Reid Ribble: “One of the things that I am concerned about and I think every American is concerned about is the reputation of the…”

“One of the things that I am concerned about and I think every American is concerned about is the reputation of the Congress of the United States in the eyes of the American people. We know what our approval ratings are, and we are well aware of it; but we often don't take a moment and pause and say what are the things that we could do to have the American people once again view this Chamber, the people's House, as a place of honor, as a place that is actually doing the people's business. Here we are, 48 hours away from a recess. We are going to be going back and talking with the people in our districts. Each one of us represents around 700,000 American citizens. We are going to go home and we are going to spend some time talking with those citizens, and I think that is appropriate. However, I also think it is appropriate for us to get our work done, and I want to talk this morning, Mr. Speaker, about a key fundamental requirement of the law of this Congress, and that is to provide the Nation and the American people with a budget that is fiscally secure and to provide for spending bills under the law so that the money that the taxpayers are sending to Washington, D.C., they are aware of how that money is being spent. This is 2014, Mr. Speaker. Leaving for the entire month of August was a tradition, as I have read, brought to this Chamber because of the extreme heat of Washington, D.C., prior to air-conditioning.…”