get a job. now they want to make it so he

can't even get food stamps to support himself. it's just really a shame, you know, for us to have to go through this. and as a person with a disability that does not have a choice in the world, you know, equal terms like everybody else, it's just a shame. i feel really bad and i hope that my kids will have a good future because it don't seem like they're trying to help us. it seems like they're trying to help themselves and hurt the people that don't have anything. barely have jobs in jackson, michigan, and it's just really a shame. i have a disability, i can't afford to get on f.s.i., they've denied me so many times. i want to look for a job, but it's hard. i think they should -- for people like me. thank you for taking my call. i just hope they get it together up there. host: thanks for your call. ait ina is next on the republican's line.

caller: hi. i wanted to say that i am a 100% disabled veteran, did 21 years. i now have no medical care because i'm on social security and i'm on my v.a. so, for those who are saying this obamacare thing, well obama did start this because if this was such a great plan, why are we penalizing people for not participating? it doesn't make sense. you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. thank you for your time. host: thanks anita. taking your calls you can go ahead and tweet us if you want to get in on this conversation. use twitter and use the #c-span chat. there's a couple here, kentucky democrat says senate blocks debt limit increase through 2014, house goes home. that's how you get it done? john pettitte says i see

republicans are terrorists for trying to halt democrats irresponsible spending and democrats unwillingness to address taxes and entitlements and jack hutton weighs in, let me be clear, i think capitalism works but if they continue to take down this country we're in trouble. getting your calls also on the phone. joining us on c-span radio, as we you the numbers -- take another call from eileen in south carolina. eileen, you're on the democrats line. go ahead. caller: yes, i don't think it's obama's fault. i mean he's trying to give everybody insurance that can't afford insurance. i know he said if we don't have it by a certain time he's going to, we're going to be -- have to

pay a penalty for it. but, it's not obama's fault. it's the country's fault, especially house speaker boehner. boehner don't want to give an inch. he want everything for himself. he's not -- he said he's not taking his money, he's giving it to another organization. but still, he's got money. 're here, we're fighting for disability, insurance. the kid's that in daycare, families that are on wic, i am disabled. i cannot even get s.s.i., social security, why don't they make something for people like us to get a job or either try to give us something? because i've worked hard my lifetime and i can't even get food stamps. host: eileen, thanks for sharing

your story. and she mentioned republican speaker boehner trying to work with president obama and their talks have failed. their talks have staaled so the republicans for looking to the senate's side to come forward, bring together some kind of negotiation for the debt limit, ending the shutdown. the senate took a vote earlier, they did not pass a bill that would have extended the debt limit through january 31 of next year. taking your calls and next on the line is tina, she's calling from rockwall, north carolina on the independent's line. caller: hi, how are you today? i'm calling because i'm on disability for a mental illness and it's very severe to where i cannot work and my husband's on disability because he has to be on oxygen 24/7. and i wish they would soon past something so that we on disability know what's going on. and i don't disagree with

obama's obamacare, i believe it is a positive thing for the united states. it's just us with negative thinking and unsure thinking, d the lack of education on what the insurance pertains to. i think that's what's slowing everything down, but they really need to fix this deficit because it's really going to put a tailspin on a lot of people. caller: -- host: we're going to take one more phone call and we were expected to hear from susan collins, senator of maine. looks like she's postponed her remarks, come out possibly 1:30 p.m. eastern time, so when she does we'll bring you right back here to the capitol and show you what she has to say from the senate side. we are going to take a look at what the house democrats had to say earlier, but first let's get to one more phone call. it's bobby on the line from

pittsburgh, texas. and bobby, go ahead. caller: yeah, i just want to know two things. the veterans is not getting no checks, social security's not going to get their check. why don't they take all the paychecks from the congress and the democrats and all that stuff and shutdown that gym, shutdown everything else? why don't they shutdown the whole thing, don't let the republicans get paid, or the democrats get paid, all these thousands and thousands flying from here to there, taxpayers paying it. i just want to know why they get special privileges from people going to war die, they come back and they're homeless and everything else. they're not going to get good paycheck, social security won't get their paychecks. take all the paychecks away from the republicans and democrats to make them suffer. put them out on the street holding the sign and see how they like it! host: all right, thanks bobby. thanks for all your calls.

