WASHINGTON, DC -- Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV gave opening remarks at today's U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing titled, "The Impacts of the Government Shutdown on Our Economic Security."

Remarks as prepared for delivery:

In 2008 and 2009, this country went through the worst recession since World War II.  We will probably never all agree about who or what caused it, but we know that our recovery from “the Great Recession” has been slow and painful. Five years after the crash, unemployment remains at stubbornly high levels. And while our country is finally growing again, it is growing much more slowly than we would like. Our financial experts and our business leaders are telling us this is still a “fragile recovery” – that the economy is still not fully healthy. They are saying that if we are not careful with our actions, a misstep could easily slip the economy back into a recession. 

A small group of people in Congress have been ignoring these warnings. They have been recklessly putting our economy at risk of a relapse. Last week they wanted a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This week they don't know what they want. But instead of coming to their senses, they are digging in. This only inflicts further pain on our businesses and families. Some people seem to think that manufacturing budget crises is good politics. I think they have been learning over the past two weeks that it’s not good politics. And I hope they also are realizing that it’s even worse public policy.          

If you don’t trust my opinion that this shutdown is hurting our economy, let me read from a letter that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and 250 other business groups sent to Congress on September 30, 2013. They wrote:  

“It is not in the best interest of the employers, employees, or the American people to risk a government shutdown that will be economically disruptive and create even more uncertainties for the U.S. economy.” 

The damage and the disruption caused by this government shutdown are real. It is hurting our families, our businesses, our government, and our standing in the world. It never should have happened. We often talk about the economy in abstract terms. But what we’re really talking about is millions of skilled and productive Americans – in both the public and private sectors – whose hard work and dedication make our country strong.

All of us who serve on the Commerce Committee understand that economic success is based on a successful private-public partnership. Let me give you a few examples:

• Our U.S. aviation manufacturing sector enjoys a worldwide reputation for quality and safety. How do we know their aircraft are safe and reliable? Because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspects them, and certifies that they meet high safety standards.   

• Why are our highway, railroad and pipeline networks among the safest in the world? Because experts from the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board constantly monitor them and study how to make them safer.  

• Why has the United States led the world for decades in technological innovation? Because scientists and technical experts at NASA, NSF, DOD, and other federal agencies have performed the basic research and engineering that private aerospace and technology companies need for commercial success.

• How do we keep dangerous imported products off of store shelves and out of the hands of our children? Consumer Product Safety Commission officials monitor our ports and stop dangerous products from entering our stream of commerce.

• Keith Colburn is going to explain to us how NOAA helps the U.S. commercial fishing industry harvest our country’s marine resources in a sustainable, responsible way. Perhaps he will also explain to us how his industry relies on the Coast Guard to prevent foreign vessels from fishing in our United States waters.

For the past two weeks, House Republicans have blocked these government agencies from doing their important jobs. They have told most of our safety experts, scientists, and engineers, “Go home.” Without appropriations, some of the world’s most talented professionals are prohibited, by law, from contributing to our country’s economic success. One of the people sitting home this week on furlough, without a salary, is a NIST employee named Dr. David Wineland. Dr. Wineland received the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his work on atomic physics. The small handful of Members of Congress who engineered the government shutdown don’t seem to value Dr. Wineland’s work as much as world’s leading scientists do.         

I regret that I had to call this hearing today. This shutdown is doing great harm to our country, and it was totally avoidable. All we needed was a House of Representatives willing to accept reality and the clean CR bill the Senate has sent them. I appreciate the participation of the witnesses who are here today and look forward to hearing their testimony. 

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