releases: https://price.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/price-gop-should-end-charade-reopen-government
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://price.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/price-gop-should-end-charade-reopen-government | PRICE: GOP SHOULD END CHARADE, REOPEN GOVERNMENT | 2013-10-04 | 2013 | 2013-10 | Democrat | House | NC | David Price | P000523 | price.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C.Representative David Price (D-NC), the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, delivered the following remarks on the House floor today during consideration of H.J.Res. 85, a flawed bill that would temporarily reopen FEMA but provide no funding to reopen the other components of the Department of Homeland Security or the federal government. Rep. Price believes House Republicans should do their jobs and pass a clean bill to fully open the government and provide Americans with all of the services their taxes fund. Mr. Speaker, how much longer must we continue this charade, and at what expense to the country, the Federal employees who serve our country, and the American people who depend on their service? How much longer must we continue the same, tired, old, dishonest debate? Today it's about FEMA. We appreciate the Republicans' concern. We are also anxiously watching the approach of Hurricane Karen. But we wish the Republicans had thought a bit more about such matters before shutting the government down on Monday midnight. The issue, of course, is not whether we want to provide funding for FEMA, or for any other particular activity or particular group of federal employees. I will take a back seat to no-one when it comes to supporting the men and women who serve on the frontlines of our national disaster preparedness and response effort and who will be on the scene, whatever Hurricane Karen amounts to. The issue here is whether we're going to pick winners and losers by providing temporary funding for government services, operations and personnel, when everyone in this body knows perfectly well that we could reopen the entire federal government in one fell swoop by calling up the Senate-passed CR. That is what Democrats and a growing number of Republicans are advocating, and it is the only path that will get us out of this mess. Instead, the House majority continues to bring to the floor piecemeal measures like this onemeasures that are red meat for Ted Cruz but have no chance of passing the Senate or being signed by the President because they don't solve the basic problem. Therefore, they are a cynical and cruel deception. We all know that. So let's quit playing these games and actually do our job for the American people. Mr. Speaker, if we are going to resume funding for parts of the Department of Homeland Security where is the bill that funds the Secret Service, whose importance was on full display yesterday? Where is the bill to ensure our aviation system remains safe and secure through TSA? Where is the bill to keep us safe from cyber attacks? Of course we want to provide funding for FEMA, but what about all of the other employees of the Department of Homeland Security who work every day to ensure the security of our nation? What about the Border Patrol Agents, Customs and Border Protection Officers, ICE Agents and protecting our nation and its border without pay right now? Maybe the House majority will, eventually, get to them? Or maybe they won't. It's becoming more and more difficult to tell who the Republican majority cares about at any given moment. There have been charges of a lack of willingness to negotiate and compromise on the part of the President and congressional Democrats. Let us be clear: the only ones who have compromised on anything related to funding the government are Democrats. We have compromised to the tune of $60 billion agreeing to a short-term CR well below the President's budget request or the Senate-passed budget resolution. And by the way, that is the same budget resolution that Republicans have refused to work on with the Senate and that would have headed off this shutdown. It really must take some nerve for our colleagues now to be singing the praises of conference committees! But on the Senate's clean, bipartisan funding bill we don't need more talk; we need a vote. The clean continuing resolution would pass this House easily if the Republican leadership would simply put it to a vote. Let's dispense with this political theater and get back to our basic job description: keep the government open, pay the country's bills, and negotiate a comprehensive budget plan that lifts sequestration, revives our economy, and reduces our deficit. # # # | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |