Chuck Fleischmann: “I hold my dear colleague and friend from Texas in the highest esteem. I think he is one of our brightest and best…”

“I hold my dear colleague and friend from Texas in the highest esteem. I think he is one of our brightest and best Members, and he has served so well on the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is a pleasure and privilege to serve with him. I play baseball with him, and candidly, he is a much better baseball player than I am. I trust his judgment, but respectfully, on this issue, I want to be consistent. I have opposed reducing salaries to $1 in the previous amendments. He articulated his issues very well, but I do think this causes a dangerous, difficult precedent. In that regard, I urge a ``no'' vote.”