Charles Rangel: “there is a way to get out of this dilemma in an attempt to restore some degree of bipartisanship to a trade bill. This…”

“there is a way to get out of this dilemma in an attempt to restore some degree of bipartisanship to a trade bill. This is what we enjoyed when we were dealing with the Caribbean Basin Initiative, with China, with the African Growth and Opportunity bill. We worked out our differences; and even though we disagreed, we were not disagreeable. The problem that we have here is not one of substance. We have one that the integrity of the House of Representatives is on, and I am saying that history will not treat us kindly if, for the first time in over 200 years of the House of Representatives, we attempt to take substantive legislation and have the Committee on Rules roll it up into a rule and to have us vote on it. True, the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means will tell my colleagues that 80 percent of this has already been passed one way or the other by the House, but what about the 20 percent? When does the 20 percent become 30 percent or 40 percent? This did happen once before, and that is when the House was closed down. There was no way to communicate with the Senate, and we did use the Committee on Rules in order to legislate. But I ask my colleagues to vote down the rule. Let us do it the right way.”