David Obey: “Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution will, I assume, be known as the Halloween appropriation bill for the year 2003…”

“Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution will, I assume, be known as the Halloween appropriation bill for the year 2003, because what it does is to extend government activities until October 31 of this coming year. I am looking around the floor, looking for the chickens, and I do not see any. And I am a little confused by that, because this is the day that the chickens come home to roost. I guess they are invisible, much like much of the truth is in the budget resolution that passed earlier this year. But I think we need to understand how we got to this situation today. As of today, even though we are supposed to have all 13 appropriation bills passed by October 1, plus any supplementals for that fiscal year, despite that fact, this House has passed only three of the 13 conference reports that it would have to pass on appropriation bills in order to do its work. Now, that is not the fault of the Committee on Appropriations; it certainly is not the fault of the gentleman from Florida. The problem is that we have a budget process which has been stood on its head.”