“I believe there are a small number of this House who are holding us captive and rendering, apparently, this House unable to reach compromise”, said Rep. Hoyer.
On September 27, 2013 Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for one minute regarding the looming government shutdown that also threatens incidentally the creditworthiness of the entire country.
“Mr. Speaker, there are 435 of us that have been asked by our fellow citizens to come to Washington, D.C., to have the extraordinary privilege of sitting on this floor and making–they hope–responsible decisions for their country.”
“I regret that the House is not full at this point in time. I have a reputation for working across the aisle. I cherish that reputation because I believe that all of us have been given an honor, and each of us ought to respect that”, he said.
“Mr. Speaker, we are days away from shutting down the government. We are a few more days from defaulting on the credit of the United States of America. I believe there are a small number of this House who are holding us captive and rendering, apparently, this House unable to reach compromise. The American people surely will not reward any one of us.There is, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, a working majority for responsibility in this House. I choose to believe that, I do believe it, and I pray that it is the case. And I ask my colleagues to come together on behalf of the American people and our great country to act responsibly”, said Rep. Hoyer (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
Congressman Hoyer currently serves on the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees. He also is a former member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland and the United States Naval Academy Board of Visitors.