Neil Abercrombie: “this is an auspicious day, and I am pleased to be able to speak on the rule. I regret in some respects that many of my…”

“this is an auspicious day, and I am pleased to be able to speak on the rule. I regret in some respects that many of my friends, my dear friends, have a view different than I as to whether or not a positive vote is warranted on the bill. But with regard to the rule, I believe that when the manager's amendment comes forward during debate on the bill that some of the questions that have been raised, legitimate questions that have been raised, will be answered, I hope, to the satisfaction of those who have some doubts about the bill. My reason for standing here today is because I do want to reach out in all sincerity to those who are expressing reservations about the bill to indicate that those of us who have been working on the bill in the Resources Committee understand and appreciate and recognize those fears and anxieties that those in opposition have expressed today, and we have tried to the best of our legislative ability to address them. We respect those who have some reservations at this stage and ask merely that we wait for the debate. The debate, as it comes forward, we think will answer those questions. We are going to try to do it sincerely. For example, on the question of revenues, we have been listening to those who are concerned about revenues to Treasury, and we have addressed it. We believe that the Congressional Budget Office, in its analysis of the bill, has addressed that forthrightly.…”