The government has now been shut down for 3 days, the people's government that is formed to serve it and promote the general welfare and the national defense. That government has been shut down. Entirely? No, not entirely. There are some…

I thank the gentleman for that information. The gentleman, does he know how likely it is we will be in? Obviously, every Member has a schedule, and they are trying to deal with that and inform their staffs of that. I know it's very…

At the outset, I know that I join the majority leader in expressing our gratitude to the Capitol Police. Mr. Speaker, all too often we take for granted the folks who are prepared to put their own lives and safety at risk to save others…

--and I know, again, as did the majority leader--Mr. Sanford Bishop, himself, gave such a tribute to the Capitol Police at the beginning of the last bill; but also we want to thank the Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving, and all of those who…

Put the Senate's clean compromise bill that gets our government open--the government of the people of the United States--and then let's go to conference on the budget, as Democrats have long called for, to resolve our differences and…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. My friends on this side say they want to keep the government open. We say we want to keep the government open. My friends on this side sent a bill over to the Senate that had $986 billion in funding. We…

It's been 6 months and no action. That's why we have had this gridlock, because you have refused to go, as you talk about the regular order, to work out an agreement between the Senate and the House. So we find ourselves where we need more…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, there is not a Member of this House who does not respect and support the veterans of this country. The gentleman who just spoke talked about preventing pain. What we want to do is prevent…

We could do that, Mr. Speaker, if only Republicans would take ``yes'' for an answer. Their Tea Party faction has made clear where it stands. They don't like the Affordable Care Act--I don't think anybody doubts that--but the Affordable…

Tonight is about the continuing destructive obsession that our Republican friends have and their refusal to recognize that there was an election just some months ago. You made the argument to the American people, and they rejected that…

It won't affect the Border Patrol. It won't affect the FAA, except in certain limited instances. What do you think the morale of the people who work for us, the board of directors, is at this point in time? I will tell you: it's on the…

Not for our politics, but for our country and for our people. We have not a matter of days, but hours left to prevent our government from shutting down. A shutdown is not a tactic; it is not a strategy. It is a failure for this country…