Political Quotes

“This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. The purpose of this amendment is simply to carve out from the provisions of the legislation any rules that we have adopted in order to prevent conflicts of interest and in order to promote financial transparency and disclosure by executive branch employees. Mr. Speaker, since I became a Member of the House in January and joined the Judiciary Committee, we have been subjected to an onslaught of bills seeking to free corporate polluters, lead paint and asbestos manufacturers, and other abusers of the rights of consumers and citizens from having to face the people they injure in court and having to comply with the rules that have been worked out over the decades to protect our air, our water, our land, our people, our health, and our workplaces. In most cases, we don't even get hearings on these bills. In the Judiciary Committee, I have not seen a victim of toxic torts or lead poisoning or medical malpractice testify, but their rights are being flattened every single day by the legislative bulldozer that is running amuck. These bills are flying at us with lightning speed--no hearings, no real debate, no time to study the measures, no time to do the proper information gathering for our constituents.…”