John Joseph Moakley: “Mr. Speaker, this rule waiving the two-thirds requirement for same day consideration of a bill will finally enable the…”

“Mr. Speaker, this rule waiving the two-thirds requirement for same day consideration of a bill will finally enable the House to bring up the omnibus appropriations bill. After 6 months of waiting for my Republican colleagues to pass the 13 appropriations bills, we are finally going to be able to bypass their Appropriations Committees and get our Government back on its feet. Federal workers won't have to worry about being furloughed; military retirees won't have to worry about their benefits; and students headed for college won't have to wait any longer than they already have for their student loans to be processed. I support this two-thirds rule, Mr. Speaker, because I wouldn't do anything to slow the appropriations process any more than it already has been but I believe my Republican colleagues have behaved very irresponsibly on this budget and I hope next fiscal year will be different. The American people have suffered from their political games and it is no way to run a government. But this rule doesn't go far enough.”