Jackie Speier: “We are now 16 days into a government shutdown and standing on the precipice of defaulting on our debt. Families around…”

“We are now 16 days into a government shutdown and standing on the precipice of defaulting on our debt. Families around the country are worrying if they will be able to pay their water bills, but the Members' gym has stayed open during the government shutdown so my colleagues can live rent free in their offices and use the gym to shower and shave. One of my colleagues who is using his office as a Holiday Inn has nearly 43,000 households on SNAP in his district. These people don't have the option of curling up in a government building or getting dinner at a congressional reception to cut costs, but my colleague does. The only inconvenience for him is that his office doesn't have a kitchen, so he stocks his office annex with a crock pot, an electric griddle, a microwave, a toaster, and a refrigerator. He told CBS News: You can put some frozen chicken in with some bouillon, some vegetables. Let it simmer all day, and you are ready to rock and roll. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. economy is not ready to rock and roll as long as Congress refuses to pay the government's bills. American small businesses are not ready to rock and roll when the markets worry that we will default and not pay the bills that we have already incurred. The American people are not ready to rock and roll when they don't know when the government will reopen to provide them with the services that they have already paid for but are not receiving. The House of Representatives is not a campsite.…”