Jackie Speier: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this bill is truly astonishing. We have serious issues before us. We…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this bill is truly astonishing. We have serious issues before us. We should be focused on job creation, on comprehensive immigration reform, on providing nutrition assistance to children and seniors, on postal reform or on funding the government; but we are again debating partisan bills that stand no chance of becoming law, including the 40th vote to defund or to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, as kids, we are told that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, so I sure hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have not given one bonus to one of their senior staff members. I hope that that is the case, that you have not given one bonus to a senior staff member. I hope, furthermore, that each of you is recording all of your staff members when they answer the phones because you want to know how they are treating your constituents. This particular bill is the height of hypocrisy. It is a blatant attack on Federal employees that reinforces the fact that current leadership is only interested in political messaging, including through repeated attacks on hardworking Federal employees. It is simply shameful to say that we will belittle public service like that. I am a public servant, and I am proud to be a public servant. Every Federal employee who works in this building and virtually every Federal employee who is out there in our communities is doing so because he believes in public service.…”