Counties and cities that we represent. And were told again that should we falter on the credit debt of the United States, that we can expect a downgrade and we can expect a further downgrade in cities and counties all over the country. And somehow were supposed to believe this is a good plan. What this plan does can i have three additional minutes . Mr. Mcgovern i yield the gentleman two additional minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Miller what this plan does is hold the jobs of American Families and working people all across this had country, it holds them hostage. It holds them hostage to the passage of this legislation. It holds them hostage 90 days from now. This bill says if you dont vote for the ryan budget, because we know the votes are on the other side of the aisle to pass the ryan budget, then we go back to putting the credit of the United States at risk. The last time the American People looked at the ryan budget, they rejected it overwhelmingly. Do you remember the election of november just a couple months ago . They rejected those cuts in medicare, those cuts in medicaid, those the tax cuts for the wealthy. And yet all of this is being put back on the table by holding the debt limit hostage, holding the credit hostage, Holding American jobs hostage. So if you dont vote for that budget, then they get to play with the debt limit again. They get to play with the debt limit again. We got big lists to make between now and then, folks. We have sequestration. We have tax reform. We have a budget to write. Lets just get down to the business and do it. Just do it. Dont play with the credit of this country. Dont play with Peoples Pension plans. Dont play with the Interest Rates of corporations have to pay to borrow. Dont play with the Interest Rates your local municipalities have to borrow for projects in their district. This has got to stop. If you really believe that america is a great country, if you really believe that were an international power, then we ought to start acting like one in the congress and the congress of the United States should start acting like it. And 90day extensions on the credit worthiness of the United States is not the picture you paint when youre an international power. It has to stop. It has to stop. We cannot continue to go through this and put all of this at risk and put this recovery that is in fact happening mr. Mcgovern i yield the gentleman an additional one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Miller because of the action of the majority here in the house to once again you want to shut down the government, have at it. I was here when it happened before. Youll find all your constituents up close and personal. Youll get to know them. Thats a lot different. Thats a lot different action. You want to go off just ration, you dont like the cuts sequestration, you dont like the cuts, fine. You told the American People with your votes, youre prepared to have sequestration if we didnt do the job. So you got a lot of tough votes to make. Dont try to avoid them by holding the credit worthiness of the United States at risk. It has got to stop and it should stop today on the floor of the house of representatives which says to the world, we are prepared to have this country pay the bills, the debts that were incurred by this action. Its got to stop today with a no vote against this legislation. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas. Mr. Sessions thank you very much, mr. Speaker. As always, this floor is open to people who have ideas. Id like to say to the American People and to my colleagues that are listening, Republican Leadership has decided to bring this bill to the floor today. We have no clue exactly what date the United States actually makes sure we pass this bill to avoid not paying our bills. Secretary of the treasury is an active on active notification with our leadership and with members of the senate. We dont know when that day is. Because we dont know what that day is, thats a good reason to begin working on ideas to see whether we can even pass this bill. I think were going to. I think its a bipartisan bill. I dont think everybody necessarily has the same concerns that the gentleman from texas spoke of. What were trying to do is Work Together. Conservative republicans in our party do support this bill. I support this bill as a conservative republican. Our speaker is a conservative republican who supports this bill. But what its about is avoiding the problems of chaos, avoiding the problems of doing things at the last minute, avoiding the problems of not addressing the issue, avoiding the problems where the marketplace is loses confidence in what were doing. Chairman paul ryan, chairman of our Budget Committee, bright young leader for our country forth rightly brought this idea to our conference, has sold it. Its the right thing to do. We are trying to do here today the right thing, talking with the American People, letting people see that were moving forward to avoid conflict and avoid problems. It was accomplished with this fivepage bill, fivepage bill which we will then have two committee chairmens. Paul ryan representing the Budget Committee. Dave camp. Candice miller and the house administrator work through careful ideas that really are not difficult to get because its a fivepage bill. We think were doing the right thing. We think we got the votes. We think its going to provide this country and the senate