Political Quotes

“Some of my colleagues would have us believe that our current Federal shutdown has no real consequences. I have heard some even suggest that this period of suspended government should be thought of merely as a slowdown or a slimdown. There is talk that the shutdown is causing no real pain. The most extreme anti-government politicians even express the hope that such a cutback in government programs and services should be made permanent, and too many others are content to hang back and let those with extreme views have their way for the time being. But I stand here today to remind my colleagues and the public that cuts in government funding and government programs have consequences, sometimes deadly. It is a lesson we learned in 2006 when annual coal mining deaths soared to 45, a 10-year high, reversing an 80-year trend of steadily falling fatalities, a trend attributed in part to years of underfunding the Mine Safety and Health Administration. It is a lesson we should heed now. This year, as of September 4, 14 coal miners had died on the job in our country; and this past weekend alone, three coal miners lost their lives at work over 3 consecutive days, including one miner in West Virginia. Think about that. In the first 9 months of the year, 14 coal miners perished on the job. In the first 9 days of the government shutdown, three coal miners have perished. Mr. Speaker, even one death is one too many.…”