John Conyers: “I rise, Madam Speaker, in some shock about the strong opposition to this rule and the underlying bill. I had never…”

“I rise, Madam Speaker, in some shock about the strong opposition to this rule and the underlying bill. I had never thought that I would hear a reason to deny a Member of the House of Representatives a vote because of convenience, because of the number of revotes that have occurred and whether or not the switched votes that took place were because of whether Delegates were voting or not. This is an incredible kind of an argument. Today I commend the House leadership for bringing to the floor a small attempt to give our Delegates a voice in the House. This rule allows Congress to be more inclusive and integrated as it pertains to our Delegates. Significantly, the rule brings the Congresswoman from the District of Columbia, Eleanor Holmes Norton, closer to a House vote for the District, a vote that was almost realized through bipartisan efforts in the 109th Congress. By giving our Delegates a vote in the Committee of the Whole, we provide these representatives with the opportunity to greater serve their constituents. I wonder what the rest of the citizens of this country would think would be wrong with such an opportunity for these citizens to have a voting Representative, as our citizens do?”