Steny Hoyer: “I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker, the gentleman made an observation about there were more Democratic amendments.…”

“I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker, the gentleman made an observation about there were more Democratic amendments. That is unusual for your bills. We usually find more Republican amendments to your bills than we do Democratic amendments. But having said that, I think the gentleman's observation is correct. I want to make it clear to Members of the House, perhaps, who have not served here very long, the first year I was majority leader in 2007, it wasn't just consideration in committee. We passed through the House of Representatives all 12 appropriations bills and sent them to the Senate prior to the August break so that the Senate had a full month to consider them. We didn't get them all done, as you have suspected. But in any event, I don't think I have ever seen, Mr. Leader, an omnibus passed prior to the August break. Individual bills being passed, but a minibus of this nature with, as you point out, 66 percent of the discretionary spending, which, by the way, there is no budget, and, therefore, this breaks the sequester level. It breaks the agreements that we have had in the past under Ryan-Murray for 4 years, two Congresses, and the number that is being used is a number that was simply taken out of the air. There has been no vote on the floor, no other way to have set that number.…”