Political Quotes

“I, too, favor this open rule, but I must say that I believe this bill should have been placed on the suspension calendar, having been reported by our committee, as amended, by a unanimous vote. However, late last week, I was informed that unless the minority agreed to four changes in the bill proposed by the majority leader's staff, the bill would not be placed on the suspension calendar. Instead, it would go to the floor under a rule. The subcommittee chair, Mrs. Maloney, and I objected to these last minute demands, so that is why we went to the Committee on Rules yesterday. Let me briefly describe the history of this bill. Several weeks ago, Chairman Clinger came to me and indicated that title IV of H.R. 11 was part of the Contract With America, and he wanted to pass it out of committee before the April district work period. He asked me to support the bill. After carefully examining the bill, I concluded that the language in title IV went well beyond any rational effort to protect the privacy of minors. It appeared to me that title IV would have dangerously limited local police authority to question minors, and risked investigations of child abuse. I was also concerned that the bill could have been interpreted to limit the ability of doctors to get timely patient information on children. Moreover, since I did not know how this language would affect federally-assisted surveys, I suggested that we hold a hearing to examine the implications of the legislation.”