Thank you, Ms. Slaughter, for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I am a member of the Appropriations Committee. This process is about appropriations. That's how we keep government open. Unfortunately, we've never been able to get any of the appropriation bills to the floor because the Republicans won't appoint conferees to the joint committees, so we're doing a continuing resolution. The continuing resolution is not new in this Congress. It's been done every year. The shocking thing is it's never been used as a weapon of destruction until now. We were here last year, same argument. The health care bill is not the issue here. That's been law in this country for 3\1/2\ years. So for 3\1/2\ years, we've been appropriating money to keep government open. What's the difference now? The difference now is a new attitude, new breed, very mean, very conservative, very anti-government; and they're willing to bring their internal kind of power within their caucus to shut down the whole country, if not the whole world. It's totally irresponsible. They argue, well, we can do this if we could change the health care. If the health care bill needs changing, bring it up in a bill. That's how we change things. So I'm opposing this rule because this rule says, okay, let's bring up 10 parts of government. Let's bring up 10 parts. Let's just have multiple choice. Let's have a triage. Which parts of government do you like? I'd like to compliment my colleague, Mr.…
Share & report
More from Sam Farr
I make a point of order against the amendment because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes legislation in an appropriation bill and, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI. That rule states in pertinent part: ``An amendment…
Thank you for yielding. Madam Chair, this bill has in its title ``America That Works.'' It is not going to work with this provision in it, and that is why the bill fails. I think year after year of failing and failing is a policy of upward…
I want to thank Mr. Rogers, the chair of the committee, for bringing a bill to the floor. I wish it was the full bill and not most of the bill. But I also want the world to note that, even though there are some poison pills in this issue…
Thank you very much for yielding and being chair of the California Democratic delegation, the largest single delegation in the United States Congress, with its champions of note, George Miller and Henry Waxman. This is a historical room…





