Peter Torkildsen: “Today we did an important thing. We allowed Federal employees to go back to work and provide services that the taxpayers…”

“Today we did an important thing. We allowed Federal employees to go back to work and provide services that the taxpayers have been paying for. But I want to point out something else. We have people in the private sector who have also risen to the occasion. Several banks in my district, Fleet Bank, Bank of Boston, were willing to extend no-interest loans to those employees who may not have been able to draw a paycheck. I know our colleague, the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Kelly], had arranged an agreement for five community banks in her district to do the same thing. While there is a temptation to do a lot of blaming and a lot of name calling, I would ask everyone to resist and instead let us say thank you to those people in the private sector who stepped forward and said, 'Let us do what we can to help,' whether it be offering a no-interest loan, whether it be delaying payments on bills that are owed, realizing that there is a crisis out there that was not of many people's making. In the meantime, now that we have a pay bill for 3 weeks, let us all come together to work out a balanced budget, a truly balanced budget. It has been stated time and time again that is what the President wants. Now is his opportunity to bring one forward.”