Jim Moran

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, this is unbelievable. All we need is less than 20 Republicans and we can open up the government today. You will have the Democrats voting to open up the government. Just give us 20 Republican votes and we can open it today. Instead, because of the Ted Cruz Tea Party faction within your caucus that somehow has managed to intimidate the Republican leadership, you are willing to bring this country to its knees--to furlough 800,000 Federal employees, to cause suffering around the country, and to cause billions of dollars in economic damage to our economy. How can you do this? This is so wrong. Today, open it, give us 20 Republican votes. Get our country functioning again. Let us do our job. This is an outrageous abdication of responsibility.

Mr. MORAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MORAN. I thank my friend from Georgia. The problem is that we are creating, really, a politics of divisiveness here because we are exempting some agencies at the expense of others. Even in the Department of the Interior, we still have 84 percent of Interior Department employees who will be furloughed even when we open up the national parks. The vast majority of Federal employees are without jobs. They may not be as visible to the public, but it doesn't mean they aren't performing essential services. That's the problem--picking and choosing. Tomorrow, we will be back with another agency. That's what we are trying to avoid. We are trying to do it appropriately.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as Yogi Berra would say, it's deja vu all over again. Yesterday, the majority rushed to the floor this very bill to partially open the National Park Service, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. We had a spirited debate, and the House failed to pass this bill. But now, here we are back again, debating the very same bill. It was a bad idea yesterday, and it certainly hasn't improved over the last 24 hours. I'll explain why. Because, instead of reopening the entire Federal Government, or even the entire Interior Department, the majority has resorted to singling out publicly visible programs for action, while leaving thousands of important functions of government shut down and hundreds of thousands of Federal employees furloughed. It's time to stop using Federal employees as pawns in this cynical game. Mr. Speaker, this GOP act of desperation is evidence of how politically bankrupt this position has become. It's degenerating down to picking winners and losers among Federal workers. The American public is getting burned, and some of the political heat is finally getting to the Republican majority. So now they would allow workers at the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, and the Gallery of Art, and a few of the employees directly involved in the operation of our National Park System, to return to work. Do they really think that this is going to save them from the public's wrath? Under this bill, thousands of National Park Service employees involved in historic preservation and national recreation programs and maintenance and construction still remain furloughed. And what about the 10,200 furloughed employees of the Bureau of Land Management, the 7,751 furloughed employees at the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 18,800 furloughed employees of the Forest Service, the 16,000 furloughed employees of the Social Security Administration? Doesn't the majority value their work or support the important programs that they carry out? We should value all of our Federal employees. We should value the scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey and the health professionals at the Infectious Disease Control and Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control just as much as the park ranger and museum workers. How do you explain to the Library of Congress workers that they are less important than their Smithsonian counterparts? I want to see our national parks and museums reopened, as do all of the Democrats on this side of the aisle. We want to open the government, and we would vote today to do so if you'd let the bill come to the floor, because we want to see all 561 units of the National Wildlife Refuge System opened, 155 national forests, the 866 areas of the National Landscape Conservation System reopened. But you're keeping all those closed. Does the majority really believe that those are not important, that they don't deserve to be opened, that the public doesn't deserve to be able to use those national assets? This bill is a bandaid, and it won't stanch the open rage that the public is beginning to feel. This shutdown is disrupting the work of all Federal workers and the American public that depend on the work that they do. It's an attempt at a quick fix to deflect the political heat the majority is facing. This idea that we'll pick and choose among Federal activities, which ones are allowed to operate and what has to remain shut down, is politically bankrupt, and it's morally bankrupt as well, Mr. Speaker. I implore my Republican colleagues to abandon the junior Senator from Texas' plan to play politics with the economy for a dead-on-arrival idea from an extremist ideologue. The President has reaffirmed that he would veto these cherry-picked bills. We know that the Senate will reject them. So this is a waste of time. People are out of work, and we're wasting our time on this. If we could just have 20 Republicans, less than that, vote on a clean CR, it would pass. The government would open today. And you won't do it because you're afraid of this ideological extremist faction within your party. You don't want to get them upset. It's time to stop these games. The House GOP needs to let our hostages go and get on with the real business of governing. Let's vote on a clean CR. Reopen the whole government. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the very distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the very distinguished Democratic whip of the House.

Mr. MORAN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. MORAN. It is my great pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum) on the Interior Appropriations Committee.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining on this side?

Mr. MORAN. At this point I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the ranking member of the National Resources Committee.

Mr. MORAN. It is my great pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the ranking member on the Education and Workforce Committee and former chair of the Natural Resources Committee. (Mr. GEORGE E. MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MORAN. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) on the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. MORAN. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan).