and this administration us all working together the right thing. So if you want to oppose it i get that. I can understand the positions held. But thats but passing the bill will be a positive thing. It will offer working together relationships with the senate. It is supported and not opposed by the president , i think gives us a Good Opportunity to put a good foot forward in this congress, rather than one were fighting and disagreeing and cant get our act together. The American People demand we get things done. The American People are asking, hey, when possible, can you guys Work Together . Yes, we can. Today is a day where we can say, mr. Speaker, people from nebraska, people from texas, people from ohio, people from all over this country, can you Work Together . Were trying to find a way. Im proud of that. We are going to stand behind our product today with a money back guarantee, a money back guarantee if we dont get our job done, were not being to take the pay. I reserve my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Speaker, i yield myself 30 seconds. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Mcgovern lets be clear, this house is not open to new ideas. If it was we would not be coming to the floor with a closed rule. So the members cannot offer their ideas in the form of amendments. Secondly, their gimmick even has a gimmick to it. They say if the senate doesnt act or a house doesnt act on a budget, they dont get paid. They get paid at the end of the year. So their pay is not taken away. This is show business. Instead of show business and instead of gimmicks, we ought to be coming to the house floor in a bipartisan way trying to figure out how to solve some of these budgetary problems. I regret very much that this is the best we can do, kicking the can down the road for three months. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Berra. Mr. Bera. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Bera as an original cosponsor on the original no budget, no pay act, im glad that the 113th congress will pass a responsible budget that not only honors the promises that we made to our parents and grandparents but secures a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren. The great speaker of the house, the honorable tip oneill, was able to work with president Ronald Reagan to revamp our tax code and strengthen Social Security. The honorable speaker Newt Gingrich was able to work with president bill clinton to not only balance our budget but to create a budget surplus. We can do this but we must do so in a bipartisan fashion, taking the best ideas from both sides of the aisle, finding Common Ground and moving forward. Thank you. I yield back the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Sessions thank you, mr. Speaker. Well reserve our time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Mcgovern two minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. Jackson lee. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Jackson lee i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Ms. Jackson lee i thank very much to my friend from massachusetts. I thank very much to my friend from texas. I hope all of us will commit to doing our job. Im glad that my good friend recognizes that in the constitution, article 1, section 8, the congress has the power to collect taxes and duties and to pay the debt and also be concerned about the general welfare. Really what the Administration Says is they support a longterm increase in the debt ceiling and the reason why the people of the United States have not heard of this controversy is because the normal course of business, constitutionally, is for the congress to consult with the treasury, the treasury to consult with the congress, the debt ceiling is raised in a manner that protects the general welfare of the American People. But now we have a proposal that is driven by polling and brinksmanship. This is not the way to run a country. I heard a comedian some years ago say what a great country, and we are a great country. I love america. The constitution emphasizes the greatness of this nation. But we dont play politics with something that is the ordinary course of business. Spending cuts is a responsible way to govern, but it is to govern in a way that we sit at the table of reconciliation and we dont break the backs of seniors who relies on medicare and Social Security and veterans benefits. What we do is we sit at the table and we understand how to deal with the oncoming issue of the deficit. How do we deal with that . We do it with growth. In the constitution it doesnt suggest under this article we ought to do brinksmanship and to do two weeks or to may. What happens in may . A crisis where we cant pay our military . The debt ceiling is paying the debt. I am troubled, i am troubled by the fact that we would use this tactic. I want bipartisanship. In fact, someone who raises issues about the vulnerable, like myself, have worked with my republican friends. I look forward to doing it. I am an american. I believe in the constitution, but you do not raise the debt ceiling in increments. The Administration Says we wont stop it but we want a longterm increase so we can begin to discuss the building of this nation. Growth, the constitution, thats what we should be talking about, making america better. