Dick Durbin: “I would like to speak to the vote we are about to cast this morning at 10 o'clock. This is a vote to basically extend…”

“I would like to speak to the vote we are about to cast this morning at 10 o'clock. This is a vote to basically extend the authority and budget of the Federal Government until December 11. This September 30 is the end of our fiscal year, and at least legally, the authority to continue the government depends on budget and appropriations bills being passed by the House and Senate. That has not happened. So what we are doing is a continuing resolution. It basically extends last year's budget until December 11. Now, that will keep the lights on at Federal agencies, and it will avoid the catastrophic outcome of a government shutdown, but it is not good policy. We have done it on our side--on the Democratic side--and now the Republicans, in control of the Congress, are doing it on their side. It buys time to reach some sort of agreement that is longer lasting and more thoughtful. We know the notion of a government shutdown is a disaster, but it is not a unanimous opinion in the Senate or in the House of Representatives. There are actually Members of the Senate and the House who are applauding the possibility of a government shutdown. Some of them were the same people who inspired the shutdown several years ago-- a shutdown which cost us 800,000 jobs in America because of the uncertainty created by it and which created real hardship for people around our country.…”