if you didn't get a chance to weigh in, let us know what you're thinking, go to facebook.com/c-span. you can join the conversation there. and let's see what house democrats had to say. maryland congressman, his district's mainly rural in suburban, just southeast of washington, d.c., and he and some of the house democrats spoke earlier about what's been oing on. >> once again in the 12th day of the shutdown of the government of the american people, on the 12th day of having people out of work, pledge to be paid, but not working for that pay, again, the

republicans have refused to put on the floor legislation to open the people's government. we've had over a 150 members sign a petition to open the government now, and to bring legislation to the floor, which would do that. we had scores of members asking for unanimous consent of the body to do just that so the government could be open today. and in fact, mr. van holland just made a point of order of that, but for a resolution that was passed just a few days ago. any member of the house would have been in in order to ask for h.r. 519 to be put, house joint resolution to be put on the floor. he'll discuss that at greater

length. but the american people want the government open. they want us to talk, they want us to reach agreement, but they see no need, as we see no need, to have literally millions of people adversely impacted, shut out of their work place while the republican majority shuts down the government and tries to hold a gun at our head to agree on things that in a democratic process ought to be dealt with not at the point of a gun, but at the table of conference. to which they have refused to go over the last five months. now let me yield to my colleague, the assistant leader, jim clyburn. >> thank you mr. whip. here we are on day 12, of a government shutdown that has been imposed upon the american of le by a series manufactured crises. d today, we have witnessed

attempts on behalf of this congress by the majority to shut off debate. and to keep the minority voices that they say they want to hear from offering up the alternatives that the american people have made very clear, they would like to see brought into play. his is what happens in the government process. hen you sometimey opposition, hen we cut off debate and when we continue to teeter on disaster by manufactured crises. it is time for us to reopen the government, let people go back to work, and have the american people once again put at ease.

and with that, i would like to ield to our chair. >> it's incredible what we're watching. just now, in the last few minutes, house democrats took to the floor and asked for unanimous consent to see if our colleagues would allow us, out objecting to put on the floor a measure that would allow us to reopen the government. and even the request, just to ask to have this measure put on the floor was shut down. and so i think the message is very clear on the part of the representatives of so many of the millions of americans who don't understand why they can't go to work, why we can't let our economy move forward. we're simply saying let america work. let america's representatives

ote to put americans back to work. let our government reopen. that's the simple message. we're here to demand that and we will not stop until we are allowed to let america work. with that, let me yield to the vice chairman, joe crowley. >> thank you, javier. what we just saw on the floor was the shut down of democracy, of free and open debate about the most important issue confronting our country right now and that this government is not operating. we were using our procedural motions to express our displeasure with the majority, and they took their opportunity then to shutdown all that debate as well. but what it did not shutdown was the shutdown of this government. this government continues to be shut down. we need to open up government working for all the people of the united states. all the people of the united states. and with that, i'd like to turn it over to my colleague from new

york, mr. israel. >> thank you. the republican leadership made a decision to end this session for the weekend, and so this weekend the federal government remains shut down but the government said planes can take off carrying members back to their district. so this weekend, seniors continue to have uncertainty about what's going to happen to their social security benefits on monday and small businesses this weekend don't know when they open on monday whether they'll be able to apply for loans, and veterans have that uncertainty, and the entire country still has the uncertainty over this weekend based on a decision by these republicans to send us home, let those planes take off while the federal government remains shutdown, and that is fundamentally wrong. 186 democrats signed a petition to open this government now. 200 democrats have stated that

they would support a vote on a clean budget to open this government now, no strings attached. republicans to 30 that will get on that plane today and fly home and spend the rest of the weekend in their district saying there is no budget. i hope when those constituents see those republicans who claim they are willing to vote for a clean budget -- they ask them, "will you sign that discharge position when you get back on monday? will you put your pen where your promises are and put your people ahead of partisanship?" they had an opportunity to do that on monday. i hope they listen very carefully to their constituents on saturday and sunday. with that, i will yield to the distinguished ranking member of the budget committee who has led us in this fight to reopen the government. >> thank you, steve. as steve and my colleagues have

