Patricia Schroeder: “Madam Chairman, I think I can safely say this, and then we can yield back all the time and hopefully get to a vote. Most…”

“Madam Chairman, I think I can safely say this, and then we can yield back all the time and hopefully get to a vote. Most of the Members have heard this over and over again. Let me reiterate what the Hyde amendment does. It absolutely guts everything we have done so far today. So if you want to gut it, this is the thing you want to vote for. Madam Chairman, remember what we are trying to do today. We are trying to reinstate what we did before, which is to find a way that we can have a judicially appointed counsel that can be independent and not interfered with by either the Congress or the executive branch. If you like that concept, then you should vote ``no,'' because what this does is take that and stand it on its head. It allows interference by the Congress in a lot of different ways. It has some new, untested legal standards... Nevertheless, that is what I am talking about when I say it takes away the independence of this judicially appointed counsel that we are so concerned about and want to reinstate for 5 years in this bill.”