Gus Bilirakis: “I thank my friend from Pennsylvania, a great member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. I want to express my…”

“I thank my friend from Pennsylvania, a great member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. I want to express my disappointment with the inclusion of a partisan auto safety title in this legislation before us today. I hope the Senate is listening and sees that this does not represent a consensus, since this product completely bypassed the Energy and Commerce Committee. We even agreed in April to circulate a draft safety title to stakeholders with our majority counterparts; drafts, I would add, that were largely written by them. But, sadly, they walked away from their own proposals, completely ignoring minority and stakeholder concerns, and bypassed regular order altogether. One could only surmise that the directive came straight from the majority leadership. And for what? To snatch defeat from the jaws of a bipartisan victory? The National Federation of the Blind even supported an amendment I drafted, with their input, to increase transportation access and benefits for Americans with disabilities. The Rules Committee voted not to make it in order. It is truly puzzling that a vote for this previously bipartisan initiative would fall victim to such partisan politics. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this legislation. We need to get back to the table and deliver for those who are left behind by this partisan bill.”