On the recordJuly 23, 2013
I have none. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 3\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Florida has 16 minutes remaining. {time} 1315 Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I don't have a problem with what's in this rule; I have a problem with what's being left out of the rule. We have some serious issues to discuss: the NSA surveillance program, limited debate in this rule. We need to talk about Syria and whether we're going to get sucked into another war. Multiple amendments were offered. All of them were denied, except one that basically reinstates current law. There are issues about Egypt that ought to be discussed on the floor. And when I hear my colleagues say these are sensitive issues, we shouldn't talk about them on the floor, then where should we talk about them? This is the appropriate bill to talk about those things; yet many of these amendments were not made in order. That's why an open rule would have been more appropriate. In terms of debate, I don't know why we have to limit debate on the NSA down to 15 minutes a piece. Everybody is concerned about this. I will just close, Mr. Speaker, by again urging my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question so that we can offer an amendment to allow Mr. Van Hollen's language to be made in order that the Republican leadership agree to go to conference with the Senate over the budget.…
