Frank Riggs: “I can even hear some audible snoring, so I will take less than my minute and just point out tonight we are ending the…”

“I can even hear some audible snoring, so I will take less than my minute and just point out tonight we are ending the double standard that has existed for more than 50 years in this institution and in the process that we are demonstrating to the people that we are willing to change in that Congress no longer considers itself above the law. The Congressional Accountability Act should be approved, and I am heartened to see the bipartisan support for this legislation. House action on the Congressional Accountability Act is long overdue. Mr. Speaker, in the 102d Congress, I had the privilege of serving as chairman of the congressional coverage coalition. We continually attempted to bring Congress under the same employment laws as the rest of the country, but we were stymied in our efforts. We sought to cover Congress under the Family and Medical Leave Act, but were prevented by the Rules Committee from even offering the amendment. We wanted to bring staff under statutory civil rights protections, but were similarly rebuffed.”