Joe Crowley: “9 months ago I stood on this floor and talked about the attack upon my great city, the City of New York. Never before in…”

“9 months ago I stood on this floor and talked about the attack upon my great city, the City of New York. Never before in my 4 years in this Congress had I felt this House and this country more united than at that moment. The pundits began to speak, and they began to ask questions like, how long would it last; how long would this House stay united; and would it be the Democrats or the Republicans who would blink first? Unfortunately, it has been the Republicans. Today, they offer a prescription drug plan without giving the opportunity for this side of the aisle to present our plan, without having a fair vote up and down on both. They know the Democratic side would win. This bill, our bill, would win the day. It appears in the middle of the night that there was an election held, that there are now 436 Members of Congress. Robert Ingram, I do not know which State he is from, but he has already proven himself to be a great fund-raiser for the Republican side of the aisle. He has raised $250,000 from GlaxoSmithKline, apparently his former company; from Pfizer, $150,000; from Merck, $150,000. The money is where this bill follows, and the American people are going to know about it. This House has been brought asunder not by the Democrats but by the Republicans today, by their actions. It is intolerable, and the American people should know about it and know fully what happens today.”