Steny Hoyer: “Cute debating tricks on the floor will not hack it, I say to my friend. Germaneness will not hack it; hiding behind a…”

“Cute debating tricks on the floor will not hack it, I say to my friend. Germaneness will not hack it; hiding behind a parliamentary procedure, which says we are not going to allow the amendment because it is not germane, when the gentleman knows that the Committee on Rules could say it is germane, because we want to debate it. The gentleman's amendment will not prevent it, and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) said so on the floor today. How did the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) say it? He said because if you preclude the procedure of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady), there are three other procedures to accomplish the same objective. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) said it. He said it less than 3 hours ago. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) cannot get around that. If the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) is going to be intellectually honest, this is a purely political bill. This is a serious issue. We ought to deal with it seriously. We should have had full debate. We should decide between ourselves what the legitimate options are that we can accomplish within the Constitution to protect the health of women and protect the lives of babies. Your rule did not do that. Your bill does not do that, and the debate undermines the quality of this discussion. It is unfortunate.”