Louise Slaughter

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 2 minutes.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have heard the majority speak with great urgency today about the need to pass the continuing resolution. But where was this urgency from the majority for the last 5 months of this fiscal year? They were so consumed with providing tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations that they ignored virtually everything else. This was a bill that was sold as a middle class tax cut. But 83 percent of the tax cuts go to the wealthiest 1 percent; and for corporations, the tax breaks are permanent. For individuals, they are sunsetted. Speaker Ryan, over the weekend, promoted the fact that a secretary in Pennsylvania received an extra $1.50 a week under the tax scam. That is $78 a year for her. You can see what the middle class actually got. But compare that with the wealthy. One analysis found that the Koch brothers and their corporate empire could save between $1 billion and $1.4 billion combined in income taxes every year as a result of the tax law. It is important to remember that this is a permanent cut. It was a bill written for the rich to help the rich. It spends money we don't have, while adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit. That is such a staggering amount that the Congressional Budget Office said last week that because of this tax bill, our government now is expected to run out of money sooner than anticipated. The deadline to raise the debt ceiling has now been moved from early April to mid-March. Only during the Second World War was our debt as a percentage of gross domestic product higher than it is today. I hope we can forever end the myth that the majority is the party of fiscal discipline. The situation we are in today is a direct result of the majority prioritizing the wealthy over doing the most basic functions of keeping the government running. And now, after ignoring Democrats as this bill was drafted, they expect us to fall in line and support a flawed proposal. That is not how it works. If they want our support, they need to work with us. And Democrats have been clear: We cannot afford to keep kicking the can down the road. It is past time for a long-term bill that addresses urgent national priorities. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question, on the rule, and the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I join my colleagues in calling attention to an attack on one of our most basic fundamental rights as American citizens--the right to organize in our workplace. The impending Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME, is nothing more than a continued attack by corporate CEOs on American workers' right to unite and advocate for fair labor standards. This critical right offers working people the opportunity to get ahead through bargaining with their employers for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Wherever you work, if you appreciate a 40 hour work week, sick leave and vacation days, guaranteed safe working conditions, then you have unions to thank. And the outcome of this Supreme Court case will impact you. It was not a benevolent employer who brought fair labor standards to the American workforce; it was American workers. And an attack on the ability to organize in the workplace is an attack on all of them. Since the inception of labor unions, American workers--both unionized and non-unionized--have enjoyed substantial gains in wages, safety, and stability. In fact, throughout the 20th Century, the growth of unions gave rise to the creation of the great American middle-class, who has contributed immensely to our great nation. Over the years, however, a change in global economy, unfair trade agreements, and a deliberate effort to weaken unions have made life much harder for the middle class. In fact, for far too many middle-class families, the American dream has sadly now become nothing more than a memory of time passed. This decimation of the middle class coincides with the Majority's relentless attacks on labor unions. The Majority has pushed right-to- work legislation, tried to weaken enforcement of workers' collective rights, and has even tried to repeal prevailing wage laws. They are working hand-in-glove with the Trump administration, which supports a national right-to-work bill. We are seeing many dangerous attacks on the state level, too. I continue to fight against these attacks on our workers. All the while, I will also keep fighting to overhaul NAFTA, which has caused my district to lose half of its manufacturing jobs. In holding our trading partners to a higher standard, it is critical that we practice what we preach. That means promoting strong labor standards here at home and protecting American workers against unyielding efforts to weaken their right to organize.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, today is the 1-year anniversary of a complete Republican control of Washington. The majority runs the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. And what do we have to show for it? First, a tax bill for corporations and the wealthy. Now, the great Government of the United States is closed for business. The impacts will be severe. Just look what happened during the last Republican shutdown in 2013, which cost our economy an estimated $24 billion: We lost progress on reducing the massive backlog of veterans' disability claims; Two-thirds of the Centers for Disease Control and three-fourths of the National Institutes of Health were furloughed; Flu season surveillance and monitoring was severely limited, and we are in a crisis, this year, with the flu where more than 20 children have died; Lifesaving FDA food safety inspections were delayed; 1.2 million private sector loans to individuals and small businesses were disrupted; Billions in tax refunds were delayed; Head Start centers serving 6,300 children were closed; and 120,000 private sector jobs were destroyed. Why is the government shut down today? Because the majority was so obsessed with handing out tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations that they ignored their responsibility to the American people. They failed to renew, before they expired, community health centers. They failed to permanently renew the Children's Health Insurance Program, which the CBO--Congressional Budget Office--had found would save the government over $6 billion over 10 years. That is despite the fact that the majority made their tax cuts for corporations permanent. That was a tax bill, by the way, that was sold as a middle class tax cut. But we know today that it was anything but. It is a tax cut for big corporations and the superwealthy, and it seems designed to target blue States. I live in one. Action on these items shouldn't be some extraordinary exercise. Republicans and Democrats agree that we need to address them. But the majority has been missing in action. All the while, we have been forced to limp along, funding the government in month-long tranches. That is no way to run a business, and it is certainly no way to run the Government of the United States of America. President Trump tweeted last May: ``Our country needs a good `shutdown.''' In 2011, years before he assumed office, President Trump said, during an interview, as another Republican shutdown loomed: ``If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States. He's the one that has to get people together.'' We would like to have him do that and play that role now. The President should not treat this like a reality show, and the majority should stop treating government like a game where the truth is so easily discarded. The majority's short-term CR failed last night in the other body because it didn't get the job done. It was written behind closed doors without a single bit of input from the minority party. Democrats weren't alone in making clear that this continuing resolution was unacceptable. Members of the majority's own conference voted against it on both sides of the Capitol. If I were in the majority's shoes with 51 seats in the other body, and I had to get to 60 votes, I would want Democrats to be in on it with me. To do that, we need to be in on it at all steps, not just at the time of the vote. The majority is quick to invoke the name of my State Senator--that I think will not cross my lips because of what we just went through--but let me say that that Senator from the State of New York earned perfect scores on his SATs, was heard one Saturday morning on NPR on two different subjects, and I don't believe anyone could honestly say that he ever misunderstood what the President said during a meeting, or that he would leave a meeting in any way confounded or confused. They were apparently close to a deal to avert a shutdown. The problem is that this President apparently thinks one thing at 10 a.m. and another one at noon--somewhat like Alice in Wonderland--and that makes reaching an agreement extraordinarily difficult. Even the Senate majority leader from my other home State of Kentucky, Senator Mitch McConnell, said this week: ``I'm looking for something that President Trump supports. And he's not yet indicated what measure he's willing to sign.'' So the majority in both Chambers should try something new for a change: we call it bipartisanship. I am here today ready to craft a compromise that addresses the needs facing the American people. So are my Democratic colleagues. To the majority, I say this with all of my heart: Work with us for the good of this country, and let us end this shutdown before Monday. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. I am sorry that the majority leader didn't mention it, but were there any Democrats in those meetings in his office? Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch), a former member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the Democratic whip.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Maryland an additional 1\1/2\ minutes.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum) to discuss our proposal.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 4871, the Pay Our Military Act, to guarantee pay and death benefits for our military. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader and our great friend and a woman we are very happy about.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this is the fifth Republican government shutdown in the last 30 years. It is the first shutdown in modern history when one party held the House, the Senate, and the White House. During the 2013 government shutdown, the economy lost $1.5 billion a day. I am sure it is even more now. We need to work across the aisle, and the majority needs to work with us, and let's solve this problem. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.