Barbara Boxer: “since the government shut down about 16 days ago, I have been coming to the floor of the Senate to express my chagrin at…”

“since the government shut down about 16 days ago, I have been coming to the floor of the Senate to express my chagrin at this manufactured crisis. Then, of course, the second manufactured crisis, the crisis of perhaps doing the unthinkable: a default, where we would become a nation that did not pay our bills for the first time in our history. I think history is going to analyze this period of time in our Nation's governance and will not look fondly upon what has happened here. Just this morning, I held a press conference, as I am chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, to talk about what is happening across the country in this shutdown--superfund sites, more than 500 not being cleaned up. We had businesspeople there, small businesspeople who have their businesses near wildlife refuges. This is the season where people go hunting and fishing and spend their dollars to help support the tourist industry in our great Nation. In many States tourism is No. 1, 2, or 3. In my State, California, it is the No. 3 industry. So when a park closes down or the Army Corps recreation land closes down or the refuges close down, this is not just sad because that is not the right thing to do for the environment, it is sad because many people rely on those beautiful areas being open to the public. We need to keep the doors of the government open to the people. This is a government of, by, and for the people. Our government should never be closed.…”