{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sires.house.gov/washington-review-october-11-2013", "Washington Review, October 11, 2013", "2013-10-11", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Albio Sires", "S001165", "sires.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today is the 11th day that the United States government is shutdown. Discussions in Congress continue, but uncertainty remains all too real for American families across the nation.\nOn October 9th, I attended a meeting at the White House with my Democratic colleagues to speak with President Obama and Vice President Biden about the path forward on reopening the government and sustaining U.S. credit. There are also ongoing discussions between Republican leaders and the President. It is my hope that these conversations will result in a common-sense proposal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling so our nation does not default. We must move past these manufactured crises, and begin discussion on how to grow our economy.\nWhile the government shutdown and the debt ceiling have rightly consumed most of our focus, work continues on other issues. This week, I joined my colleagues at the final hearing conducted by the specially appointed \u201cPanel on 21st Century Freight Transportation.\u201d Our freight network is America\u2019s economic competitive edge in a global economy.\u00a0 Our ability to move goods quickly and efficiently remains the envy of the world, however, if we fail to make smart investments right now, we will lose our competitive edge.\nIn the realm of global affairs, I attended the House Committee on Foreign Affairs\u2019 hearing on Wednesday about the effectiveness of U.S. aid in Haiti.\u00a0 U.S. aid efforts are a critical component of our foreign policy.\u00a0 However, at a time when Congress is deadlocked over funding the government, we must ensure that our U.S. agencies are performing efficiently and effectively. \u00a0\nThis week, I continued having meetings in my Washington D.C. office. Yesterday, I met with two students from Bayonne. These students are currently interning in DC as part of The Washington Center internship program. I am always happy to meet such ambitious and bright young adults from our district. Additionally, I met with the new Vice President of the New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut regions of Verizon, Leecia Eve, to discuss the work that Verizon seeks to accomplish in our communities.\nLastly, this week, I delivered a statement before Congress in honor of Master Sergeant Nicholas Oresko, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, and Bayonne native, who passed away on October 4, 2013 at the age of ninety-six.\u00a0 Master Sergeant Oresko fought bravely during WWII. The true impact of his unselfish actions can never be measured as it extends beyond the lives of the men he saved.\nAs we head into the weekend, I invite you to visit my website, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates regarding the government shutdown and the debt ceiling negotiations. As we work toward common ground, keeping you informed remains one of my top priorities. Please feel free to leave me comments and questions. Your input helps shape the work I do here in Washington.\nOnce again, thank you for reading my Washington Review.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://sires.house.gov/washington-review-october-11-2013"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.001669093966484, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}