On the recordApril 7, 2011
Mr. President, I thank the Chair and would share a few things. If my Democratic colleagues would prefer not to shut the government down, then do not do it. The House, the Republican House, has passed a bill to fund the government, to fund the Defense Department, and the Senate, the Democratic Senate, has passed nothing. Indeed, the Democratic leadership proposed a bill that they said was worthwhile that would have reduced spending by $4.6 billion. Ten Democratic Senators defected from the leadership position--a pretty gutsy thing to do on an issue as important as this.
