Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, another important plank in the Republican Contract With America, the line-item veto, comes to the floor of the House today under a wide open rule, allowing any Member of this body to offer a germane amendment. This is the third contract item to hit the floor since the 104th Congress began just 4 weeks ago, following on the heels of the balanced budget amendment and the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. As in the case of the mandate relief bill, this open rule gives priority recognition to Members who have published their amendments in the Congressional Record. I would emphasize that this is not a preprinting requirement. Members who do not preprint amendments will not be prohibited from offering their proposals, but many of us who serve on the Rules Committee encourage Members to exercise this option in the future, not only to receive priority recognition but, more importantly, to inform our colleagues in advance of amendments that are likely to be offered so that we can reduce time-consuming discussion on overlapping amendments and have more meaningful informed debate.”