Debbie Dingell: “this is a bad rule. It should be defeated. My Republican colleagues have done the same thing that they usually do. They…”

“this is a bad rule. It should be defeated. My Republican colleagues have done the same thing that they usually do. They have gagged the minority. They have denied us a right to discuss important questions, and they refuse to give us the right to offer amendments. The chairman of the Committee on Rules appears in the well of the House and tells us what a wonderful job they have done at being fair. If they were fair, they should have had the courage and decency on that side of the aisle to let us offer the amendments that should be offered to allow matters to be properly discussed. This is the language of the Endangered Species Act. There is no need for them to take away the right of the government to properly protect our national symbol, the bald eagle, and other endangered species. There is no reason for the other side to afford the authorities that the leadership in the Department of Defense have sought. Indeed, the members of the agency itself, the fighting soldiers have not asked for and do not want it. It is interesting to note that they not only amend the environmental laws, but they have amended many more, and they again foreclose the opportunity for amendments. Now the chairman of the Committee on Rules comes down and says we are going to have more opportunities. We are going to be considering it again. Well, if we have to consider it again, why did they not offer us a fair rule in the first place? Why do they have to do it this way?”