John Mica: “But our leaders, in good faith, went to the White House. As a staffer, I used to get calls. I was a staffer for Senator…”

“But our leaders, in good faith, went to the White House. As a staffer, I used to get calls. I was a staffer for Senator Hawkins, and Ronald Reagan would ask me to help work with my boss and others to get things done. I voted on this floor to impeach Bill Clinton. And Bill Clinton came back and worked with us. We balanced the budget. Remember, after we had the last shutdown, '95, within 2 years, we balanced the budget. We reformed welfare. We balanced the budget. Actually, the debate here on September 11, just before September 11, was what to do with the surplus. So some good can come out of this, good people working together. But when they won't negotiate, when they call you to the White House and they won't talk, when they go to Maryland, as they did, or wherever it was in the region here, and then tell folks that we're holding a gun to their heads, that's wrong. Let's negotiate. Let's get this done for the American people.”