Kendrick Meek: “Well, there is nothing more evident than the truth as it relates to this budget, and I mentioned earlier about holding…”

“Well, there is nothing more evident than the truth as it relates to this budget, and I mentioned earlier about holding the clock open and violating the spirit of the rules of the House when there is a 15-minute vote called. It is customary to give Members 5 extra minutes to get here to vote, but it is not customary to hold a clock open for 3 hours. Let me just say, October 7, 2005, Republicans held open a 5-minute vote on the Gasoline for America's Security Act for over 40 minutes to pass the energy bill, Republicans, which also passed by two votes because of the arm twisting. On November 22, 2003, the majority held open the vote for 3 hours, the longest in the history of the House of Representatives, on the prescription drug bill. Then on the Central American Free Trade Agreement on July 27 and 28, it has two dates because the clock was held open so long. For a 15- minute vote, the vote was held open for over an hour; and it passed on a 217 to 215 vote. Here is the evidence. It is in the Record. I do not need to enter it. It is already there. When you talk about how can this happen, how could this be allowed to happen in America, as we speak now, the Rules Committee is meeting in a dark room just above this Chamber, trying to figure out how they are going to come to the floor under the lights and the cameras and justify voting for a budget like this. I am wondering where the majority's letters are from Family U.S.A.…”