John Conyers: “I rise to offer a resolution concerning the privileges of the House. The deliberate misrepresentation of Members of the…”

“I rise to offer a resolution concerning the privileges of the House. The deliberate misrepresentation of Members of the House of Representatives' amendments is unprecedented. And I do this because the Committee on the Judiciary report on H.R. 748 mischaracterized amendments offered by Members in a way that distorted both the effect of the amendments and the intentions of the Members. I offer this resolution to protect the rights of every Member in this body. None of us wants to see our amendments mischaracterized in a way that undermines our good faith. None of us wants to see our legislative work distorted in a way that diminishes our motives. I am not eager to bring this matter to the floor of the House, but I do so as a last resort to achieve a resolution that is fair and just. There is little doubt in my mind that the amendment characterizations included in the committee report were distorting and damaging. Taking an amendment written to exclude grandparents and describing it as one protecting sexual predators crosses a line of good faith and comity so essential to the operation of this House. Descriptions this pejorative are not only inappropriate; they are without precedent. This has never happened before in my memory. If we look at the Record, we will see that the three previous committee reports describing these amendments use neutral and objective terms.…”