said, every day that the shutdown goes on is another day that the country is hurting from this unnecessary action taken by our republican colleagues. we know from public statements that there are majority of the members of the house of representatives to want to vote to immediately reopen the entire federal government. and the speaker has refused to allow the people's house to work its will, refused to allow democracy to work its will. in fact, we just heard on the floor of the house that they s,tually rigged the rule change the rules of the house to deny the opportunity to any member of congress, and republican or democrat, to call up and vote on the law that would immediately open the federal government and end this unnecessary disruption throughout the country. they said that only the republican leader, eric cantor or his designee could call to open up the government. what kind of democracy is that,

when you know that there are majority of republicans, democrats and this house today who want to open the government? chairman israel and others have said, we will give all of our members an opportunity to show that they mean what they said, to show willhere in congress they do with they are telling their constituents back home they will do, because you have a majority, well over a majority, who said peoplesy want to do the business and they want to immediately allow a vote to reopen the government. so we have a petition call the discharge petition, but what it will do if we can get everybody to sign it, it is a petition to reopen the government now. and there are no more excuses. i think republicans forgot why they shut down the government to begin with these days, but this is the opportunity to take action, to get it open now.

let's just be real, that the speaker could walk out of that chamber today and get it done, if they had not change the rules of the house, any of us could've gotten it done, but let's get the people get it done. let's sign that petition. and i hope everybody who is here will be asking those members of congress who publicly said they wanted to vote to reopen the government right now, whether they will sign a petition to do what they said they wanted to do. and with that, i want to introduce one of her terrific new members from the great state of new york who just signed the petition and is calling on all other members of congress, new and old, to join her in doing that. member of this new freshman class, i was very happy right now just to sign the petition. we are a freshman class that came to congress to work on behalf of the american people. we came to congress because we wanted to cooperate with both

sides of the aisle. we want to make sure that americans have more opportunities, more jobs, and that our children are fed. we are disappointed, and we really plead with the republican leadership to end this shutdown, to make sure that we are able to cooperate. we have issues of concern, too. we want to work on immigration reform and work on tax reform. that in the affordable health care act should not be part of whether government functions or not. so we plead with republican leadership and the 20 to 30 members who signaled that they would be supportive of this measure to reopen government and thank them. >> thank you, all, very , very much. as each of our members have said, we believe very strongly there are the votes that have been displayed publicly in terms of discussions with the press and with constituents.

there are the votes to open up government. said, theyhollen amended the rules a few weeks ago and said that only the majority leader or his designee, state isr, whosse very adversely affected by the shutdown, could offer the motion to bring h.r. 59 to the floor. we hope you would do that. we hope the speaker would do that. america wants that to happen, and they have clearly indicated that in every poll. questions? cantormajority leader said that -- someone inappropriately touched a staffer. [inaudible] >> blown out of proportion maybe. i had a few words with a young staff member of mr. cantor.

i think his absence was not in keeping with the the quorum of the house. he agree to me. he apologized. and i accepted his apology. >> i happen to watch this. clearly, the republicans were not happy with is continuing to say, let's open the government. because they are not opening the government. that frustration boiled over. this staffer is a good person. got a little exercised. there was an exchange with one of my staff members. i was not close by. he thought that was inappropriate and i am glad to hear that the staffer apologized. but the issue is we need to open the government for the american people. not bit distracted by the fact that the government of the united states of america that serves the american people is

shut down needlessly for political purposes only. signatures. >> [indiscernible] have you heard from senator reid? ." but i have not talked to him, your keyword there is eventually. we need to open the government now. the president has indicated he is willing to talk. we are willing to talk. mr. van hollen for six months has been trying to go to the conference table to talk about these issues, but they do not need to be talked about while government is shut down. that is hurting america, hurting our national security, hurting government employees, and hurting millions and millions of americans that those employees serve. that is the issue. >> [inaudible]

