Brandon Williams: “To put it crudely, my colleagues, this is indeed a lousy way to do the people's business. These weekly CR's are…”

“To put it crudely, my colleagues, this is indeed a lousy way to do the people's business. These weekly CR's are Government by political hiccup. It is atrocious that ideology, and stubbornness, and extremists, and extremism and hostage-taking have been substituted for what in previous Congresses had been a rational and timely consideration of and passage of the Nation's budget and appropriations process. These CR's come weekly, many of them. This is the 12th, as we have heard, the 12th continuing resolution. The gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] and a couple of others have mentioned what I know each of my colleagues has heard in their own offices, and that is that school boards are apoplectic about this situation. Many teachers do not know if they are going to have their contracts renewed or at what salary levels. It is not true that the environment is not suffering. Public lands acquisition has been put on hold. Necessary construction on public lands has been put on hold. EPA enforcement has been slowed in some areas almost to a stop. There has been disruption in the Superfund work, and I can tell my colleagues, in that I have two great national parks, all or part within my State of Montana, that the morale of Park Service workers is the lowest I have ever seen it, and that may be true throughout the Federal system.”