Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. That's the time-honored tradition. That's the way the place works. It's the way it should operate. That's regular order. Now the Senate has passed the bill. The House has passed a bill, which disagree with each other. The House, two or three nights ago now, passed their motion to go to conference, and it passed the House. The Speaker of the House then appointed conferees from the House side and sent that to the Senate, waiting for the Senate to appoint conferees so that we can meet together, work out our differences, and bring that agreement back to each body, the House and the Senate. Why aren't we proceeding on regular order in this case? Do you have an answer?

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Reclaiming my time, that's the way we've done it for 200 years or so, and that is, when we disagree with the other body, we each appoint our conferees. The conferees go off and haggle and amend and argue and debate until there's some agreement that can be brought back to each Chamber, which then can reject or accept that conference report. The House has acted. We're waiting on the Senate to appoint their conferees so that we can go off and work, 24 hours a day, if necessary, to come to an agreement, which we can do. And I would urge the other body to honor the age-old tradition in the Congress. When you disagree with the other body, you appoint conferees to work out the differences, bring it back to each body, and I would hope that the Senate would do that.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Might I engage in a colloquy with the gentleman?

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. What is the normal time-honored procedure in the Congress when the two bodies disagree?

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding this time and thank you for bringing up this bill. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. This bill continues to provide our Nation's veterans with access to important benefits that they have earned in service to their country. To let these important health benefits slow or stop would be to renege on our promise to our soldiers that, in exchange for taking care of this country, the Nation will take care of you. This legislation continues funding for the processing and delivering of disability claims and other health benefits at the current annual rate of approximately $82 billion until December 15, or until we enact full-year appropriations. Yesterday, when we considered this bill on the floor under suspension, Republicans and Democrats alike united behind the duty of this Congress to provide for our veterans. Frankly, I'm surprised it didn't pass with the vote of every single Member, but some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle chose not to support the care of our former servicemen and -women. But I believe that, given this second chance, where a majority will do, my colleagues will come together to pass this important bill. Not only is it important for the well-being of our veterans, but it's important for the well-being of the Nation as a whole. Every step we take to fund one section of the government is a step we can take toward reopening the entire government. Even if we do not agree on much, we can agree, Madam Speaker, that we can't allow this government shutdown to persist much longer and continue to inflict harm on the United States. The clearest path forward is coming together on a bipartisan and bicameral basis to work out our differences, find a solution, and end this shutdown. And the way to do this is laying right in front of us. The House passed the other night a motion to go to conference with the Senate on the differences that we have between us. It is the old, time-honored tradition of the House and Senate having a conference together to work out differences that is the way this place should be working; and yet the Senate refuses to sit down with us. Madam Speaker, our conferees are waiting at the table downstairs, even as I speak. And if the Senate would just send over their conferees, we can work out the differences and the shutdown and solve the rest of the Nation's problems. I urge my colleagues to provide for our veterans and help us get out of this shutdown disaster. Vote ``aye'' on this bill.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, the very distinguished chairman of this subcommittee has rendered invaluable service to this Nation and this body and certainly this committee, and I thank him for his wonderful service over a long period of time. I rise today in support of the brave men and women of our military who stand at the ready to defend this homeland. This legislation will provide the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve with due compensation for their service--on time and in full--throughout the government shutdown. Our intention with the Pay Our Military Act was to support all of our men and women in uniform. This legislation merely fixes a technical drafting error to amend that. Once again, I believe this is an important action to get us on the path toward ending this crisis. This bill underscores the need to sufficiently and appropriately fund the entire Federal Government--to preserve our national security and get the Nation back on a stable economic footing. The House and the Senate must work together to flip the switch on this shutdown not only for our troops, but for everyone who calls this Nation their home. It is our responsibility as Members of Congress to take care of our troops. Just as each of my colleagues in this body voted for the Pay Our Military Act, I hope they will do the same today to correct that act. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Indiana, my friend, mentioned in his remarks about the other aspects of the Federal Government that need to be back in operation. I could not agree with him more on that. However, the route out of this mess--if you call it--is for the Senate to appoint conferees. The House authorized and appointed conferees 2 days ago. We are waiting on the Senate to do the same. If they appoint conferees, we can work out the differences between the two bodies, as is the time-honored tradition of this place, and solve the shutdown problem. So I ask the Members of the other body to go ahead and appoint conferees. Let's start talking. We can solve this problem. So far they refuse to even talk.