Mr. President, let me say to my friend that she is absolutely right. We have heard from a lot of contractors who employ individuals, from large contractors such as Lockheed to smaller companies that employ 30, 40, 50 people. The range is…

Mr. President, once again I wish to thank Senator Boxer for her comments and for her strength in coming to the floor and pointing out the danger and harm caused by the government shutdown and the risk of defaulting on our debt. Let me make…

We have ten percent of our workforce that works for the Federal Government--ten percent of our workforce. It has had a huge impact on the Maryland economy.

You hear the numbers, you hear the thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of people and millions of people, but until you can put a face on it so people can recognize it is their neighbors, it is their community that has been…

There have been studies done that show that as a result of this manufactured crisis, consumer confidence has been more adversely affected than in any of our natural disasters, that is worse than the attack on our country on 9/11 as far as…

We want to make sure government is open. We want to make sure we do not default on our obligations.

You know, we do not have the Federal workers who usually come in here and have lunch. I do not know how much longer we can deal with our current situation with the government shutdown.

Thank you for pointing out so frequently on the floor of the Senate, in our caucus, and to the American people the harm being caused to our country as a result of the shutdown of government.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I have permission to speak for 15 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I am happy to yield and have the Senator from Delaware continue. He is the newest member of the Appropriations Committee. He has really articulated something everybody needs to understand. I am happy to wait my turn.

Mr. President, there is a misguided myth out there--not all myths are misguided, but this myth is--by those who believe that the government shutdown is actually saving us money. I am not going to go into all those details about why that is…

House Resolution 368. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

When was that alteration made? The SPEAKER pro tempore. In House Resolution 368.

So I just want to understand, Mr. Speaker. This standing rule of the House, which I have here, has been altered by the House. Is that what the Speaker is saying? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House adopted a resolution altering it.

And the standing rule of the House reads, Mr. Speaker, ``When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged.'' Mr. Speaker, my…

I would ask my colleagues whether the majority leader or his designee is on the floor of the House today. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker, and this will be my last one. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary…

Well, Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

So a privileged motion, Mr. Speaker, would have allowed any Member of this House--Republican or Democrat--to call up the Senate bill to open the government; is that right? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair does not give advisory opinions.