Political Quotes

“I oppose the rule on the Foreign Operation Appropriation for fiscal year 1995 because I believe it unfairly restricts the rights of Members, both Democrat and Republican, to fully debate, consider, and amend this Foreign Operations Appropriation. Despite the fact that the right to amend is perhaps most important on Appropriation bills, the Rules Committee has used its powers to squelch debate in this House. Like many others, I wished to offer an amendment to this bill, and I testified before the committee to ask that my amendment be made in order. I had hoped to give the American people and their Representatives a chance to examine and debate the level of our contributions to the United Nations. But this restrictive rule prevents me from putting this amendment to a vote. The heavy-handed domination of the majority prevented a discussion of this important issue. In 1993, the United States paid one-quarter of the operating expenses of the United Nations.”