Jack Kingston: “Okay. Well, I want to say this to my friend from Colorado, and I want to say this to my friend from North Carolina…”

“Okay. Well, I want to say this to my friend from Colorado, and I want to say this to my friend from North Carolina: where I am very frustrated is that here we have this huge bill. As I understand it--and I know the gentleman supports this--they lay it on the table for 48 hours so that people can look at it. I'm afraid, beyond the people who are in the Chamber right now, that that rule is going to be waived. That is not what we're voting on now as I understand it, but I am concerned that, later on in the course of this day, we will get a rule that will say we will waive the requirement that a bill has to sit on the table for 48 hours so that Members of Congress can read it. Now, remember that we have philosophical disagreements on this bill. I support tax cuts, a little spending, more money for public works-- more money for highways, roads, dams, and bridges--as does the next person, and I understand we're going to have a good debate on it, but I think that the democratic way of doing business in a legislative chamber should be to put this bill on the table so that everybody has time to read it. I would venture to say, whether you are Democrat or Republican, rank-and-file Members have not been able to read this bill. It is very important that we read the bill and that we have transparency and sunshine and an open debate on it.”