On the recordOctober 22, 2015
I want to start with the end of what our Reading Clerk read before I get to the excitement in the beginning. At the end, what you heard was some blanket authority to consider what I will call housekeeping measures here in the House, and not because Republicans say so, not because Democrats say so, but because Republicans and Democrats come together, consult with one another, and try to find those issues on which we agree to bring forward. I sit on the Rules Committee, Mr. Speaker. The best thing that happens in this institution is when a bill comes through the Rules Committee, because my colleague Ms. Slaughter and I always make it better. We always make it better. But we include authority to avoid the Rules Committee for some of these issues that are going to come to the floor fast and furious. Here we are, at the end of a cycle. We are in a leadership change here in the House. You don't know what might happen. What the Rules Committee did last night was to create a pathway to allow the House to continue its business at a moment's notice, and I am glad that we included that provision in here. We also include same-day consideration authority. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that happened when the big freshman class that I was elected with in 2010 came is we said, for Pete's sakes, we need time to read the bills. We need to follow the rules and make sure that all Members have a chance to get deep into the information and legislation. That persists still today.…
