Christopher Shays: “I was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1974, and it never ceased to amaze me, when I saw my colleagues…”

“I was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1974, and it never ceased to amaze me, when I saw my colleagues in Congress having to form a budget, that they did not have to balance the budget. It never ceased to amaze me that unlike the State house, where our revenues had to equal expenditures, men and women in Congress continued to deficit spend and put us in an incredible hole of obligations. Mr. Rabin, before he was assassinated, said that he was elected by adults to represent the children and the children's children. And this is what this issue is all about. We have Federal employees who are innocent victims, but, ultimately, they will be paid. But they have to now survive without pay. They are caught in the middle. But this is not about Federal employees. This is not even about the disruption of services. It is about whether or not there is an agreement in Congress with the White House to finally balance our Federal budget, get our financial house in order, Save Medicare from bankruptcy and, ultimately, to change this social and corporate welfare State into what I would refer to as an opportunity society, an opportunity for all Americans.”