Rep. Quigley Answers Sen. Cruz with Dr. Seuss Speech of His Own

Seuss and Dickens stories highlight the dangers of inaction on implementing Affordable Care Act, avoiding a shutdown and raising the debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) cited the authors Dr. Seuss and Charles Dickens as he spoke out against the dangers of inaction on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, passing a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling.

"Yesterday, Senator Cruz quoted Dr. Seuss, and today I would like to do the same. But I am drawing from a different Seuss tale: the story of the Zax…two Zaxes going two different directions who meet face to face," said Quigley. "Each Zax refuses to go any direction, but the direction it was headed. The Zaxes stand so long that a highway overpass is built over them, and the story ends with each Zax still standing there ‘unbudged in their tracks.' From Dickens to Seuss, great writers can teach us and warn us about the dangers of obstinacy and intransigence. Refusing to act has surely led us to a very bleak place indeed. Let's not end up like the Zaxes ‘unbudged' in our tracks and unable to tackle the great challenges of our time."

"In 1852, Charles Dickens wrote the novel Bleak House [which] refers to the book's main court house, above which reads the warning, ‘Suffer any wrong that can be done you rather than come here!'" said Quigley. "Given the recent inaction of the House of Representatives, I feel a similar moniker may need to be placed above our own door. This body has reached a point where our inaction is no longer harmless. Our inability to act and to govern is having real and harmful effects. We are on the verge of causing really great suffering."

To read the full transcript or watch the video of Rep. Quigley's speech, click here.