On the recordSeptember 7, 2016
Let me just clarify, Mr. Speaker, why we are here. This is a rule for H.R. 5063, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act. One clarification as to what was just mentioned is that this bill does not allow any company to get off the hook. They are going through the process, and they are paying their fines. What we are trying to let off the hook here is the Department of Justice, which believes that it is the arbitrator of the world to their own pet projects. Let's get back to the basics of this bill. If we want to pontificate on the world, fine, then we can pontificate on the world; but let's get back to the rule for today, for this moment, and do not tell stories that don't exist. Congress--both sides--should decide that the Department of Justice should not be having a settlement of mandatory donations to pet groups because they don't get enough funding. How about they just go get another job instead of living off settlements from others when they are not the victims? I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I just say to my friend from Georgia that I am not pontificating; I am just expressing frustration over the fact that we are not doing anything of any consequence here on the House floor. This legislation that we are dealing with today--in fact, the legislation that we are going to deal with later in the week--is going nowhere.…