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and in support of continuing to provide our Nation's veterans with the important benefits they have earned for their service and their sacrifices. I am shocked to hear our friends on the other side of the aisle who are unwilling to help our veterans receive the benefits that they have earned in the defense of our Nation. For their unwavering commitment to this Nation, our veterans deserve to receive consistent, quality service and disability benefits. Any lapse in these services for our heroes is a failure on our part to do our jobs as Members of Congress. I would like to remind the House that the language in this bill was essentially included in the clean continuing resolution I initially offered several weeks ago. For that reason, as well as my dedication to our veterans, I am happy to endorse this bill today. The legislation before us continues funding to process and deliver disability claims and services at the Department of Veterans Affairs for those who have served in our Armed Forces, at the current annual rate of approximately $82 billion. The funding will last until December 15 or until we enact full-year appropriations. In addition to providing for our former servicemen and -women, this bill will continue to move the ball down the field, closer to our ultimate goal of funding the entire government. Conversations must continue on how we as an entire Congress can come to an agreement that funds every agency and department, that ends this shutdown and reopens the government. That's why I was so disappointed this morning when the U.S. Senate declared that they didn't want to meet with us to talk about how to end this shutdown. We offered to sit down and talk in a conference committee. The Senate at 9:30 brusquely says, No way. We don't want to talk to you. I thought that's what Congress was all about, was working out differences from this body across to the Senate, but, apparently, I am wrong. I urge my colleagues to support our veterans and to take the next step toward ending this unnecessary government shutdown. Pass this bill today.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding this time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which will reopen the doors of our national parks and memorials, the Smithsonian museums and facilities, and the Holocaust Museum. I couldn't believe my ears when the gentleman who just spoke said that he opposed the opening of these icons for Americans to visit. I can't believe that you would oppose that. The Capital City draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country--from all over the world, in fact--every year. To turn these visitors away from the highlights of this country is unbefitting of the Capital City. All over the country, our national parks preserve our rich national heritage and serve as a reminder to all of us of our history and the vast beauty that makes this Nation great. This legislation is essentially a portion of the clean continuing resolution I introduced several weeks ago. This is a piece of it. With that in mind, I certainly endorse this path forward. To keep these programs, parks, memorials, and facilities operational, this bill provides funding at the current annual rate of approximately $3.2 billion. This is $2.4 billion for the national parks, $775 million for the Smithsonian museums and $48 million for the Holocaust Museum. While this bill helps to provide stability in this segment of the Federal Government, our jobs are far from done. We can't just fund the government in bits and pieces forever. Enacting full-year appropriations that reflect current needs should be at the top of our priority list. This bill keeps us on that path toward achieving that goal, but it's not the end of the line. Mr. Speaker, on this side of the aisle, we have offered now three or four opportunities for the U.S. Senate to avoid shutdown. They've rejected all of them out of hand--dead on arrival, they said--measures that would keep the government operating, keep employees at work and keep all of our national activities going on. Now they say, We are not going to talk with you, not even a discussion. We have appointed conferees to confer with the Senate. The Senate refuses to appoint negotiators, conferees, to discuss with the House side, bipartisanly and bicamerally, ways out of this rut that we are in. They simply refuse to talk, much less act. It reminds me a little bit of when Abraham Lincoln was practicing law back in Illinois. A young man accused of killing his parents came before the court, and his plea for mercy was that he was an orphan. I would hope the U.S. Senate would act. It's up to them. The bill that we passed last night--the amendment--would authorize the appointment of conferees, which the House did, and the Senate has simply refused to even talk. I thought that's what Congress was all about--negotiating, working across the aisle, working with each other, working with the other body to find some common path that we could all agree upon and then send the bill to the President for his signature. You can't operate if one side refuses to talk, so I urge the Senate to act. I support this bill, and I urge everyone to support it.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation to keep the District of Columbia operating as usual while Congress works to sort out its fiscal differences. I have to admit I'm really surprised to hear my good friend from New York--and we are good friends--oppose this bill. This bill provides for the District of Columbia to use its money to provide the services that we all enjoy in this Capital City. I can't believe the gentleman would oppose this bill. This is a clean funding mechanism, nearly identical to what was included in the initial clean continuing resolution I introduced on September 10. This legislation gives the District access to local funding at the current annual rate of $6.8 billion until December 15 or until full- year appropriations have been signed into law. This funding is solely local and does not come out of the Federal coffers. These funds will support critical District programs that its people rely on--law enforcement, safety, schools, and other essential municipal activities. I can't believe that I'm hearing opposition to this from that side of the aisle--or any side of any aisle. This legislation will help clean up one portion of the difficulties caused by a shutdown, and it makes one more critical next step toward reopening the entire Federal Government. Let me say again that on this side of the aisle we offered to the Senate three or four different propositions to keep the government operating. They turned them all down. Finally, last night we said: Okay, if you won't agree to any of these provisions, let's at least form a conference committee between the House and Senate, as is the usual process, which is time honored. Let's just meet in the rotunda, House and Senate conferees, and work out the differences that we have. That's what we've done around here in the past. The Senate said: No, we don't even want to talk to you. And so here we are. When the Senate said we won't talk, the shutdown took place, triggered by the Senate's refusal to even talk to Members of the House. We've got to keep our eyes on the prize--and that's providing each and every agency, program, and department with full-year, updated appropriations, and ending this shutdown as soon as possible. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 367, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 59) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes, with the House amendment to the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Lexington, Kentucky (Mr. Barr), my neighbor.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the further consideration of H.J. Res. 59.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time, 1 minute, to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the very distinguished majority leader of the House.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how many speakers the gentlelady has remaining.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the very distinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives.