Chris Van Hollen: “If we really want to keep the National Institutes of Health open, if we really want to make sure we keep the national…”

“If we really want to keep the National Institutes of Health open, if we really want to make sure we keep the national parks open, if we really want to help our veterans, there's a very easy way to do it right now; and that's for the Speaker of this House to allow the Members of this House to have a vote, to have a vote on the very simple proposition: Are we going to keep the entire Federal Government operating now? Because that would pass if in the people's House we were given that opportunity. So we have a very simple question, Mr. Speaker: Why is the majority afraid of democracy? Why are they afraid of allowing this House to work its will? Because if we had a vote, we could make sure the entire government was kept open. I mentioned earlier that I have the privilege of representing the congressional district that's home to the National Institutes of Health. These are scientists doing important work. They're not Republican scientists or Democratic scientists, but they're all smart people. I've heard from them and they've said: Are you kidding? We're not going to be fooled by this piecemeal approach. They understand if you want to help NIH, you vote to send the bill to make sure the government stays open. And, by the way, they all have kids. They want to keep the Department of Education open as well. And they want to keep not just the National Institutes of Health open, but the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs.…”