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Sessions thank you very much, mr. Speaker. The gentlewoman from texas, houston, texas, is absolutely correct. We do need longterm growth of our economy. We need jobs. We need job creation. We need to be able to reduce the debt of this country. The president is well aware, were well aware here in congress that each of the years that the president has been our president you he increased spending. He wants president , he increased spending. He wants a massive tax increase. We have a deficit of 1. 3 trillion each of these years. Were trying to Work Together. Were trying to, as the president said as he addressed a luncheon the day just an hour after he was sworn in, that he wants to learn from some of the things that hes done. He wants to do better. Some of doing better is a chance to perhaps reassess. Did i do the right thing the first time . Did i do the right thing when i continue to raise taxes and demand that we do that . Higher taxes diminish jobs and opportunity and growth in this country, and thats why were trying to suggest openly, mr. President , lets grow some jobs, lets dot things i think are more in line with what president george w. Bush did, referred to as number 43 in texas, dallas, texas. Number 43 had 60 straight months of Economic Growth. 60 straight months of Economic Growth with the underpinning of reducing taxes so that americans would go and work harder and see the incentive for creating jobs and would want to buy into the philosophy that the harder that we work, our country benefits. Ed underpinnings of Social Security, of medicare, of medicaid systems that are very important to our country. Reducing the number of people who have to receive government assistance is what happens when you have job growth. Protecting the longterm interest of this country and growing the american dream. The gentlewoman from houston is absolutely correct, and the methodology towards getting there is not higher taxes, it is not higher spending, it is giving more freedom and opportunity. It is having a reduced size of the government, not a bigger government. It is giving people an opportunity to have fewer rules and regulations, not more rules and regulations. So the process that the Republican Party believes in deeply is, the rights of individuals, freedom and opportunity, and reducing the size of government gives more people opportunities to empower their freedom and opportunity for their american dream. I think we believe it and i think it works. Look at texas and you will see where we have job growth, job creation, a healthier economy than other places in the country, and an opportunity to say we want more of it for all of america. Mr. Speaker, i reserve my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Mcgovern how much time do i have remaining . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has two minutes remaining. Mr. Mcgovern i yield one minute to the gentleman from texas. Er i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Andrews. Mr. Andrews i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Andrews i doubt very much anyone in america sits around saying i Hope Congress sets up another fiscal cliff. I hope they put us in the position again no one knows whats happening in the next couple months. Thats what we are doing with this bill. We should listen to the president who said this, unfortunately Congress Consistently brings the government to the edge of default before bringing responsibility. Those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits, Interest Rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligation. We should listen to this president. Ronald reagan said this in 1986, in 1986 the congress listened to him, extended the debt ceiling, and acted responsibly. So should we. This legislation sets up another fiscal cliff, another financial nightmare, another problem for the American People that we should avoid. I urge all members to vote no. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts has one minute left. The gentleman from texas reserves. Mr. Sessions i reserve my time and have no additional speakers. Mr. Mcgovern i yield myself the balance of the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern we have a gimmick before us that withholds pay if we dont pass a budget, but not if you dont get a deal. It doesnt matter whether the budget is irreconcilable or partisan. It doesnt withhold anybodys pay, it just delays when you get the check. The problem is not the United States senate. I want to tell my friends. It is my friends on the other side of the aisle who do not want to deal. Who want instead to basically annihilate and eviscerate the public sector. If you want to balance the budget, i say to my friends, will i tell you, pay for your wars, pay for your tax cuts. Pay for your give aways to the give yahwehs giveaways to the country. I urge my colleagues to vote no, not kick the can down the road, deal with the problems as we see them right now. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, those especially who call for transparency, vote no on this closed rule. This is a closed rule. Nobody has an opportunity to offer any other ideas. This is not the way we should be dealing with budget issues. Vote no on this closed rule. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Sessions thank you very much. I appreciate my colleagues, the gentleman, mr. Mcgovern, the Ranking Member of the committee, ms. Slaughter, and those Democrat Members who came down to express themself. I also appreciate the republicans that