“The number one job for elected officials, for all of us in this body, is to put together a real budget that takes the best Democratic ideas and the best Republican ideas, puts them together and puts the American people first”, said Rep. Bera – who in many ways has emerged as a voice of reason in the House of Representatives.
On September 28, 2013 Rep. Bera of California asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding the looming government shutdown. A situation he suggest we could avoid if we could come together and act responsibly. Something neither Republicans or Democrats seem willing to do right now…
“Yesterday, the Senate passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded for 2 months. That isn’t a solution, but at least it gives us 2 months to act like adults and put together a real budget. At its core, that’s what we need to do. The number one job for elected officials, for all of us in this body, is to put together a real budget that takes the best Democratic ideas and the best Republican ideas, puts them together and puts the American people first.”
“We can listen to all of the rhetoric that says the House has passed a budget and we did it on time, the Senate has passed a budget, the President has passed a budget. The sad fact is all three budgets are different. How do you operate a business like that? How do you manage your household like that? Let’s act like adults, and let’s go to conference. Let’s take those three budgets, let’s figure out a solution and a compromise and agree on one budget, and then bring that back to this body”, he said.
“Yes, the Senate passed a continuing resolution. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to bring it to this body today. Give us a chance to vote up or down. If you don’t like that resolution, then the Republicans who control the House will vote down on it. But give us a chance to vote up or down. That’s how this should work. The Senate has passed a farm bill that is important to this country and it’s important to my constituents in California and Sacramento. Give us a chance to vote on that bill up or down. That’s how government should work. We’ve got to start coming together”, said Rep. Bera (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
Congressman Bera is a member of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. He is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
It should be noted that Congressman Bera is the only Indian American currently serving in Congress.