>> i am not going into specific, i am not going to negotiate here or discuss here. the issue is very clear -- the american people think it is absurd and wrong and bad policy to be shutting down the government which costs $300 million a day. -- $300 billion a day while we are talking. they understand in a democracy you have difference of opinion and you talk through those differences and try to reach consensus. they also understand from their own experiences that may take some time. what do not believe is that you ought to shut down the government in the process. >> do you want the government to reopen -- [inaudible] not, because we have no believe the republicans will open the chamber for business. if they were to announce that tomorrow morning we will convene

to open up the government, i guarantee you that we would get every democrat back here that was able to get back here, and by that i mean we have a couple of members who are ill. >> [inaudible] look, it is not a question of session. we have been in session for 12 days in session for 12 days and the government has been shut down. we have been here. we demanded over and over and over again this day, right now, we can open up the government. so it is not a question of calling members back or not. it is a question of they amended the rules so only eric cantor, the majority leader, can put something on the floor to open up government. eric cantor has indicated no willingness to do that. but we are ready to do it and ready to do it tomorrow, ready to do it monday. we want to do it now. thank you very much.

we expect an update from senate democrats at 1:30. we could hear from senator susan collins of maine shortly thereafter, but first, some of what we are hearing from some of those who are covering the capital. the senate was in earlier. out now. aboutffington post tweets what happened. the senate rejects democratic plan to extend debt ceiling to next year. perfram heard the majority leader's comments as he went to the caucus meeting. i'm doing myd, best. reid said, if he thinks there will be another continuing resolution today, i doubt it. the president talked about the shutdown in his recent weekly address.

then we will hear, so mckeown's response. >> good morning. over the past few days, i have met with republicans and democrats from both houses of congress and in an effort to reopen your government and remove the dangers of default from our economy. it is a positive development that house republicans have agreed on the need to avoid the economic consequences of not meeting our countries commitments, because once the debt ceiling is raised in the shutdown is over, there is a lot we can accomplish together. newave created 7.5 million jobs in 3.5 years. let's create more. we have cut our deficit in half over the past four years. let's do it in a smarter, balanced way that lets us afford to invest in the things we need to grow. the truth is there is a lot we can agree on. but one thing we have to agree on is that there is no good reason anyone should keep suffering through the shut down. with some innovative small

business owners on friday who have lost contracts, loss customers and put hiring on hold because the pain of this republican shutdown has trickled down to their bottom lines. it is hurting the very citizens that our government exists to serve. that is why a growing number of reasonable republicans say it should and now. -- end now. and it would be not wise to kick the debt ceiling can down the road for a couple of months and flirt with the first ever intentional default write-in the middle of the holiday shopping season. because damage to america's sterling credit rating without just cause global markets to go haywire. it would become more expensive for everyone in america to borrow money. students paying for college, newlyweds buying a home. it would amount to a new tax. a republican default tax on every family and business in america. it does not have to be this way. it is not supposed to be this way. manufacturing crises to extract concessions is not how our

democracy works and we have to stop it. politics is a battle but we you advance those ideas through elections and legislation, not extortion. i know you are frustrated by what you see your nation's capital. but because it is easy to get in or give up, i want you to remember that this is not normal. our government is closed for the first time in 17 years. a political party is risking default for the first time since the 1700s. we have to put a stop to it because it saps everyone's faith in our extraordinary system of self-government, and that hurts us all. of creating jobs, growing our economy or getting our fiscal house in order for the long haul, we have a lot of work to do and constant brinkmanship does not let us do it. and it looks real pain unreal people. it creates thousands of uncertainty for business. it threatens our nation's credit and standing in the world, and the longer it goes on, the more

frequently this brinkmanship is inflicted, the more we will see markets react, businesses put off plans to spend and hire, and unemployed and claims tick up. the hundreds of thousands of hard-working civil servants who go even longer without pay will worry that they will not be able to cover their bills, and that their own credit worthiness will be ruined for no good reason at all. i want to thank all of the neighbors and local business owners who have shown acts of kindness to these americans. it is that same spirit -- i ask that same spirit of citizenship from lenders. they are being punished for no fault of their own. end this republican shutdown. let's pay our bills and prevent an economic shutdown. them but get back to the work of the american people, because there is so much else we should be focusing our energies on right now caret we have to create more jobs, we have got kids to educate, we have an fix,ration system that affo