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to share with the House the fact that the National Wildlife Federation, America's largest conservation organization, said it best. They just sent us a letter: House Members from both sides of the aisle say the votes are there to pass a clean continuing resolution. Speaker Boehner should do the right thing and allow an up-or-down vote on that bill. Now, the problem with these votes, Mr. Speaker, is that they shouldn't be necessary. If in fact we were going to open the government and not keep it shut for weeks on end, you wouldn't be doing this. This would all be moot. The reason you're doing this is to have some excuse to continue the shutdown. That's the problem with these votes. The other problem is that you voted to shut down the national parks. You did it last week. You voted to shut down the National Institutes of Health. You did it last weekend. You voted to shut down the Veterans Administration, and now you want to reopen just them. We voted against shutting down those agencies. We voted against shutting down the government. That's what you should be doing. Give us a clean vote. Let's get on about our business. Stop this nonsense. I yield back the balance of my time. House Plan to Reopen Only National Parks Falls Short Washington, DC.--The House of Representatives is considering several bills that would provide continuing resolution funding for select parts of the federal government, including one that would re-open National Parks. Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today: ``This bill fails to address the concerns of sportsmen. While re-opening the National Parks is an element of our displeasure over the government shutdown, there are a wide range of public lands that this bill would leave shuttered, including National Forests, National Monuments and National Wildlife Refuges. ``House members from both sides of the aisle say the votes are there to pass a clean continuing resolution. Speaker Boehner should do the right thing and allow an up or down vote on that bill.''

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I trust everyone in this body can imagine how much affection and respect I have for the national parks, that which I share with my very good friend from Idaho. We love the National Park System. I love the Smithsonian. When we have that family night, there is nothing more wonderful than taking our children to the Museums of American History and Natural History. I am so proud of what the Smithsonian offers the American people. The Holocaust Museum as well. You can't describe what happens to you emotionally when you walk through the Holocaust Museum. But notwithstanding how immensely valuable these institutions are to this country and how proud this Congress is of those institutions, I have to rise to oppose this legislation because it is not the way to do business. By that I mean, the idea of shutting down the whole government, and then when we get an adverse reaction from our constituents, we pick and choose and we open up a few. What happens tomorrow when the Social Security Administration comes to us and says, What about the 16,000 employees we just furloughed? These other folks got an exemption. How about us? It's going to happen every day with every agency until the Republican majority in the House realizes that every Federal agency is there for a purpose, and it's a purpose that serves the needs of the American people. But here we are. It hasn't even been 24 hours, and the House majority is feeling the heat from the government shutdown. We on this side warned the majority that you were playing with fire to shut down our government, but it is the American people who are going to get burned. Now, apparently, the heat has spread to the people responsible. Instead of reopening the entire Federal Government, which is exactly what we should be doing, the majority rushes to the floor a bill, under expedited procedures and with no opportunity for amendment, to reopen just four entities: the National Park System, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. Of course, the National Gallery of Art should be open because it just so goes without having been said that, I think, we all share experiences of walking through the National Gallery. I mean, you can't find, really, anything comparable throughout the world except, perhaps, in the Louvre and in very few museums--but, my gosh, are we proud of it. Of course, the Smithsonian should be open. Of course, the Holocaust Museum should be open. Of course, our national parks should be open to serve the American people. Now, if we open these, at least our Federal employees will have a place to visit while the rest of the Federal Government is shut down, but it is so unfair to the rest of the government to pick and choose a very few agencies, which has no real impact on the budget, which is the issue here we are supposed to be dealing with. It's a marginal amount of money. This is an act of desperation. It's evidence, really, of how politically bankrupt this position of shutting down the government has become--degenerating down to picking winners and losers among Federal workers, just so as to dissipate the political heat, it will allow workers at the Smithsonian, at the Holocaust Museum, at the National Gallery of Art, and only those employees directly involved in the operation of our National Park System, to return to work. Even in the case of the national parks, thousands of National Park Service employees who are involved in historic preservation and in national recreation programs and in construction remain furloughed. What about the 10,200 furloughed employees in the Bureau of Land Management? I don't have many of them. I have one, but I don't have anywhere near as much of a presence of the Bureau of Land Management as my good friend from Idaho has. Can you justify the 7,750 furloughed employees of the Fish and Wildlife Service? This is hunting season, but you've got to close down these fish and wildlife refuges. There are 16,000 furloughed employees at the Social Security Administration who want to be serving the elderly and disabled. How about the medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health? When NIH comes to us and tells us what they're doing in terms of cancer research, in terms of the research on Alzheimer's and the like, what do we tell them? Are you going to tell them, ``We'll expedite under special procedures, and we'll pick you up? we'll take care of you next?'' Is that any way to run this government? How about the Centers for Disease Control and the immunization program workers? Shouldn't they be valued as much as the park rangers and museum workers, who, obviously, have earned their value as well? This bill is a bandaid on a shutdown that is disrupting the work of all Federal workers and the American people who rely upon the Federal Government to do its job. But for them to do their jobs, we have to do our job, and these exemptions aren't doing our job--picking and choosing what Federal activities we are going to allow to operate and which ones are going to remain shut down. It's going to prove itself to be a politically bankrupt as well as a morally bankrupt position. It is not fair to send 800,000 people home not knowing whether they're going to be able to pay their mortgages, take care of their children--sitting at home when they want to be serving the American people. It is time to stop the games. The Republican leadership needs to let its hostages go and get on with the real business of governing. Let us vote on a clean CR and reopen the government. If we could vote on a clean CR--and if a majority were all we needed, which is what the Founding Fathers anticipated--that democracy would rule--it would pass in the Senate and it would pass in the House, and we would be done with this Kabuki exercise. This stuff is beneath us. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I say to my very good friend from Kentucky that that's a wonderful analogy, because this bill is an orphan that you're separating from the parent bill, where it belongs. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. MORAN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the very distinguished ranking member of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Committee, as well as the chair of our Steering and Policy Committee.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Mr. Levin from Michigan, the very distinguished ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Mr. DeFazio from Oregon, the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. MORAN. It is with great pleasure that I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the very distinguished minority leader.