Melvin Watt: “I intend to vote for this bill, but the American people should note that there is nobody who has gotten on the floor…”

“I intend to vote for this bill, but the American people should note that there is nobody who has gotten on the floor today who has not expressed some reservation about the content of this bill. The reason for that is the process by which this bill is here. In that sense, it is business as usual and the American people ought to know that it is business as usual. We come here without the ability to amend this bill even though as soon as this bill is debated, we will be off for the rest of the day. Last week we were in committee debating a balanced budget amendment and marking it up. At the end of the day, at 6, despite the fact that it was Wednesday afternoon and we were going home, we adjourned for the day. Still we cannot take the time to debate these issues that are important to the American people.”