Louise Slaughter: “the critically important legislation before us today is being presented as a bipartisan compromise, but nothing could be…”

“the critically important legislation before us today is being presented as a bipartisan compromise, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was authored by the administration and by the Republican leaders of this Congress. As Chairman Hunter testified in the Rules Committee yesterday, no Democrats were involved in any way in the negotiations that were conducted over the weekend to produce this bill, nor did the Rules Committee make in order any of the 15 amendments that Democrats offered to address the sections of the bill that most offend our democratic values and violate our most fundamental traditions. The closed rule governing this bill means this Republican Congress is turning its back on a real debate here today. It is a reality made all the more egregious by the historic importance of this moment. We are at a crossroads today, and I fear we will not be judged kindly by future Americans for what my Republican friends want to do to us today. The bill sends a clear message to both our friends and our enemies about what kind of people we are. It shows them whether or not we are really willing to practice what we preach about freedom and democracy and human dignity. It is moments like this one when we reveal our true colors and even our true values.”