Political Quotes

“Members on the other side of the aisle talked a great deal yesterday--and even again today--about playing politics and gotchas here on the House floor, so I feel compelled to take a moment to set the record straight. Yesterday, the House was supposed to debate and vote on a bill to reauthorize Federal child nutrition programs. Rather than allowing Members to offer amendments and fully engage in the legislative process, the majority decided the U.S. House of Representatives should have no say in these programs that affect childhood health and wellness. Members of the House would have no involvement in writing initiatives to spend an additional $4.5 billion in hard-earned taxpayer dollars on legislation that imposes significant operational and financial costs on our local school districts. They brought this massive child nutrition bill--$4.5 billion in new spending and 17 new or expanded Federal programs--to the floor under a closed rule. For the record, it was the 97th closed rule in the 4 years Democrats have controlled the people's House, 97th closed rule. Apparently it's easier to dictate the outcome when you prevent legislators from legislating. Talk about a gotcha. That's why I offered a motion to recommit, the one and only chance we had to remove some of the bill's most harmful provisions and insert stronger protections for our children.”