John Joseph Moakley

I just want to read from the record before the Committee on Rules. The gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Solomon] says: Any other questions of the witness? Mr. Linder (questioning): ``Will capital gains cuts come in next?'' Mr. Kasich…

The President said ``Wisconsin has the makings of a solid, bold welfare reform plan.'' He did not say he would sign the waivers sight unseen, without a public comment period. This process is wrong, plain and simply. Vote for the Kleczka…

I am just talking about statements made here that are not completely true. To say that the waivers are listed in the Congressional Record and all you find when you look are titles of waivers and no explanation, I just think that is not…

In referring to the gentleman from Wisconsin who just took a seat, I think if he looks, and unless I am mistaken, the matter that appeared in the Congressional Record of June 4, was just listing the title of the waivers. There was no…

Mr. Speaker, once again the House Democrats are going to try it again. Today we are going to try for the fifth time this year, the fifth time this year, to give 12 million hardworking Americans a long overdue pay raise. We are hoping that…

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman, my colleague, my friend, is right. Maybe we should have addressed minimum wage. But as he knows, we had other things on our pallet. We had the health care bill that took a lot of time. We had the budget bill. We…

But if he is so intent in passing the supermajority, why did his party three times this year waive the supermajority that they put in themselves in changing the rules? Could the gentleman please answer that question?

Anything else, but Helms-Burton is not the answer. Let me tell the gentleman, every Member who votes for Helms-Burton, I bet within a couple of months would say, why did I do it?

Reclaiming my time, I would put the strongest sanctions I could. Helms-Burton is not the answer.

My response was, no, it has never been proposed before June 30. Martial-law rules are multipurpose rules clearing the way for the House to act quickly on a broad range of legislative measures by stating that certain of the standing rules…

First of all, the bills that my friend speaks of were single-purpose bills. This is a general bill that would allow anything to happen. Those were specific reasons to waive the two-thirds rule, but anything could be waived under this. Yes…

Mr. Speaker, this is the second rule we have granted for this bill. The first time around we said 10 hours was not enough. We said that the drop dead time was a lousy idea, and no one believed us. Now, here we are again, 2 weeks later…

Just to even it out, I know the gentleman from Mississippi is a veteran. I am a veteran, disabled veteran, so we know where the veterans are.

Is it not true, I ask the chairman, that when you were in front of the Committee on Rules you said that the LIHEAP program was no longer needed?

The gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] says this is all cut and dried. So is there any reason for any amendments to be offered by Democrats? Are we going to be given any choice when you are picking out the Democratic amendments?

I would like to have the attention of the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon]. I know that the gentleman has got scheduled hearings on the term limit bill up before the committee this morning. Since we are not going to take it up until…

This was not the list you and I were talking about. I mean, that was matters that were going on then, and it was my understanding that somewhere we would have met and sat down rather than go up and then see our choices already picked by…

Reclaiming my time, in answering to my dear friend from New York, the chairman of the committee, our side did not have that list until 4 o'clock. I never saw that list until 4 o'clock when I walked into that committee room.

Actually, the gentleman is partially correct. I had a conversation with the chairman and I said, ``What have we got to look at; have you got a draft?'' And he says, ``No, I do not have a draft yet.'' I said, ``We would like to see what you…

The gentleman promised that the contract on America would be based on all open rules.

Is it not true though that the gentleman's party promised open rules, more open rules than they had the year before?

I am overwhelmed. I want to make the point that the Republican Party came down and said, ``What happened in the 103d Congress will never happen again. We are going to give out open rules.'' Well, where are they?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the Committee on Rules a wonderful thing happened. In the interest of bipartisan cooperation, Democrats and Republicans worked out an agreement to allow the Moorhead amendment. I thank Chairman Solomon for his…

That great man was the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon]. I just want to show the Members, whatever side one is on, this thing cuts both ways.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a wide open rule. There are four waivers of points of order. This is not even close. This is a backhanded gag rule that waives not one, not two, not three, but four points of order, something the Republicans used…