Louise Slaughter: “I oppose this rule. I oppose the process it represents, and I oppose the duplicity by which this rule came about. Nearly…”

“I oppose this rule. I oppose the process it represents, and I oppose the duplicity by which this rule came about. Nearly 150 amendments were submitted for this major legislative initiative, and only a handful have been made in order. Furthermore, many members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce withheld offering amendments in that committee because of assurances by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman, that they would be given an opportunity to do so on the floor. That did not happen. Cut out of the process were numerous good-faith efforts to build and improve on the underlying bill. My colleagues relied on the good-faith assurances of the Republican leadership, and learned a hard lesson instead. This is not a tone in Washington for which so many of us had hoped. For instance, this egregious rule will block consideration of an amendment by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens). The gentleman's amendment would have provided $20 billion for needed school renovation, repair, and construction. Our schools are crumbling before our eyes. Mr. Speaker, at the basic level, surely we can all agree that schools should provide a safe and secure environment for learning and instruction with classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and other resources necessary for learning.”