Kline on Government Shutdown: 'All We're Asking for is a Conversation'

U.S. Rep. John Kline spoke at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, one week since the government shutdown began. All the House Republicans want, he said, is to have a conversation.

Below is a portion of the text from the video clip, which you can watch above:

"Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves one week into a government shutdown. That's something I hoped I would never have to say on the floor of this House. 

"I do not want this. House Republicans do not want this, and the American people surely do not want this. So why are we here?

"We're here because Democrats in the United States Senate and the President of the United States refuse, refuse to negotiate with the people's elected representatives here in the House. How long can the refusal to negotiate go on? All we're asking for is a conversation, Mr. Speaker. That's it.

"House Republicans want to sit down in good faith and work to get this government open again, and to make sure that all Americans are treated fairly under the President's healthcare law.... 

"There are grounds for agreement. We just have to negotiate." 

What's your take on the government shutdown?

Related:

• Readers React to Kline and Obermueller Statements on Government Shutdown
• Government Shutdown: Kline Says Obamacare Delay is 'About Fairness'
• Shutdown’s Trickledown to Ministers, Soldiers, Goats

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