On the recordDecember 20, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Some say that the House Republican leadership pulled the plug on the Senate bipartisan bill because they were afraid of their Republican Tea Party freshmen. Perhaps. But what is clear is that we're not being allowed by the Republican leadership to vote on the Senate bill because the Republicans are afraid of their moderates, of their independents, of their reasonable ``unhardliners.'' {time} 1200 The measure of this Congress is that the House Republicans won't act until they are forced to as a result of self-imposed, crisis-inducing deadlines. Then if they can't get their own way on an agenda that could never be passed through regular order in both Chambers and signed by the President, they throw a tantrum. And what we're dealing with today: a legislative tantrum. Now, I don't like the 2-month extension. It has some difficulties and uncertainties. But there would be far more uncertainty and difficulty if there were a 2-week gap or a 2-month gap where 700,000 people in early January will lose their unemployment benefits, 2 million in the next 2 months. If we simply would follow regular order, allow a vote on the Senate amendment, we could build on this glimmer of bipartisanship from the other body. Allow your Members to vote. Who knows where it could lead? We actually may be able to solve some of these long-term problems.
