John Joseph Moakley: “I must again oppose this rule. I would like to support the rule because it is open and it does give Members an…”

“I must again oppose this rule. I would like to support the rule because it is open and it does give Members an opportunity to offer amendments that are germane and otherwise in compliance with the rules. However, the rest of the rule is even more egregious than the first rule for the bill, and that rule was defeated by this House only 3 legislative days ago by an overwhelming vote of 291 to 125. The changes from the previous rule certainly do not fix the problems that caused the rule to fail, so presumingly, in fact, I think it even makes the problems worse. The bill itself is not the problem... It provides $13.2 billion in discretionary budget authority, a slight increase from last year's bill. This level of funds should adequately support most of the programs and services that are covered by the bill. The major exceptions, however, continue to be the Federal Election Commission, which is funded significantly below the level necessary to do its job properly and effectively.”