Eliot Engel: “Mr. Speaker, what is going on this evening is really a cruel hoax on the American people. I would like to say to the…”

“Mr. Speaker, what is going on this evening is really a cruel hoax on the American people. I would like to say to the Republican leadership, what are you afraid of? Why can we not have an open debate and real campaign finance law? Today's Roll Call has it right. It says, ``Angry Gingrich scheduled doomed reform votes.'' It says, ``Angry Gingrich scheduled doomed reform votes,'' and it says that ``Gingrich scheduled four reform votes under the suspension calendar, requiring a virtually impossible two-thirds majority to pass.'' The fact is the Republican leadership does not want campaign finance reform, so they will not give us real reform. Of all these bills, the anti-union bill is the worst bill. It is nothing more than a cheap political trick to try to punish labor unions for supporting Democratic candidates. It is a sham, and it ought to be exposed for what it is. The fact of the matter is that we need to have a discharge petition signed so that this Congress can vote on McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan and have a real debate on campaign finance reform. Let the majority of this Congress prevail. Let us have an up or down vote on campaign finance reform, not the sham being perpetrated this evening.”