Jack Kingston: “I think what is so important here is let us not go around saying that the Newt Gingrich freshmen Republicans have closed…”

“I think what is so important here is let us not go around saying that the Newt Gingrich freshmen Republicans have closed down the Government when you know, and the learned distinguished gentlewoman from New York knows, that is not the case. The fact is that when you voted against that bill, you helped close down the Government, just a wee bit. Now, maybe, as an author of the bill, I may be accused of saying well, his bill reached too far, but there is plenty of, in the spirit of reopening the Government and in the spirit of balancing the budget, I would say there is plenty of room for both parties to come to the table, but do not sit over there and vote against the bills and have a President who vetoes the bill and then vote to support his veto and tell us we are closing down the Government. You know, it is too important to the Federal employees, to the National Park employees, to the prison guard employees in my district, for them to be hearing the games. This is their job. This is real people, real mortgages, real grocery bills, real problems, real jobs, and let us not say that, oh, well, I am going to vote against this bill but it is the Republicans that just did this.”