On the recordApril 6, 2011
I yield myself 1 minute. Madam Speaker, I want to be clear that we can in this body take up and pass Senate bill 388 if we can defeat the previous question, and this will go directly to the President's desk. There is still time. I think the American people don't know that if government shuts down at the end of the day Friday as it might--it seems increasingly likely--Members of Congress will still continue to receive their paycheck. I had a tweet from one of my constituents that said, ``If there is a government shutdown, are Congressmen and Senators considered essential employees?'' I responded that we had a bill, Senate bill 388, that would make sure that Members of Congress don't get paid in the event of a shutdown, but Speaker Boehner refuses to bring it to the floor of the House in spite of passing the Senate unanimously. My constituent responded, ``Maybe if the rulemakers had to live by the same rules they created, a solution would come faster. Gridlock is not governance.'' Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
