Nancy Pelosi: “it is time for this House of Representatives to get a grip. The shutdown of the Federal Government is unworthy of a…”

“it is time for this House of Representatives to get a grip. The shutdown of the Federal Government is unworthy of a great country. The irresponsible actions of this House have increased the economic uncertainty of our Federal workers. Whether they get paid eventually or not is unknown, but what is known is that those industries which depend on the Federal Government operating will never be made whole. Think, in our area in California, Mariposa County has appealed to Governor Wilson to declare them a disaster area because of the loss of business due to the closing of Yosemite Park. It goes on and on, with coffee shops and stationery stores and all the rest who do business as a result of the Federal Government and Federal buildings being functioning. Mr. Speaker, for a Nation that prides itself on the issue of fairness, this shutdown is unfair to the American taxpayer, unfair to the Federal workers, unfair to American businesses who want to engage in trade. We are not able to protect our environment, to conduct our foreign policy. Mr. Speaker, if this is the tactic that the Republicans want to use, then in a sense of fairness we should not be accepting our own paychecks.”