and a middle class to rebuild. an opportunity to restore. there is so much america has going for it in this new century, and as always, this country works better when we work together. thank you. >> hello. i'm buck mckeon, chairman of the house armed services committee. for all the focus on disagreements in washington, we have actually found some common ground this week. on thursday, president obama signed legislation that guarantees the death benefits for the families of fallen that will continue to be paid out during the government shutdown. we have also come together to ensure that members of our military and the civilians who support them will be paid no matter what. we should not stop there. the house has passed more than a dozen bills providing funding for things that we can all agree research,rans, cancer

national guard, national parks, head start, food safety, flight safety, border security, nuclear weapon security, and more. president obama and senate democrats should act these bills immediately. then the president should work with us on plans to reopen the entire government. and make sure we do not default on our debts. after all, sitting down and resolving our differences is exactly what americans expect their leaders to do. , especially at times like this. to that end, a group of house republicans including myself went to the white house on thursday to talk with the president and see where we can find common ground. those conversations are continuing. this back-and-f forth has sounded like the typical washington drama, but politics is not about politicians. it is not about washington. it is about you and your family.

it is about building an economy that generates good paying jobs and real prosperity. it is about making sure there is fairness for everyone under the president's health care law. so that hard-working people like you get the same relief big businesses have received. it is about stemming the tide of debt and deficits that threaten to wash out an entire generations opportunities. and it's about ensuring our troops in harms way and their families are taken care of the same way they take care of us here at home. preserving the american dream. that is what this is really about. and the longer we go on settling for maybe next time, for this notion that putting things off until after the next election is ok, the harder this is going to get. it is a challenge, but we can do this. let's get back to work together.

thank you for listening. hear from theo democrats in the senate. they announced they will have remarks in 20 minutes or so. until then, a look at how the government shutdown is affecting food safety in the u.s.. earlier this week, advocates asked lawmakers to reject legislation that would've restored funding to the fda. they said so many agencies are involved in food safety, funding the fda would not go far enough. we will look at this conversation from this morning's "washington journal" until the senate democrats come in to make remarks on the shutdown in the debt ceiling. host: give our folks a synopsis of what is happened. guest: the good news is because law thata 1906

requires a, me inspectors are on the job. that means our meat and poultry plants do have full-time u.s. dea inspectors in place. but that is about the end of the good news, and we all know that is a major effort going on as well. the bad news is the fda had to 45% of its workforce home and the people they kept on were largely people in the drug and medical device area, who are user fee paid. so a lot of food inspectors, their lab personnel are all at .ome the centers for disease control, they had to shut down a bunch of the programs they run, including

pulsenet and some other programs, and as a result, i am very concerned that they might be getting signals on, during the time of the shutdown are not fully investigated or there will be delays in the investigation which means that at the end of the day more people get sick because it takes them longer to .lert us as to the food items host: what is not getting inspected when it comes to food? inspects meata and poultry. the fda inspects everything else andeafood, eggs, fruits vegetables. all processed foods that do not have me in it. ems that area it

under fda regulations, but the two agencies operate very differently. it is because of the law under which they separatoperate. to 1906 law asks the usda inspect every piece of meat. you may recall, we passed a new law that food safety modernization act. once that is implemented, fda will be doing more intensive inspections, but it will never be at the level of usda. always a concern about manpower to do the inspections in the first place. guest: that is correct. they have been understaffed for years in the foods area, and we have really been working hard to get them more inspection staff as well as the legal mandate and authority to do the job. host: at the same time in the food in meat inspection and

