Roy Cooper: “Last night, in this great Capitol building, about 10 p.m., the Committee on Rules was meeting. Our friends on the other…”

“Last night, in this great Capitol building, about 10 p.m., the Committee on Rules was meeting. Our friends on the other side of the aisle had just come back from their lavish dinner at which the newspapers report they raised some $22 million for the Republicans. They voted on this rule, and they voted to deny this House the opportunity to work its will on $47 billion in the DOD budget. That is a matter of some concern, because that is one of the largest items in the entire bill, and the House is unable to work its will on it due to their denial of an amendment. But more important than that, they denied over 700,000 DOD employees to have this section of the bill aired and debated. Over 700,000 families who work for our Pentagon worldwide are not able to hear their concerns aired on the floor of this House. This is the people's House, yet over 700,000 patriotic and loyal Americans who have served this Nation well in the Iraq war, in the Afghan war, and let us remember 65 of these civilians died in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, but, no, this House is too busy to consider their concerns. That is not fair, that is not right, and this House should demand justice. These are important civil servants of our Nation. They work hard every day to keep our Nation strong.”