Louise Slaughter: “I am stunned that this leadership can take an overwhelmingly popular and important measure, a measure that passed…”

“I am stunned that this leadership can take an overwhelmingly popular and important measure, a measure that passed through Committee by voice vote, and load it with so many controversial provisions. This measure employs procedural gimmicks that silence the voice of both Democrat and Republican alike. Whether the issue is Social Security, defense, budget, taxes, retirement--you name it--we're cut off. Amendments are blocked and debate shut down. Today, however, this leadership has truly outdone itself. The Leadership has inserted technical language into the Supplemental bill that will allow a huge increase in the debt limit to occur without an up-or-down vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. This stealth maneuver will provide a germane hook so that Republicans can later insert a debt limit increase into the conference report. This leadership is asking us to ignore its fiscal mismanagement of the budget and its inability to stick to the budget policies that fostered federal budget surpluses--not deficits. This rule does nothing to address the burgeoning public debt and mortgages the Social Security Trust Fund. This leadership is simply not dealing in reality. There refusal to engage in any debate on raising the debt ceiling is just the latest in a pattern of running roughshod over the rules of the House.”