Republican Shutdown and ACA

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, here we are, day two of the Republican shutdown. The Tea Party extremists are really achieving their goal of dismantling government. Their shutdown is step one.

It's no secret that the Tea Party Republicans came here not as public servants, but to destroy and decimate our government. Now, millions of families, children, seniors, Federal employees, and our economy are paying the price. The Republican refusal to back off their extreme, ideological demands has taken our country down a very dangerous path that will surely push millions more into hunger and poverty.

In my congressional district and throughout the State of California families are already feeling the impact of the Republican government shutdown. The California Women, Infants, and Children program is on the brink of turning away low-income pregnant women and new mothers if this shutdown continues. How ruthless can you get?

The California National Guard, the largest in the Nation, is forced to furlough technicians and aviation mechanics, even as the fire season is still upon us. And throughout the State of California, eighth graders, like my constituents from Oakland who wrote to me yesterday, are cancelling field trips to national parks and monuments which are closed to visitors. What are they going to do now?

To add insult to injury, Republicans have shut down the government because they are obsessed with destroying the Affordable Care Act, which is the law of the land and which the Supreme Court upheld. Most Americans continue to see how senseless and wrong it is to shut down the government because you want to deny health care to millions. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Despite the Republican government shutdown, health care exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act have successfully opened for enrollment, and now millions of uninsured Americans are just 3 months away from having the health care coverage they so desperately need.

California, the first State to commit to establishing its own exchange, launched the Covered California exchange. Covered California's exchange includes health care options for individuals and small businesses. In my congressional district alone, there are nearly 100,000 uninsured constituents, and the opening of the exchanges means that they are one step closer to health care coverage that can literally--mind you, literally--make the difference between life and death.

Hostage taking really is a deplorable tactic. Members of Congress are elected to make sure our government functions. Time and time again, Democrats have reached across the aisle to try to negotiate a budget plan that is fair and that ensures that the government pays our bills on time. Yet, instead of working together to do our jobs, Republicans continue to double down on the Tea Party plan to destroy and decimate our government.

Instead of working on a serious option to reopen the government, Republicans' latest strategy now--and this is really cynical--is to exploit our veterans and to exploit the people of the District of Columbia by voting on piecemeal bills that will not end impacts of a shutdown that extend across the country.

Mr. Speaker, of course we support our veterans and of course we support our national parks and of course we support the District of Columbia to use its locally raised funds, but let's not use them to score political points to advance an ideological agenda.

How do Republicans vote this week to allow the District to use its discretion on local funds during a shutdown--that they created--yet next week block the same funds being used for saving reproductive health care services or badly needed needle exchange programs to fight HIV and AIDS?

Again, this is so cynical and it is so wrong. The American people deserve a functioning government. This hostage taking must end.

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