Bruce F. Vento: “I would say that it is true; I have worked on hundreds of bills in the past, and I will tell my colleagues every one of…”

“I would say that it is true; I have worked on hundreds of bills in the past, and I will tell my colleagues every one of those bills that I worked on had a hearing, and I did not act in those years that I did so on any affiliated area, none were designated and I tell my colleagues, I also acted to inform and be certain that the minority was aware of my actions and measures. They may not always have agreed, but they had reasonable notice of hearings and action on the issues. This bill has not had hearing. It is not the issue of the underground railroad, which my colleagues would like to make the issue; that is not the issue here. The issue here is how we are going to deal with this extraordinarily important topic in a positive reasonable way and give it the type of recognition and status that it deserves in terms of hearings and a proper policy path for the park and the Park Service and the citizens of Cincinnati. They deserve that. They deserve that hearing. They did not get it. Members of Congress should understand what the degree of involvement is going to be and how we are going to deal with this overall policy and issue rather than simply passing something here without necessarily a good understanding or a policy path as to where we are going. This is indeed the tail wagging the dog. This is the wrong way to do business, but unfortunately it has characterized our committee too often during this 104th Congress.”