Political Quotes

“And I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule today that provides for consideration of H.R. 1101, the so-called Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2017. This bill, first of all, from a procedural basis, did not allow even a discussion of the amendments that my Democratic colleagues brought forward to improve the bill. This rule has something called the structured amendment process, which basically means that Democrats are locked out from presenting our ideas for improving this bill. We are not even allowed a 10-minute debate or a vote on any of the ideas that many of my colleagues brought forward. The gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) proposed an amendment to require the legislation only take effect if the Congressional Budget Office determined premiums for older workers wouldn't increase. Sounds like a reasonable idea to at least debate for an hour, 10 minutes. It is important to do. The gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres) offered an amendment that would have required all association health plans to continue the 10 essential health benefits of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to obtain State certification--again, not even allowed to vote on her amendment. The gentleman from New York (Mr.…”