poultry is going on, we have an out right mama a map showing some of the places where the -- the placesng some of where the outbreak is taking place. where the extra staff called in? what about the current manpower to handle something like this? guest: the foster farms outbreak started back in the summer. it has been under investigation for a number of months. it is very complex. it has seven different sayings of salmonella and they are coming out of three different facilities. so the investigation was going on before the furlough. what happened when cdc close down the system and sent people was runninga samples out of these three facilities. it was during the furlough that

usda had the evidence they needed to make a public announcement. dc has since call people back in and they say that cases are continuing. that means people are continuing to report illnesses from this chicken meat, and that's why we're a little -- we're not a little concerned, we're a lot concerned the usda hasn't recalled any of this meat. they say they don't have a clear enough link, but the bottom line is they have showed that the antibiotic-resistant salmonella making people ill are on the chicken products, so we're not we're not understanding why usda isn't recalling at least some of this foster farms product. >> what's the importance about antibiotics in this story for people who don't understand? >> this is critically important. antibiotics are used as chickens are growing up.

they make the chickens grow faster, grow bigger, but they can also result in the development of common strains of bacteria, like salmonella, becoming antibiotic-resistant. that means when someone goes to the hospital for treatment, it's much more complicate. the doctors need to know the resistance profile in order to choose appropriate medicines to treat those patients. the treatment options are narrowed. a lot of doctors don't have that resistance profile, so they start treating them with antibiotics, and then it's not working. the longer the people are sick, the more complications they have. bottom line is this is not your grandmother's salmonella. this is salmonella that has been enhanced through the use of antibiotics on the farm to be

much more dangerous, really, to consumers than a common standard salmonella. host: our guest is with the center for science in the public center. she's their food safety director. and joining to us talk about food safety, particularly under the shutdown and issues related to it. if you want to ask her questions, on the line, it will be divided, 202-585-3881 for republicans. 202-585-3880 for democrats. 202-585-3882 for independents. caroline smith dewaal is our guest. the science for center in the public interest, what is it and how is it funded? guest: cspi has been around since 1971. we were one of the original nader organizations -- host: ralph nader? guest: yes, that's right. our founder and executive

director worked for ralph back in the 1970's, so it's been around for many years. we're affectionately known as the food police, because we're the people who report on the fat and salt content in restaurant foods, as well as reporting on a lot of food safety issues. i've been running the work safety work at cspi for 20 years, so we have experts who have a lot of experience at this,&a very strong team of people who just worry about making sure what you eat is good for you. host: how are you funded? guest: we have over 900,000 subscribers, so our magazine, nutrition action health letter, actually goes out to about 900,000 households, and that's what funds us. host: first call is from jules. jules is from benson, pennsylvania. you're on. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. thank you for having me. i would like to say, first off, i keep hearing that the

president has overspent and his spending has gone through the roof, and i believe the fact is that congress is the one who does appropriations, and basically they're the ones that approved the spending, and then they blame it on the president. i mean, i kind of see it one way, some people see it a different way. the other thing i'd like to comment on is the affordable care act. it was basically put into law, it's been a law for three years now, and it was upheld by the supreme court and by a re- election of president obama. host: thanks, caller. sticking to his first point about the spending. did the food inspecting program suffer from the sequester in the first place before the shutdown? guest: the food programs -- i mean, the bottom line is these

programs are essential public health programs. and the fact that the sequester went into effect followed by the shutdown is causing major problems with just their ability to function to protect us. i mean, at the end of the day, we want government programs that prevent people from getting sick, but if you send the food inspectors home, that job is not happening. the labs aren't operating either at c.d.c., many of the labs, or at usda. usda, f.d.a., i mean, we have a lot of jobs that would prevent outbreaks from happening that aren't being done today. >> mark, good morning. he's from louisville, kentucky, republican line. hi. >> good morning to your guests. i really do appreciate her

talking about this situation here. and i have a brother that works at a food facility that they have safety rules. they go by and then fully reward it for being safety-conscious about the food that their hands are in contact with. they wear gloves, they wear hair nets, everything. and sometimes things do slip through, and i don't think that the government can really see everything that picks through, because it's very hard to pick out one source. >> mark, i think that's exactly right. food safety is a shared responsibility. we have -- the industry plays a central role.