Doris Matsui: “Mr. Speaker, here in the first hours of the 110th Congress we rise to restore decorum and civility to what has been from…”

“Mr. Speaker, here in the first hours of the 110th Congress we rise to restore decorum and civility to what has been from its founding the greatest deliberative institution. In doing so, we open a new chapter in the history of the House of Representatives, one that is dignified. Mr. Speaker, the American people spoke loud and clear this past November, and I am proud to say that the Democratic majority is responding to that call. This legislation marks a new beginning. The Democratic reform package, H. Res. 6, enacts long overdue congressional reform: restoring an open government, an honest government, an ethical government; and it marks the restoration of the American people's priorities to the people's House. It is my hope that by enacting these changes we will be able to change the tone of how we conduct business in this Chamber and with each other. We are here today to say that this sense of civility and decorum is not dead.”